RN Medical Surgical Observation Unit

About the Role

The Observation Unit RN at Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville, MN cares for adult patients with a wide range of medical and surgical needs. The unit is protocol-driven, serving medical and post-procedural/post-surgical patients including but not limited to conditions such as chest pain, syncope, renal colic, toxicology exposure, vertigo, DVT, stroke, gastroenteritis, hysterectomy, TURP, mastectomy, and heart catheterizations.

This 28-bed unit is fast-paced with an average patient stay of around 28 hours, accommodating Outpatient Observation, Inpatient, and Outpatient Surgical patients. The unit is equipped with remote telemetry to closely monitor cardiac patients and is continuously focused on evaluating processes to improve quality of care, decrease length of stay, and facilitate efficient patient flow.

Schedule

56 hours per two-week pay period, 8-hour shifts on day and evening rotations (7:00 AM–7:30 PM or 3:00 PM–11:30 PM), including every other weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

Responsibilities

• Assesses patient needs and identifies expected nursing outcomes.
• Involves the patient, family, and other health team members in gathering data.
• Uses an ongoing, systematic process to gather relevant information (biological, psychological, spiritual, and social aspects) from patient and family.
• Analyzes data and information to identify potential risks, prioritize needs, and determine priority problems.
• Identifies outcomes that are age-appropriate, culturally appropriate, realistic, and attainable, and validates these with patient, family, and other health team members.
• Documents data and identified outcomes.
• Develops an individualized nursing plan of care in collaboration with patient, family, and other health team members as part of an integrated, comprehensive plan of care.
• Develops an individualized plan based on age, social and cultural considerations, condition, and other relevant needs.
• Determines nursing interventions based on identified needs and identifies interdisciplinary resources needed to assist in implementing the nursing plan of care.
• Prioritizes interventions based on patient acuity, available resources, and patient/family preferences and needs.
• Documents and updates the plan of care to assure continuity throughout the continuum of care.
• Implements nursing interventions based on the plan of care in accordance with all relevant policies, procedures, and nursing practice guidelines.
• Coordinates nursing care with the care of all other health team members.
• Initiates age and culturally appropriate measures to support and meet patient needs while achieving expected outcomes.
• Initiates patient/family teaching as appropriate to age, readiness to learn, and available resources.
• Collaborates, consults, or makes referrals if unable to perform safely and independently.
• Delegates direct and indirect patient care activities to appropriate personnel based on needs, condition, potential for risk/harm, complexity of the skill, and predictability of the outcome.
• Assures all actions are based on scientific, ethical, or ecological principles; proven effectiveness; experience; practice standards; patient/family requests and values; or legal parameters.
• Uses the full range of therapeutic modalities to support and augment the healing process, moving from least intensive and invasive to more, depending on need and context.
• Documents interventions according to practice guidelines.
• Anticipates, recognizes, and responds to emergent situations.

Requirements

• MN Registered Nurse (RN) License
• Basic Life Support (American Heart Association or Red Cross)

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing or BAN
• 1–3 years of experience
• BSN or willingness to obtain in the near future
• RN work experience in an acute or sub-acute setting, preferably Med/Surg
• Familiarity with EPIC

Benefits

Fairview offers a generous benefit package, including but not limited to:

• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Sick and Safe Time
• Tuition reimbursement
• Retirement benefits
• Early access to earned wages
• Additional benefits available; see Fairview Benefits for more information