SENIOR PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE - 40001085

Durham County Government is home to over 2,000 dedicated professionals working together to deliver essential services that strengthen and support our vibrant, diverse community. As the heart of a fast-growing region, we offer meaningful careers across a wide range of fields—giving you the opportunity to make a real impact where you live, work, grow, and play.

Position Number: 40001085
Job Type: Full-time (37.5 hours, non-exempt)
Sign-on Bonus: $6,000

About the Role

This employee functions as a Registered Nurse in the Women's Health Program at Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH). The Maternal Health Clinic is a component of the Women’s Health Program in the Medical Services Health Division. The clinic provides comprehensive services relating to prenatal care with the purpose of reducing infant mortality and morbidity. The Women's Health Program is comprised of the Family Planning and Maternal Health Clinics. This position functions as a Senior Public Health Nurse in the Maternal Health clinic at DCoDPH.

Responsibilities

Direct Patient Care

• Provides obstetrical/maternal health services including education and counseling to pregnant clients.
• Monitors patients' vital signs, weight, and urine results.
• Administers medication and vaccines as ordered by medical provider.
• Administers injections, follows up on abnormal labs and missed appointments, and triages phone calls.
• Instructs patients on prenatal care for each trimester and provides other education.
• Assists medical providers in performing physical exams and procedures.
• Participates in charge nurse duties, orientation, and precepting of new Women's Health Program staff and nursing students that rotate through the program.
• Assists in performing NST (Neonatal Non-Stress Test) and ultrasound.
• May be required to work in other clinical areas across the organization.
• Participates in COVID and emergency response activities and performs other tasks as requested by supervisor, Program Manager, and Division Director.

Charge Nurse Duties

• Manages other nurses and community health assistants assigned to clinic.
• Manages and coordinates clinic flow.
• Redirects and reassigns staff when clinic flow shifts.
• Assesses charts for needed labs and procedures when patient checks in.
• Checks to make sure that needed tests have been performed and that appropriate referrals have been made when patient is leaving.
• Reviews patient encounter sheets for accuracy.
• Responds to patients’ requests via phone call or walk-in to identify needs and advise appropriate follow-up.
• Assists with orientation of new staff and students.
• Assists with conducting record audits.
• Performs other tasks as requested.

Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited school of professional nursing and one year of professional nursing experience.
• A current license to practice as a Registered Nurse in North Carolina by the N.C. Board of Nursing.

Skills

• Ability to work independently and make sound nursing judgments in a variety of complex health situations.
• Ability to record services rendered accurately and interpret and explain records, reports, and medical instructions.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Considerable knowledge of, and skill in, the application of nursing theory, practice, principles, and techniques employed in the field of public health and related programs.
• Considerable knowledge of and ability to apply the principles and practices of public health.
• Knowledge of available resources and organizations and the ability to coordinate these as needed.
• General knowledge of current social and economic problems relating to public health, including health disparities.
• Ability to plan, coordinate, and oversee the work of others.
• Ability to deal tactfully with others and to exercise good judgment in appraising situations and making decisions.
• Ability to work in partnership with patients and with other service providers to elicit needed information and to maintain effective working relationships.
• Adequate computer skills to allow communication, patient record documentation, and accessing of information.
• Ability and flexibility to float for purposes of working in other nursing units of the DCoDPH as needed.

Pay

$66,016.00 - $112,148.00

Schedule

Primary work hours are between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM. Employee is subject to be called upon at any time to help the agency respond to a public health emergency, which may include but is not limited to outbreak investigations, staffing mass dispensing or immunization clinics, providing shelter services or other disaster relief, or incidents (man-made or natural and intentional or non-intentional) as they arise, or any public health response as requested by the Health Director. Emergency duty may require the employee to travel during inclement weather.

Special Requirements

All DCoDPH employees are required to comply and provide documented proof of the following:

• Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccination/immunity
• Varicella-Zoster Virus (Chicken Pox) vaccination/immunity
• Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
• Tuberculosis (TB) baseline screening within the last twelve (12) months prior to employment
• Hepatitis B vaccination/immunity – only required for DCoDPH employees with potential Bloodborne Pathogen (BBP) exposures

Proof of vaccination and tuberculosis screening must be provided to Human Resources within seven (7) business days prior to the date of employment.