Sr. Professional Staff Nurse - Post Surgical Unit (Harrisburg Hospital)

About the Unit

AG7 is a 42-bed post-surgical care unit dedicated to delivering high-quality, compassionate care to a diverse adult and geriatric patient population. The unit specializes in orthopedic (bone, joint, and spine), general surgery, kidney transplant, and urology patients, with orthopedics, general surgery, and urology representing its primary areas of expertise. As part of UPMC, AG7 supports comprehensive, patient-centered kidney transplant care grounded in clinical excellence and research advancement, aligning closely with UPMC’s Bone, Joint, and Spine programs, including Joint Commission–certified hip and knee replacement and spine surgery programs. Patients benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, advanced diagnostics, minimally invasive techniques, and evidence-based treatments. The unit fosters a culture of teamwork, shared decision-making, professional growth, and mutual support while maintaining a strong commitment to employee well-being and work-life balance.

About the Role

The Senior Professional Staff Nurse is a Registered Nurse and a member of the care delivery team, responsible for setting the standards for the level and quality of care. This role encompasses leadership, partnership, collaboration, and supervision, managing and providing patient care activities for a group of patients and their families through independent judgment, communication, and collaboration with all team members. The Senior Professional Staff Nurse establishes and maintains collaborative relationships with physicians, other health care providers, patients, and their families to achieve desired patient outcomes throughout the continuum of care.

Responsibilities

• Identifies opportunities for clinical quality and workplace improvement, applying evidence-based practice as a regular aspect of professional practice.
• Serves on or leads teams that launch innovations in patient care or support a healthy workforce.
• Acts as a role model of professional nursing practice in areas such as clinical expertise, teaching, specialized resource nursing, and/or evidence-based practice.
• Provides appropriate feedback to all members of the health care team and participates in the nursing peer review process.
• Promotes change that enhances the quality of patient care and the unit environment.
• Demonstrates highly developed clinical assessment and analytical skills within the context of Relationship Based Care.
• Actively participates in shared governance at the unit level and serves on hospital-wide councils.
• Precepts students, graduate nurses, and new hires, analyzing clinical and behavioral situations to identify learning opportunities.
• Regularly seeks feedback on performance and applies continuous professional improvement.
• Supports continuous learning by sharing research, materials from professional organizations, presenting on the unit, and supporting journal clubs.
• Applies the nursing process within the framework of Relationship Based Care to create a healing environment, formulating daily goals and a plan of care that involves the patient as a partner.
• Practices solid communication skills, articulating and translating the patient’s condition to other care providers and making recommendations for changes in patient care and unit practices.
• Ensures patient documentation is comprehensive and promotes communication between caregivers.
• Demonstrates critical thinking in identifying clinical, social, safety, psychological, and spiritual issues for patient care within an episode of care.
• Incorporates national professional organization goals as well as business unit and health system goals to improve patient safety, quality, and satisfaction.
• Creates a caring and compassionate patient-focused experience by building healing relationships with patients, families, and colleagues.
• Builds and mends relationships among colleagues within the framework of a healthy workplace, role-modeling cultural awareness and addressing horizontal violence and impairment.
• Maintains a balance between work and personal life through prioritization and delegation of responsibilities.
• Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the ages of patients served, including assessing data reflective of the patient’s status and interpreting information to meet age-specific needs.

Requirements

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience as a Registered Nurse.
• BSN preferred.
• Must obtain a Solid/Strong/Good or higher on a Professional Staff Nurse Performance Evaluation to be promoted to this level and maintain this rating on annual evaluations.
• Ability to establish and maintain positive, caring relationships with executives, managers, physicians, non-physician providers, ancillary and support staff, other departments, and patients/families.
• Ability to work productively and effectively within a complex environment, handling multiple/changing priorities and specialized equipment.
• Exemplary clinical judgment with critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving abilities related to various aspects of patient care.
• Critical thinking skills necessary to exercise and lead others in the application of the nursing process.
• Mobility and visual manual dexterity, with physical stamina for frequent walking, standing, lifting, and positioning of patients.
• Annual completion of a professional contribution selected from department, hospital, or system goals and approved by Unit Director, or UPMC-approved nursing certification required within 1 year of hire/transfer and must be maintained, or certification not required if a Master’s in nursing or DNP is held. If a BSN is held, a Master’s degree in a related field may be substituted in lieu of certification.

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances

• Current licensure as a Registered Professional Nurse either in the state where the facility is located or in a state covered by a licensure compact agreement.
• UPMC-approved nursing certification preferred.
• CPR required based on AHA standards that include both a didactic and skills demonstration component within 30 days of hire (Basic Life Support (BLS) or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)).
• Act 34 clearance required.