Under the general supervision of the Ambulatory Care Nurse Manager, Ambulatory Care Clinical Nurses plan, direct, and coordinate the daily patient care activities. Ensures adherence to established policies, protocols, regulations, and standards. Provides nursing care, within scope of practice to patients in accordance with standards of nursing care and primary care providers’ orders. Will serve as the clinical oversight and will receive medication direction from the medical staff. Upholds the principles of Winslow Indian Health Care Center, Inc. (“WIHCC”) Vision, Mission, and Value Statements. Maintains confidentiality of all privileged information at all times.
This list of duties and responsibilities is illustrative only of the tasks performed by this position and is not all-inclusive.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
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Maintains regular attendance and punctuality.
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For new graduate registered nurses: participates in the Clinical Nurse Resident program, working closely with Nurse Educator, assigned nurse preceptor, and Ambulatory Care Nurse Manager.
- Performs clinical procedures of taking vital signs, measuring heights and weights, testing capillary blood glucose, and obtaining blood draws in the outpatient setting.
- Triages and provides immediate/urgent treatment, according to the status of patients and level of care needed within scope of practice and learning.
- Completes patient and provider chart reviews.
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Completes wound care as per orders.
- Prepares patients for tests, exams, and treatment; gives medications as ordered via approved route; understands side effects of these medications.
- Greets patients and provides nursing care to patients with a variety of injuries and illness.
- Maintains health records by proper and complete documentation of nursing assessment, observations, interventions, therapeutic measures and patient education.
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Set-ups and operates specialized equipment, such as cardiac monitors, defibrillators, breathing machines, EKG machines, ventilators, etc.
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Provides counseling and teaching to patients and families on preventive, curative and rehabilitative measures involved in health care.
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Observes patients for conditions that require emergency measures, interprets data, establishes and monitors intravenous therapy which may include medication(s) and intervals as necessary; understands side effects.
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Shares all pertinent clinical measures and appropriate patient information with the patient care team; consults charge nurse or provider on all abnormal or unusual findings to determine appropriate plan of care.
- Performs intravenous cannula insertion for IV therapy and venipuncture for blood draws.
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Safely and correctly prepares, administers and monitors prescribed oral medications, subcutaneous (SQ), intramuscular (IM) intravenous (IV) medication and oxygen therapy.
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Maintains professional knowledge and skill in nursing by attending the continuing education, staff meetings, workshops, and webinars provided by the SDPI Program.
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Adheres to all HIPAA and HITECH rules and regulations.
- Requires completion of tasks or duties assigned by a supervisor.
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Serves as medical interpreter for Navajo-speaking patients as needed,
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Upholds all principles of confidentiality and patient care to the fullest extent.
- Adheres to all professional and ethical behavior standards of the healthcare industry.
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Adheres to WIHCC’s Personnel Policies and Procedures, departmental policies, rules, and regulations.
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Interacts in an honest, trustworthy and dependable manner with patients, employees, visitors, and vendors.
- Possesses cultural awareness and sensitivity.
- Maintains compliance with all Human Resources requirements.
- Performs other duties as assigned such as rotating out to the satellite clinics.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor of Science or Associate Degree in Nursing is required. For experienced registered nurses: one year or greater of ambulatory care or related experience required. For new graduate registered nurses: recent graduation from an accredited nursing program and willingness to learn. Bilingual skills in English and Navajo language preferred. Current BLS/CPR required. For all positions, RNs must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). In addition, they must possess a current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States. Must maintain a valid unrestricted and insurable driver's license. Must successfully pass a background investigation and maintain suitable requirements for a Child Care position. This position is considered as a Child Care position, which requires a satisfactory background check investigation and is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, as amended (henceforth referred as the ICPFVP Act).
Knowledge, Skills, Ability
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Knowledge of and ability to independently assess the patient’s educational need for the purpose of assisting the client toward his/her goal, preventing complications, and improving quality of life.
- Knowledge of documentation standards and ability to accurately and completely document clinical data relating to the patient and/or family.
- Knowledge of, and skill sufficient to recognize deviations from normal; sufficient to warrant immediate medication of the patient care plans, with delayed notification of the team leader for concurrence in the modification of the plan.
- Knowledge of clinic accreditation requirements (including patient education, GPRA standards) and other regulatory agencies.
- Knowledge of practices and procedures, medical equipment and supplies for the purpose of carrying out nursing care for patients.
- Knowledge of pharmacology and skill sufficient to administer prescribed medications and observed or the desired action, dosage and adversities of the medications.
- Knowledge of established professional nursing principles, practice and procedures.
- Knowledge of strong work ethics in the workplace.
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Knowledge of basic applications of confidentiality.
- Knowledge of basic computer skills, e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
- Ability to be dependable in attendance and job performance.
- Ability to meet attendance, overtime (if necessary), and other reliability requirements of the job.
- Ability to analyze situations and adopt appropriate courses of action.
- Ability to work independently and meet strict time lines.
- Ability to make solid decisions and exercise independent judgment.
- Ability to accept and learn from feedback.
- Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to provide exemplary customer service at all times.
- Ability to interact positively with others and possess great interpersonal skills.
- Ability to multitask and perform well under pressure.
- Ability to have self-confidence.
- Ability to be a great team player.
- Ability to accept and learn from supervisor/peer critique.
- Ability to be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of the organization.
Physical Demands:
While performing the essential functions of this position, the employee is regularly required to walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects and equipment, reach with hands and arms, and communicate effectively by talking and hearing. The employee frequently must stand, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and may occasionally use taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move objects weighing up to 50 pounds.
Work Environment:
Work is performed in an office setting or outdoor work environment with moderate noise levels. Work environment may involve exposure to physical risks, such as blood borne pathogens, hazardous chemicals, or operating potential dangerous equipment, and requires adherence to all safety protocols. Required work schedules may include evening, weekend, overnight shifts, extended hours, or irregular schedules and rotation as operational needs dictate.
As required by P.L. 93-638, absolute preference will be given to qualified Navajo applicants. If there is no qualified Navajo applicant, preference will be given to qualified American Indian applicants.
