Flight Registered Nurse (RN-CN1), Air Care & Mobile Care, PRN, ONA

Job Description

Flight Registered Nurse (RN), PRN, Air Care & Mobile Care

UC Health is hiring a PRN Flight Registered Nurse (RN) for the Air Care & Mobile Care department at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The Flight Nurse has gained the knowledge and technical skills to provide advanced care for patients aged neonate through geriatric, in complex environments: in hospitals and at accident scenes. By partnering with MDs & APNs and sometimes with EMTs and paramedics, the Flight Nurse provides competent and compassionate clinical care in the most appropriate mode of transport. In addition to maintaining high degrees of certifications, education, clinical competence & customer service, this position has many additional, non-clinical, duties such as: education, committee involvement, performance improvement, and community outreach. The Flight Nurse maintains and demonstrates the highest standards of nursing professionalism and clinical competence.

About University of Cincinnati Medical Center

As the pioneering hospital of UC Health, Greater Cincinnati's academic health system, UC Medical Center has served Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky for nearly 200 years. Each year, hundreds of thousands of patients receive care from our world-renowned clinicians and care teams utilizing the most advanced medical knowledge and technology available. UC Medical Center has 724 licensed beds and more than 5,800 employees.

Unit Details:

• Air Care & Mobile Care has provided the Greater Cincinnati area with specialized medical transport services for patients in our community for almost 40 years.
• Air Care & Mobile Care is the only service in the region to be accredited infour levelsof medical transport by theCommission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems.
• Air Care & Mobile Care specializes in caring for and transporting critically injured and sick patients, wherever they may be, by bringing the world-class care of UC Medical Center to the patient.

Responsibilities

PATIENT POPULATION - (CLINICAL ONLY)

• Engages in population-appropriate communication.
• Has knowledge of growth and development milestones and tasks.
• Gives clear instructions to patients/families regarding treatment.
• Involves family/guardian in the assessment, initial treatment, and continuing care of the patient.
• Identifies any physical limitations of the patient and deploys intervention when necessary.
• Recognizes and responds appropriately to patients/families with behavioral health problems.
• Interprets population-related data and plans care appropriately.
• Identifies and responds appropriately to different needs resulting from, unique psychological needs or those associated with religious/cultural norms.
• Performs treatments, administers medication, and operates equipment safely.
• Recognizes and responds to signs/symptoms of abuse or neglect.

Clinical Judgement:

• Satisfactorily completes initial orientation.
• Works collaboratively with all partners (internal & external) to provide exceptionally excellent patient care on each encounter.
• Follows ACMC, UCMC, and UCH policies and procedures.
• Obtains and maintains knowledge and skills to work with cardiac & respiratory devices such as ventilators, Impella, LVAD, ECMO, heart monitors, pacer, etc.
• Reports incidents when patient care delivery did not meet standards or expected outcomes.

Advocacy (Moral Advocacy):

• Works for the benefit of others, putting patients and families first.
• Considers safety & the needs/desires of the patient and family when making all decisions.
• Prioritizes and balances the needs of the patient with those of safety, standards of care, professionalism, and strategic direction of ACMC & UCH.
• Discusses moral/ethical decisions with partners as needed to meet the needs of the patient.
• Puts the patient's end of end-of-life care decisions above one's own choices and cares for patients as they desire.
• Represents patient when the patient cannot represent self.
• Maintains an awareness of patient's rights and patient confidentiality.

Caring Practices:

• Focus on the usual and customary needs of the patient at the present.
• Provides safe care based on established protocols, procedures, standards, and orders.
• Maintains a safe physical environment ensuring seatbelt use and ear protection.
• Completes all daily and periodic inventory, aircraft, equipment, and supply checks.
• Introduces self and transport team to EMS and hospital staff during transports.
• Listens to the complete patient report, demonstrating care and understanding of the report; even if direct patient care needs to be provided during the report.
• Recognizes that EMS and hospital personnel are often very stressed by situations that we respond to regularly.
• Care for their emotional needs as well as the patient by recognizing their emotions, communicating well and politely, explaining what we are doing, and asking for their assistance when appropriate.
• Recognize that care for the referring team (EMS, Hospital) does not end when we transport the patient.
• Provide appropriate follow-up to the referring agency.
• Provide support and care to your peers, resident physicians, and others understanding that their experience level may be well below yours.
• Ask for assistance when you need someone to care for you.

Collaboration:

• Works with others (e.g. patients, families, medical crew, EMS, hospitals, pilots, leadership) to encourage each person's contribution toward achieving optimal patient goals and department/system excellence.
• Professionally accepts feedback from and provides feedback to peers and managers.
• Participates in discussions regarding patient care and/or practice issues.
• Maintains cooperative relationship with multidisciplinary care team; remains open to team members' contributions.

Systems thinking body of knowledge that allows nurse to manage environmental and system resources that exist for the patient, family and staff within or across health care and non-health care systems:

• Considers all aspects of the patient during a transport; medical care, emotional care, safety, admission, logistics, and uses all available resources to safely and efficiently, care for and transport patients with urgency
• Works with peers and managers to maintain operations of the department at all times, including; times of operational change, low staffing, challenges
• Recognizes that everyone is here to take good care of patients and works with all disciplines to excel
• Completes charting and paperwork on day of transport to support clinical care, handoff of care, legal requirements and billing
• Assists pilots and mechanics as requested for any appropriate duties
• Works with communications center to efficiently communicate flight and transport related information.
• Does not burden communication center with other phone calls or requests
• Takes broken medical equipment out of service, tagging appropriately and getting to clinical engineering as appropriate
• Works with supply inventory process to maintain medical supplies at the base.
• Recognizes that none of this is: Someone else's job It is yours.
• Sends EMS equipment back to them after flights or in assistance with the ED to maintain customer service
• Works with PR/Outreach committee in providing LZ classes and educational outreach.
• Completes follow letters and phone calls per established process
• Transports on ambulances when safety or patient care needs require it.
• Recognizes that the role of Flight Nurse is a system support role and your expertise may be needed to assist in any nursing unit of the hospital and many out of hospital areas such as MCI events

Response to Diversity and the sensitivity to recognize, appreciate and incorporate differences into provision of care:

• Includes cultural differences, spiritual beliefs, gender, race, ethnicity, lifestyle socioeconomic status, age and values in provision of care
• Recognizes and nicely/professionally communicates with; EMS, RNs, MDs and other people at referring agencies, recognizing that their level of care is different than ours

Facilitation of Learning:

• Maintains all required certifications and licenses Obtains appropriate state(s) paramedic certification/licensure within 18 months of start date with ACMC
• Completes all mandatory education, on time
• Follows planned educational programs
• Sees patient family education as a separate task from delivery of care
• Provides data to increase patient's understanding
• Has basic knowledge of the totality of the education needs
• Focuses on a nurse's perspective and sees the patient as a passive recipient

Clinical Inquiry (Innovator/ Evaluator):

• Create practice changes through research utilization and experiential learning Follow standards and guidelines
• Implements clinical changes and research-based practices developed by others
• Recognizes that the ACMC Professional Practice Committee (PPC) is the group to introduce new clinical care policies and processes.
• All new care guidelines go through the PPC for approval.
• Participates in the performance improvement initiatives of the department.
• Recognizes the need for further learning to improve patient care
• Recognizes obvious changing patient situations (e.g. deterioration, crisis)
• Needs and seeks help to identify patient problem

Qualifications

Education:

• Graduate from an accredited school of nursing, minimum required
• Bachelor's degree, preferred

Experience:

• Five or more years of critical care or emergency nursing required
• Previous paramedic experience preferred
• Previous rotor-wing experience preferred

Required Skills and Knowledge:

• Ability to make independent, clinically, and operationally competent decisions in a challenging environment.
• Ability to adapt to stressful situations; capable of identifying strengths and weaknesses and seeking appropriate resources.
• Ability to lead a team approach to patient care.
• Effective verbal and interpersonal communication skills are critical.

Licenses and Certifications:

• Licensed to practice as a Registered Nurse in the State of Ohio.
• Licensed to practice as a Registered Nurse in Indiana and Kentucky within 3 months of hire.
• National Registry Paramedic License within 18 months of hire. Once achieved associate must obtain a Kentucky Paramedic License within 3 months. If the associate has a current National Registry Paramedic License, a Kentucky Paramedic Licensure must be obtained within 3 months of hire.
• CEN, CCRN, CFRN, CTRN or approved equivalent certification required prior to hire.
• Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Trauma Course (TNATC), TNCC with skills lab or equivalent advanced trauma course required prior to hire.
• Successful completion of Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP) or equivalent as determined by department time frame.