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Northeast Georgia Health System is rooted in a foundation of improving the health of our communities.

About the Role:

Job Summary

The Trauma Surgical Unit is a 20-room nursing unit. On Trauma Surgical, as part of a verified Level 1 Trauma Center, exceptional care is delivered to a vast array of trauma and acute care surgery patients, including, but not limited to:

• Trauma surgery and related multi-system injuries

• Orthopedic trauma and related injuries

• Emergent and scheduled acute care surgery

• Other Neurosurgical and Vascular surgical patients, as well as limited medical overflow

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Licensure or other certifications: Licensed to practice as an RN in Georgia. Professional certification in either a clinical or leadership specialty within two (2) years of hire.

• Educational Requirements: Bachelors Degree. A BSN in nursing or within three (3) years of hire into the position.

• Minimum Experience: Three (3) years of direct care RN nursing experience in an acute care setting.

• Other:

Preferred Job Qualifications

• Preferred Licensure or other certifications:

• Preferred Educational Requirements: Masters Degree (Nursing or other if possessing a BSN) within five (5) years of hire.

• Preferred Experience: Charge Nurse or supervisory experience. 

• Other: Professional organization membership within three months of hire into the role.

Job Specific and Unique Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Meets all competency requirements defined by unit (i.e., BLS, ACLS, PALS, etc.)

• Proactive, engaged, visible leader recognized as having excellent follow through on issues impacting care delivery

• Ability to communicate effectively. Good written and oral communication skills

• Customer service abilities including effective listening skills and service recovery

• Critical thinking skills, decisive judgment and the ability to work with minimal supervision in a fast paced clinical environment

• Ability to remain calm during stressful situations

• Skill and ability to instruct, direct and evaluate employees

• Skill in providing professional “specialty” nursing care to patients

• Skill in supervision (e.g. hire, train, assign and review work, motivate, prepare performance evaluations and effectively handle disciplinary actions)

• Skill in adapting nursing care to the emotional needs and behavior of patients

• Skill in tailoring communication and performance feedback to the individual employee

• Skill in communicating orally with a variety of people answering questions and explaining information and decisions. Never uses only written communication to communicate sensitive information

• Skill in coordinating patient care services with other departments

• Skill/competency in use of computer software program/systems impacting unit performance/management

• Ability to monitor and evaluate nursing care provided to patients

• Ability to identify, plan and coordinate services within department

• Ability to provide consultation to staff, patients and the public

• Ability to direct the training of professional and nonprofessional personnel

• Ability to provide staffing and scheduling functions, ensuring adherence to labor productivity targets

• Ability to work effectively with a variety of professional and paraprofessional staff

• Ability to give oral and written instruction in exact detail
   

Essential Tasks and Responsibilities

• Coordinates activities of patient care team on the unit and actively monitors the quality of care delivered during their shift.   

• Supports the organization's "customer-centric" service program. Conducts daily rounds on the unit to identify and address patient/family/physician concerns. Interfaces with patients and families to ensure that care is consistent with their expectations and the organization's quality and customer service expectations.

• Assesses, coaches and evaluates staff’s level of clinical practice. Ensures that nurses are current in competency, assessments, licensure, certifications, and other annual training. Actively works with his/her leadership team to coach staff, recommends and design education and training to meet the clinical needs of the patients/staff served by the unit.

• Routinely interacts with physician customers. Supports his/her nursing staff in maintaining effective and positive interactions with physicians. Coordinates communication between unit team members and attending physicians or clinical ancillary staff to ensure appropriateness of care and outcome planning for the patients on their unit(s). 

• Coordinates activities by scheduling work assignments, setting priorities, and directing the work of subordinate employees. Participates actively in the planning and distribution of patient assignments. Attends daily bed huddles during shift and facilitates decision-making with respect to patient flow.

• Maintains regular ongoing contact/communication with all levels of nursing staff. Responsible for working with leadership team to identify employee strengths, development needs, skills, interpersonal and personal style and relate those to the business needs and challenges faced by the team.

• Actively supports and promotes a professional practice model that encourages staff participation in the development of clinical standards, and is collaborative, collegial and utilizes best practice research.

• Ensures compliance with established hospital policies, procedures, objectives, quality controls and regulatory standards and requirements. Oversees completion of unit specific administrative tasks (i.e., PI audits, code cart). 

• Knowledgeable of organizational policies with respect to work rules and discipline and is responsible for providing progressive discipline to employee when indicated.

• Provides direct patient care as needed and is responsible for assessing, planning, and evaluating patients; remains informed about the status of all patient during the shift.

• Proactively addresses potential customer service issues.

• Engages directly with physician and staff to ensure adherence to evidence-based practice standards as wells as organizational priorities to meet pillar metrics associated with safety-quality, service excellence, employee and physician engagement and throughput. 

• Monitors staff performance/competency and provides feedback in timely manner.

• Assesses effectiveness of the staffing plan/assignments taking into consideration the acuity of the patient and the budgeted labor standards.

• Conducts/completes environment of care assessment.

• Successfully completes mentoring class. Assists with mentoring of Registered Nurses when other mentor resources have been assigned. May mentor more as desired.

Physical Demands

• Weight Lifted: Up to 50 lbs, Frequently 31-65% of time

• Weight Carried: Up to 20 lbs, Occasionally 0-30% of time

• Vision: Moderate, Frequently 31-65%of time

• Kneeling/Stooping/Bending: Occasionally 0-30%

• Standing/Walking: Frequently 31-65%

• Pushing/Pulling: Occasionally 0-30%

• Intensity of Work: Frequently 31-65%

• Job Requires: Reading, Writing, Reasoning, Talking, Keyboarding, Driving

Working at NGHS means being part of something special: a team invested in you as a person, an employee, and in helping you reach your goals. 

NGHS: Opportunities start here.

Northeast Georgia Health System is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not tolerate discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected classification or status.