POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

General Duties: Under the supervision of the MCHC Director of Nursing and the Department Nurse Team Leader, the MCHC Licensed Practical Nurse will work as an integral member of an interdisciplinary health care team by assisting in direct patient care, including the administration of prescribed treatments, medications, patient education activities, patient triage and general clinic/patient-flow activities.

Specific Duties

• Works in harmony with other healthcare professionals, clinic staff and patients by exhibiting a positive attitude and a commitment to MCHC’s mission, vision, and values.
• Understands organizational goals and performs job duties in a manner consistent with those goals.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the scope of practice for all nursing disciplines as described in the Nurse Practice Act.
• Demonstrates the ability to effectively organize and prioritize work, and the ability to utilize available resources to assist in the efficient delivery of clinical services.
• Actively assists with routine clinical tasks; maintains and keeps up-to-date emergency supplies, in stock and sample medications inventory, immunizations, nursing forms, the sterile instrument inventory, the equipment inventory, and related maintenance schedules, and appropriate exam/treatment room inventory.
• Displays an understanding of appropriate nurse-provider ratios, skill levels and cost-effectiveness strategies.
• Demonstrates acceptable professional conduct, interpersonal and communication skills with patients, peers, and other healthcare professional; exhibits the caring qualities consistent with MCHC’s values.
• Meets deadlines to maintain current license and required annual training.
• Actively pursues continuing education to improve professional skills and job performance; identifies own areas of needed improvement, formulates self-improvement goals and works toward meeting those goals.
• Utilizes appropriate methods to deal with stressful situations.
• Maintains professional appearance and follows established dress code.
• Maintains patient and staff confidentiality.
• Demonstrates reliability and dependability in meeting work schedules, the fulfillment of responsibilities and commitments in daily attendance, punctuality, productivity and efficiency.
• Maintains awareness of new information applicable to the position’s duties and responsibilities (e.g., policies, meeting minutes, procedures, memoranda, protocols, etc.).
• Demonstrates a strong interest in working with both an interdisciplinary health care team and a diverse patient population.
• Follows established clinical protocols and performs accurate and through examinations and work-ups of all patients.
• Accurately and thoroughly assesses current patient status, including the patient’s preventive health status, and communicates needs to the attending medical provider.
• Assists in the provision of comprehensive patient education bases on an assessment of patient needs and established clinical standards of nursing care; thoroughly documents all patient education activities in the medical record.
• Provides skilled professional nursing care as demonstrated by safely and accurately performing required technical skills (sterile dressings, pulmonary treatments, etc.), and the safe and accurate administration of medications, IV fluids, and immunizations.
• Thoroughly and accurately documents all provider orders, nursing actions and interventions taken in the medical record following established guidelines, and with the use of approved abbreviations.
• Assists in patient triage, both on-site and by telephone, to enhance the appropriateness and timeliness of care pursuant to established nursing protocols and standing orders.
• Anticipates the needs of medical providers related to patient visits, and assists providers in the delivery of patient care.
• Demonstrates the ability to perform effectively and appropriately in emergency situations.
• Promptly informs the department Nurse Team leader/Director of Nursing of real and/or potential clinic problem.
• Demonstrates the ability to perform effectively and appropriately in emergency situations.
• Participates in all staff educational and in-service training programs.
• Assumes an active role as a patient advocate to ensure that individual health needs are being met, including responding to patient telephone messages and requests for information in a timely and professional manner.
• Keeps patients and family members informed of situations that may affect the clinical visit (e.g., prover medical emergency, longer than usual waiting times, seeing a provider other thatn the one schedules, etc.).
• Performs approved laboratory testing, including the proper handling and labeling of all test specimens, as directed by MCHC policies and procedures and established by CLIA/JCAHO guidlines.
• Assists in the orientation of new nursing staff.
• Displays both the competency and willingness to be assigned to other clinical departments as needed.
• Utilizes slow times to constructively enhance clinic operations, and to assist other departments when time and workload permits.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Position Supervised by:

The Licensed Practical Nurse will receive general supervision from the MCHC Director of Nursing, and on-site supervisor from the Department Nurse Team Leader.

Personnel Supervised by this position:

None