JOB SUMMARY

At Houston Methodist, the Nurse Anesthetist II position, under the direction of the attending Anesthesiologist and Chair of the Department, provides pre-anesthesia, anesthesia and post-anesthesia services in a clinical, research and academic environment. This position affects direct patient care according to the nurse practice act of the State of Texas and Houston Methodist Standards of Care policies and procedures. The Nurse Anesthetist position participates in the educational imperative of the Department of Anesthesiology.

PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Job responsibilities labeled EF capture those duties that are essential functions of the job.

PEOPLE - 20%

• Uses therapeutic communication, which includes active listening and teaching, to establish a relationship with patients, families and interprofessional health care team to collaborate on the appropriate anesthesia plan. Educates patient and family regarding expectations before and after surgery. (EF)
• Provides leadership as clinical resource, interprofessional consult, and patient advocate. Teaches others to critically think by verbally expressing rationale for decisions and following up by coaching and critiquing colleagues’ thought processes in complex situations. (EF)
• Communicates in an active, positive and effective manner to all health care team members, asking them if they need help, constructively influencing team morale. Contributes towards improvement of department score for turnover/retention/employee engagement. (EF)

SERVICE - 20%

• Performs safe and effective care and delegated functions under physician supervision and treatment as defined by the Texas Nursing Board to practice guidelines. Performs thorough and complete pre-anesthesia assessments and develops appropriate anesthesia plans. (EF)
• Places and maintains epidural catheters as adjuncts to anesthesia. Places and monitors arterial and central venous catheters including pulmonary artery catheters. (EF)
• Role models behaviors and skills, through peer-to-peer accountability, towards improving score for patient satisfaction. (EF)

QUALITY/SAFETY - 35%

• Administers anesthesia in accordance with clinical privileges, including induction, maintenance and emergence. Selects, obtains and administers anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs and fluids necessary to manage the anesthetic, to maintain the patient’s physiologic homeostasis, and to correct abnormal responses to the anesthesia or surgery. Documents pertinent information on the patient’s medical record. (EF)
• Monitors, interprets and evaluates, ongoing data, as appropriate, for the type of anesthetic and specific patient needs. Provides expertise in airway management both in and out of the surgical suite catheters. (EF)
• Responds to emergency situations by providing airway management, administration of emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques. (EF)
• Actively participates in meeting quality and safety targets and initiatives, reporting near misses and identifying solutions by collaborating with the interprofessional health care team. Uses teachable moments to improve safety. (EF)

FINANCE - 10%

• Implements department strategies to achieve financial target on entity scorecard and mentors others to do the same through timely documentation of care, optimizing efficiency, and other areas according to department specifications. (EF)

GROWTH/INNOVATION - 15%

• May serve on a variety of institutional committees and participate as instructors in staff development and continuing education programs for both professional and non-professional staff members. (EF)
• Maintains personal professional development through organization membership. Attends workshops and other educational programs, to ensure awareness of current developments and trends. (EF)
• Identifies and assumes responsibility of own learning needs, consults with healthcare team experts and seeks continuing education opportunities to meet those needs. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates My Development plan on an on-going basis. (EF)

This job description is not intended to be all inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

o Bachelor of Science degree or higher from an accredited School of Nursing

o Completion of Nurse Anesthesia program

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

o One year of anesthesia experience preferred which includes residency experience

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  Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Event, etc) regardless of selection above.