Senior Registered Nurse - Parkland Health Cancer Center

Responsibilities

Serves as a patient advocate, by focusing on patient needs, patient rights, confidentiality, and religious and cultural preferences. Maintains positive working relationships with all Parkland internal and external customers, employees, etc. Serves as a resource for patients and other healthcare team members. Provides patient care educational information and training to patient and family members. May serve as a resource for specific clinical patient care issues. May participate in community outreach activities (such as health fairs, community collaborations or outreach clinics) as assigned. Maintains and implements knowledge of applicable rules, regulations, policies, laws and guidelines that impact or govern nursing practice, and ensures the hospital and Parkland are in compliance. This includes EMTALA, Order of Productive Custody, Memorandum of Transfer and APOWW. Develops effective internal controls that promote adherence to applicable state/federal laws and the program requirements of accreditation agencies and federal, state, and private health plans. Maintains and updates knowledge of sanitation, infection control, safety, supplies, equipment, appropriate utilization of supplies and materials. Performs appropriate patient assessments meeting admission and discharge criteria, provide safe medication administration using the patients six (6) rights, adequately perform POC monitoring and demonstrate safe infection control practices. Performs patient assessments related to cancer care and other medical diagnosis to include allergies and hypersensitivity reactions, physical, signs and symptoms, changes in activities of daily living, psychosocial, support network and financial dimensions across the continuum of care (diagnosis, treatment, surveillance, and end of life). Completes appropriate documentation by maintaining accurate and timely entries and notations in patient care records and hospital documents. Ensures that all records and documents meet the standards, goals, and objectives of Oncology Services and Parkland. Educates patients, families and significant others on cancer care, therapies, treatment side effects, interventions and prevention. Performs patient teaching with documented care plans that are disease site oriented as related to phase of care across the continuum and for discharge planning. Collaborates with wound care stoma and ENT nurses for performing wound, colostomy and tracheotomy care as directed. Manages triage for patients/families/other internal and external health care professionals to optimally navigate the health care system. Seeks and utilizes direction from more experienced staff and team members as needed. May work with other staff in providing direction to non-nursing staff. Participates in information exchanges with nursing and other Parkland staff that support the standards, missions, goals, and objectives of Oncology Services and Parkland. Identifies ways to improve work process and improve patient and customer satisfaction. Makes recommendations to supervisor, implements and monitors results as appropriate in support of the overall goals of Oncology Services and Parkland. Serves as a preceptor or trainer to newer nursing staff members. Serves as a Charge Nurse on rotation as necessary. Serves as a role model for oncology nursing. Serves as a resource to unit nurses. Stays abreast of the latest developments, advancements and trends in nursing practice by attending seminars/workshops, reading professional journals and actively participating in specialty nursing organizations. Keeps abreast of current clinical trials relevant to the patient population and specific cancer, communicating effectively with clinical trial staff. Maintains State of Texas Licensure as a Registered Nurse, plus any additional required licensures/certifications. Integrates knowledge gained into current work practices. Prepares and conducts an in-service educational program for Oncology Services, at least once per year. Will maintain current Commission on Cancer specific certification in the nurses specialty by an accredited certification program or will continue ongoing education by earning 12 cancer-related continuing education nursing contract hours per year or 36 cancer-related continuing education nursing contract hours each accreditation cycle (3 years). #LI-SY1 Parkland Health, one of the nation’s largest public hospital systems, is dedicated to delivering exceptional care to the Dallas community. A career at Parkland means joining a collaborative, engaged team focused on excellence, innovation, and patient-centered service. Our employees are supported with resources to grow, succeed, and make a meaningful impact every day.