Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse

Description

Minimum Qualifications

Education Graduate from an accredited community college, junior college, college, university, or vocational nursing program approved by the appropriate State agency and accredited by the Commission on Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA) Experience A minimum of 24 months of full-time practical or vocational nurse experience within the last 36 months in a direct patient care clinical setting.

Licensure Current, full, active, and unrestricted license as a practical or vocational nurse.

Requirements

Core Duties Initiate, perform, and complete assigned duties in providing care to variable patient populations. Complete assigned patient care based on the patients' conditions, use judgment in selecting the appropriate order and sequence of procedures and treatments, and accurately recognize, report, and record relevant patient information. Observe, identify, and respond to the patient's needs for care, including medication, equipment-assisted care, and patient/family education. Prepare and administer prescribed medications within the practical nursing scope (oral, topical, subcutaneous, intramuscular, and/or intravenous) and perform treatments in accordance with established policies/procedures. Recognize urgent or emergent patient care situations, seek assistance of the RN and/or a privileged medical provider (MD/DO/NP/PA), and initiate appropriate emergency interventions as directed. Perform support duties for complex diagnostic tests and/or specialized practices or procedures, which include preparing the patient, assisting in the diagnostic examination, preparing and handling specialized instruments or other specialized equipment, and monitoring the patient's condition before, during, and following the procedure. Orient peers and ancillary personnel on unit policies and procedures, skills, and standards of practice. Integrate healthy work environment principles that result in improved patient healthcare delivery, patient and family education, and employee education. Obtains vital signs (Temp/BP/HR/Sp02/RR) along with other check-in procedures and documents all care in the patient's EHR. Possess knowledge of normal/abnormal vital sign markers and notify the provider when results are outside the normal range. Performs physical assessments on patients within their scope and as directed by supervising clinic personnel. Directs clinic programs/additional duties as directed by supervising clinic personnel. Serves as a practical nurse performing patient care and nursing administrative duties for outpatients in accordance with established policies, procedures, protocols, and guidelines. Performs a variety of diagnostic procedures; sets up procedure room and equipment; provides individualized patient teaching on preventative healthcare and health maintenance. Prepares and administers prescribed medications via oral, sublingual, intramuscular, intradermal, subcutaneous, topical, dermal, and inhalation routes within the practical nurse scope of practice. Assists with patient check-ins, verifies appropriate patient identifiers, and schedules appointments. Prepares and positions the patient for examinations and treatments. Participates and/or instructs in in-services, continuing education programs, and life support courses. Establishes and maintains good interpersonal relationships with co-workers, families, peers, and other healthcare team members. Ensure all equipment is properly cleaned and stored at the end of each work shift. Ensure preventive maintenance and routine cleaning are performed as directed and in accordance with infection control procedures. Ensure a safe work environment and practice safe working habits. The nurse shall provide patients with the utmost care and attention. All patients shall be assured of their privacy and personal dignity. Participate in professional development activities and maintain professional affiliations. Attend conferences and workshops related to duties. Maintain current knowledge of disease management, preventive screening standards and requirements, and current trends in population-based health management. Actively participate in ongoing improvement projects associated with disease management, prevention, and population-based health management. Adheres to and enforces all infection control procedures, including the use of personal protective equipment, waste disposal, and aseptic techniques. Performs medical record reviews and applies appropriate protocols and guidelines to determine medical needs. Maintains patient medical records in electronic format as well as hard copy, as required. Section flexibility. Contract personnel may be required to work in other MTF duty sections. Contract personnel shall be flexible in temporarily or permanently rotating to other duty sections upon notification from the COR. If they are moved into a new duty section, they will be required to undergo orientation to the new section.