General Summary

This role is considered the minimum role for all nurses who have greater than 12 months experience. Provides and coordinates independent care to patients within a clinical specialty as a fully effective and participative member of the multidisciplinary patient care services team.

Principal Responsibilities and Tasks

The following statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. These are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by personnel so classified.

Clinical Practice:

1. Provides independent care to unit specific patient population; serves as clinical resource for others, utilizes and integrates evidence into practice, functions effectively in roles specific to unit (such as arrest team for ICU, triage for ED, etc).
   1. Accountable to patients and families for the processes and outcomes of care during an episode of care.
   2. Accountable to peers for the advancement of group practice on the unit, and to the nurse manager for the totality of work performance.
2. Serves as an effective primary coordinating nurse; collaborates with interdisciplinary team to plan and coordinate care addressing patient/family needs.
3. Serves as clinical resource for others.

Service/Quality:

1. Assists in team development and evaluation of the Relationship-Based Care model; suggests methods for improvement. Participates in collection of data related to Relationship-Based Care outcomes (e.g. hand offs, medication safety, etc).
2. Participates in implementation efforts addressing Nursing Sensitive Quality Indicators (NSQI).
3. Participates and contributes to Performance Improvement, or Evidence Based Practice, or research at the unit level.
4. Complies with standards and participates with unit level activities for regulatory compliance.

Unit Operations:

1. Supports charge nurse decisions; performs charge role for assigned shifts as needed.
2. Follows and supports the AACN guidelines for Healthy Work Environment (communication, collaboration, effective decision making, recognition, leadership, staffing); participates as team member focusing on elements within the Healthy Work Environment.

Professional Development:

1. Serves as preceptor, coach, mentor to new nurses and students. Contributes to ancillary personnel skills and development, attends educational offerings and in-services independently.

Patient Safety

Ensures patient safety in the performance of job functions and through participation in hospital, department or unit patient safety initiatives.

1. Acts to correct observed risks to patient safety.
2. Reports adverse events and near misses to appropriate management authority.
3. Identifies possible risks in processes, procedures, devices and communicates the same to those in charge.