Overview

The Reid Heart Center Cardiovascular Thoracic Clinic Office Registered Nurse will demonstrate in depth knowledge of cardiovascular thoracic services, disease processes, surgical recovery and be able to accurately assess patient/family health literacy levels and provide cardiothoracic surgery specific education using different teaching modalities based on individual needs.

Responsibilities

Create an environment of patient centered care with a focus on patient involvement in the development of goals of care and self -management strategies. Demonstrate basic knowledge of ECGs and telemetry. Provide basic wound care including but not limited to staple and suture removal as well as wound vac management. Effectively collaborate with inpatient and outpatient clinic providers and staff to coordinate the transition from inpatient to outpatient setting. Work with confidential and controlled information including patient records, physician/provider DEA numbers and prescriptions. Maintain competency in skills and knowledge specific to chest tube management, including but not limited to: Heimlich valves, dressing changes and assistance with removal of chest tubes. Provide patient education in both pre and post operative cardiovascular thoracic patients. Oversee patient’s charts for appointments and pre-load information into Epic EMR. Schedule appropriate testing prior to appointment. Ensure patient pre and post operative appointments are scheduled appropriately (i.e., pre op testing, post op clinic visits, cardiology and primary care follow up and any other specialist needed at discharge). Obtain basic vital signs on patients (weight, BP, EKG, etc.). Triage phone calls from patients. Perform medication reconciliation, obtain health and surgical history, and smoking history questionnaire. Maintain patient ARMUS database accurately. Manage prescription refills with patient/pharmacy. Knowledge of insurance authorization process/requirement for inpatient surgical admission. Obtain necessary insurance authorizations. Communicate with OR team when insurance authorizations have been approved. Ensure all loops of communication have been closed regarding surgery postings and OR scheduling (pre op testing, physician orders, consents, education, scheduling). Ensure all consents (ex. Blood and general consent) are signed prior to surgery and turned into registration.  Maintain communication with CVT team regarding consults and urgent OR postings. Manage in-baskets for urgent needs and document all patient/provider interactions in the EMR.  Timely scheduling of referrals from referral queue, while prioritizing the needs of urgent vs. non urgent cases.  Attend huddle and department meetings as scheduled by clinic manager.  Complete professional development programs as requested/needed. Abide by OSHA and HIPAA guidelines. Maintain patient and practice confidentiality. Maintain professional demeanor with patients, caregivers, physicians, and coworkers.

Qualifications

RN Degree and current NC or Compact State License required.  ACLS and BLS certification required.  Minimum 3 years of clinic/medical surgical nursing experience is required.  Two years of Cardiovascular-Thoracic nursing experience preferred.  At least 1 year of clinic experience preferred.