Specialty Services Coordinator

Job Requirements

Position Summary

The Perioperative Registered Nurse Clinical Nurse demonstrates thorough knowledge of therapeutic Perioperative patient care, patient advocacy, clinical pathways/care maps, team dynamics, hospital systems, and serves as a resource for the registered nurse and support staff. Reports to the Operating Room Department Manager and to the Director of Perioperative Services. Collaborates with leadership in developing and implementing the Spartanburg Medical Center culture, Vision, Mission and goals.

The Perioperative Registered Nurse Clinical Nurse when functioning within the Specialty Service Coordinator role are also responsible for maintaining and updating specialty service surgeon preference cards within the electronic computer system; maintaining a high level of knowledge within the surgical specialty they are responsible for; collaborates with the OR CST Specialty Tech and SPD Specialty Tech within the assigned specialty service to maintain the surgical specialty instrumentation and equipment; and functions as a resource person for all department associates functioning within the surgical service they represent.

Minimum Requirements

Education

- Graduate of an accredited school of nursing

Experience

- Minimum of two years of consecutive circulating service as an RN
- Minimum of one year of service within the surgical specialty they will lead

License/Registration/Certifications

- Current Registered Nurse (R.N.) licensure in the state of South Carolina
- BLS and ACLS

Preferred Requirements

Preferred Education

- Bachelor of Nursing Science

Preferred Experience

- Three to five years of consecutive circulating service as an RN within the surgical specialty they will lead

Preferred License/Registration/Certifications

- Certification, as a Certified Nurse of the Operating Room (CNOR), conferred by the Association of perio-Operative Registered Nurse (AORN)
- Active member in of local or national chapter of the Association of perio-Operative Registered Nurse (AORN)

Core Job Responsibilities

All Perioperative Clinical Registered Nurses will:

- Successfully completes hospital and unit-based orientation programs
- Successfully completes annual hospital and unit-based required competencies and education
- Able to establish priorities and prepare for emergency situations during scheduled work hours and scheduled on-call hours to promote optimal patient outcomes by recognizing changes in the patient's health status.
- Accepts constructive feedback to improve job performance and collaborates with Manager, Assistant Manager, CUE and/or Charge Nurse to make necessary adjustments
- Acts as patient advocate while the procedure is being performed
- Actively supports the Level 1 Trauma program
- Administers and evaluates pharmacological and other therapeutic treatment regimens within the limitations of licensure and institutional policy.
- Assesses assigned patients' medical history, admitting diagnosis and physician's orders, evaluating diagnostic data, and interviewing patient and family to determine patient needs
- Assists in maintaining patient normothermia
- Assures continuity of care through effective decision making resulting in quality patient care
- Assures timeliness and efficiency of patient prep and procedure start.
- Attends staff meetings and/or reads staff meeting minutes to remain knowledgeable in department updates and practices
- Collaborates and works cooperatively with surgeons and other members of the multidisciplinary health care team to ensure efficient perioperative throughput.
- Collaborates with patients, families, and other members of the health care team to assess and determine patient priorities and treatments
- Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability by performing other duties as necessary
- Demonstrates knowledge of appropriate infection prevention strategies to prevent surgical site infections
- Demonstrates knowledge of professional nursing practice and theory.
- Demonstrates knowledge of standard and transmission-based precautions to reduce the risk of cross-contamination by using appropriate disinfectant according to pathogen present in the environment
- Demonstrates knowledge of the procedure being performed and anticipates the needs of the surgeon
- Demonstrates knowledge of use in application of the electrosurgical grounding pad; tourniquets and monitors before the procedure begins according to AORN standards
- Demonstrates knowledge of surgical equipment and instruments used during the surgical case
- Documents all aspects of patient care by following established charting procedure to show the patient's progress or any change in the patient's condition
- Documents per current standard including all quality parameters
- Ensures compliance with all clinical expectations regarding regulatory requirements such as: ER to OR patient throughput; improved on time starts initiatives; and reduction in surgical site infections
- Formulates a plan for professional growth
- Function as member of the surgical team in the role of a circulator
- Identifies appropriate standards of care, and/or collaborative clinical pathways to guide the plan of care
- Initiates and facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance outcome
- Knowledgeable in creating and maintaining the sterility of the surgical field and staff involved in the surgical case.
- Monitors the comfort of the patient and provides verbal and tactile reassurance to the patient
- Participates in the timeout process to verify the patient identity, procedure to be performed and surgical site
- Participates in infection prevention strategies by assuring in-between case and terminal room cleaning and preparation
- Participates in continuing education and achieving/maintaining certification
- Participates in data collection for research and using scientific findings to improve patient outcomes
- Performs instrument, sharps and sponge counts with the scrubbed person
- Performs surgical debriefing with surgeon to verify specimen
- Performs surgical prep based on surgeon preference and according to AORN standards
- Positions the patient, using appropriate equipment and anatomical principles to avoid patient injury
- Prioritizes nursing interventions for an assigned group of patients
- Properly cares for and prepares surgical specimens
- Provides clinical guidance to students, residents and ancillary staff
- Provides quality patient care in accordance with the standards devised and distributed via the Association of Peri-Operative Nurses (AORN)
- Providing health education and procedural teaching to patients and significant others
- Recognizes the importance of hand hygiene and performs appropriate hand hygiene techniques
- Responsible for demonstrating competency for all new equipment and procedures.
- Secures surgical dressings and/or applies immobilization devices.
- Seeks necessary assistance in completing nursing interventions to assure positive patient outcomes
- Supports Level 1 Trauma Center designation
- Updates and maintains accurate records of the surgeon's preferences
- May function as a scrubbed member of the surgical team after additional on the job education and maintains competency in on a yearly basis
- May administers moderate sedation medications after additional education and maintains competency in administration and patient monitoring on a yearly basis

Specialty Service Coordinator Responsibilities:

- Assists with orientation of new associates and continuing education of current associates to the surgical specialty they lead within the OR
- Collaborates with outside vendor representative when needed to facilitate availability of appropriate equipment, supplies or instrumentation required for the case within the specialty-service they lead
- Collaborates with Perioperative Department Educators to facilitate training for all department associates to any new piece of equipment, instrumentation, supply or new process within surgical specialty they lead within the OR
- Collaborates with the surgeon, Sterile Process Department associates and Material Management associates to verify and ensure appropriate surgical equipment/ instrumentation is available for the scheduled surgical cases
- Coordinates with scheduling associates to appropriately schedule cases based on availability of specialty service-related supplies and equipment.
- Participates in yearly budget preparation to determine additional specialty equipment & instrumentation needs
- Responsible for tracking and trending specialty equipment/ instrumentation for usage and condition details
- When not assigned to an Operating Room, assists room associates with room set, turnover and supply and/or equipment set up.
- Within the electronic medical record, creates and updates the preference cards of all surgeons within their surgical specialty

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned this job classification. They are not to be constructed as an all-inclusive list of all duties, skills, and responsibilities of people so assigned.