Spinal Cord Injury RN

JOB TITLE:

Spinal Cord Injury RN

JOB LOCATION:

Milwaukee, WI

JOB TYPE:

Contract

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Registered Nurse (RN): The RN will utilize their broad-based clinical knowledge to effectively assess and implement health promotion and prevention interventions, manage acute and chronic illness states, assist patients in the attainment of optimal levels of functioning rehabilitation, evaluate patient response to actual or potential health problems, and provide supportive measures for the dying patient and their significant others. Nursing care shall be performed by the American Nursing Association’s Standards of Care and Standards of Professional Performance and within the individual nurse’s scope of license. The VA Nurse Manager(s), or appropriate nursing leadership delegate (i.e., Assistant Nurse Manager) will provide the RN with clinical oversight during their tour of duty. More specific duties and responsibilities of the Registered Nurse are described below.

i) Maintain patient confidentiality and a safe patient care environment, including familiarity with requirements such as medication administration, patient/family education, discharge process, hazardous waste disposal, etc., as defined by The Joint Commission and all other VA regulatory bodies.

ii) Provide patient-centered care by performing the following tasks:

• Assess the health care needs of the patient and maintain or develop a plan of care to meet interdisciplinary goals.
• Assess and act on significant changes in the patient’s health condition.
• Carry out the plan of care by performing assigning delegated tasks.
• Collect and document pertinent data into the electronic patient medical record.
• Communicates and treats all patients and/or families in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner/
• Identify and act on predictable needs of the patient.
• Meet the health care needs of patient by assessing and assisting the patient to meet expressed needs.
• Meet the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and/or families.
• Prioritize and complete tasks within the RN’s assigned shift.
• Notify assigned physician of any changes in condition and update patient care plans.
• Report incidents of verbal or physical abuse immediately to the Nurse Manager of the unit they are assigned; or designated off-shift nursing leadership.
• Perform head-to-toe assessment.
• Insert IV lines.
• Care of PICC lines.
• Administer medication including IVs.
• Coordinate and participate in admission, transfer, and discharge of patient.
• Masure vital signs, including Pain (the 5th Vital Sign), pulse oximetry, etc.
• Complete EKG as needed.
• Perform wound care including dressing changes and obtaining wound cultures as necessary.
• Obtain and deliver specimens to lab.
• Perform tracheostomy care.
• Perform non-acute/acute ventilator care, as needed.
• Perform suctioning including oral, nasogastric, and tracheostomy.
• Assess for and administer tube feedings.
• Assist with routine urinary and bowel elimination including indwelling and suprapubic catheters, colostomies, external devices, and digital stimulation.
• Educate patients and/or families regarding health and diagnoses and medication administration.
• Activate the Emergency Medical Response as indicated based on patient presentation or change in condition.
• Respond and assist in an emergency situation.
• Perform Continuous Protective Observation (CPO) duties to maintain veteran safety.
• Perform patient belongings and Contraband inspection and documentation as outlined by facility policy.
• Provide clinical oversight to Licensed Practical Nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants and Health Technicians.
• Rapid Response and Cardiac Arrest (code) response within the unit.
• Accu-checks.

iii. Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA). BCMA with a 100% accuracy rate shall be used in the applicable areas for medication administration. BCMA is designed to provide electronic validation and documentation of medication administration, reduce medication misadventures, provide an online patient medication record, and promote a safer inpatient care environment. Spot check of patient charts or review of incident reports will be conducted. If issues are found, remedial training of contractor employee will be given. If remedial training is unsuccessful, the contractor employee may be removed from providing services under the contract.

iv. Additional requirements and responsibilities for all contract nursing staff are listed below:

• The contract nursing staff shall complete and document all assessments accurately and within assigned timeframes.
• The contract nursing staff shall complete all unit specific required training.
• The contract nursing staff shall, always, conduct themselves in a professional manner, treating patients/residents, visitors, and staff in a courteous manner. Sustained allegations of patient/resident or coworker abuse, both verbally or physically, will result in immediate removal from the Milwaukee VAMC, and will also be reported to the Contracting Officer. These incidents may result in that contractor employee not being eligible for continued contract performance.

SCHEDULE:

a. Contract nursing services shall supplement full time VA staff. Coverage may include holidays weekends, evenings, or overnights, and are variable within a 24-hour period. The most common RN shifts are noted below; however, contract RNs should be open to working any day of the week or shift as required by the VA, even if not specifically listed below.

PM Shift (2) RNs - (12) hour shift 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., to include weekends and holidays

Night Shift (2) RNs - (12) hour shift 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 a.m., to include weekends and holidays

b. Overtime may be necessary and is applicable for anything over 40 hours in a one week pay period worked at the VA. Overtime must be pre-approved by the Nurse Manager and will not be allowed for contractor staff to complete charting in the medical record. All patient documentation must be completed prior to leaving for the day. The 12-hour shifts include a mandatory ½ hour non-paid lunch break. If patient care needs prevent the ability to take a 30-minute lunch, the Nurse Manager must be notified during the said shift to provide coverage or authorize no lunch.

c. SCHEDULING/ABSENCES

i. Contract nursing staff must contact the contractor regarding cancellations, changes in scheduling availability, etc. The contractor will, in turn, contact the VA of employee cancellation.

ii. Contract staff must contact the contractor regarding absences, requests for time off, changes in scheduling availability, etc. The contractor will, in turn, contact the VA. Additionally, if contract staff are unable to make it to a scheduled shift or will be late, they shall notify the VA Nurse Manager s as soon as possible so that alternate staff arrangements can be made.

d. The missing of two scheduled shifts (“no call/no show”) by contract nursing staff may be grounds to restrict/cease contractor employee from being scheduled for future shifts or request removal.

3.2 FEDERAL HOLIDAYS

The 11 holidays observed by the Federal Government are: New Year’s Day (January 1st), Martin Luther King’s Birthday (3rd Monday in January), Presidents’ Day (3rd Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Juneteenth Day (June 19th), Independence Day (July 4th), Labor Day (1st Monday in September), Columbus Day (2nd Monday in October), Veterans Day (November 11th), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November), Christmas Day (December 25th) and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday.

When one of the above designated legal holidays falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed as a legal holiday. When a legal holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed as a holiday by U.S. Government agencies.

4. ORIENTATION

a. All personnel performing services under this task order must complete orientation listed below prior to beginning work on contracted shifts.

Week 1 • W – F, 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Week 2 • M & T, Nursing Service Orientation, 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. • W – F, 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Week 3 • 12-hour tour of duty (3 days)

Contract employees will have a ½ hour unpaid lunch break.

REQUIREMENTS:

a. Personnel assigned by the contractor to perform the services covered by this task order shall have a full and unrestricted license in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia. The qualifications of such personnel shall also be subject to review by the VA Chief of Staff and approved by the VA Facility Director. The Contracting Officer will be notified prior to any changes in personnel. VA reserves the right to approve the assignment of individual personnel furnished by the contractor to perform the functions specified in the task order.

b. Contractor nursing staff must possess the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively apply all aspects of the nursing process within a collaborative, interdisciplinary practice setting.

c. Personnel assigned by the contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall be proficient in written and spoken English (38 USC 7402). Contractor’s assigned personnel must be computer literate as patient documentation is directly entered in the patient’s electronic medical record. Proficiency in the use of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) system and the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) are preferred.

d. All RNs must have an Associates or Bachelor’s degree (preferred) from an ACEN or CCNE accredited Nursing program. Registered Nurses assigned by the contractor to perform the services covered by this contract must have a current and unrestricted license in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia and have a current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)/Basic Life Support (BLS) certification by a provider recognized by the American Heart Association. Renewal of BLS certification is the responsibility of the contractor and will not be provided by the VA. RNs must have a minimum of one-year SCI experience or a minimum of two-years Med/Surg experience. Ventilator experience is preferred.

e. Evidence of completion of required licensure, credentials, required training, current competencies and fingerprints/background investigations must be validated for all contractor personnel referred to perform services under this contract prior to providing direct patient care.

f. Contractor’s assigned personnel must be computer literate as patient documentation is directly inputted in the patient’s electronic medical record. Proficiency in the use of the Oracle Cerner Electronic Health Record system is preferred. VA will provide training on the medical record system if required.

g. Any new requirements for mandatory education and/or competency reassessment, which occur during the task order period must be completed by the individual contractor employee(s) within established timeframes.

h. The contracted individual will be required to show two proofs of identification on their first day of work.?

COMPENSATION:

$45 / hour