NURSE- VAD MCS, 32 Hours

Job Description

STAFF NURSE- VAD/ MCS/ 32 HOURS/ CENTER FOR ADVANCED HEART DISEASE/ BOSTON MAIN CAMPUS, Variable, Rotating Shift

The Registered Nurse Coordinator in the Center for Advanced Heart Disease (CAHD: Heart Failure, VAD, and Heart Transplant) is a professional registered nurse licensed in the state of Massachusetts with heart failure experience who is responsible for all aspects of ambulatory care of the advanced heart disease patient. This position will work closely with all members of the AHD team, inpatient staff, and others as necessary to ensure efficacious care in the ambulatory and hospital settings. Advanced Heart Disease patients are an extremely complex group and as such the coordinator must possess a strong clinical background.

The Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Staff Nurse will assist in the medical and surgical management of patients with end-stage heart disease that are being evaluated for, undergoing, or have undergone implantation of mechanical circulatory support. Primary responsibilities will include: 1) supporting and extending the clinical activities of MCS physicians and nurse practitioners; 2) collecting and entering quality and performance measure data into MCS databases, as required by the hospital, and by local, regional, and national agencies; and 3) assisting in MCS research activities.

Principal Duties And Responsibilities

Support and Extension of Clinical Activities:

• Coordinates evaluation of advanced heart failure patients being considered for mechanical circulatory support, including left and/or right ventricular assist device (VAD. Responsibilities will include organization of cardiac and non-cardiac testing; collecting and reporting results; entering clinical information into electronic databases; and sharing information with internal and external providers as needed.
• Collaborates with unit staff, MCS nurse practitioners, and physicians to facilitate a comprehensive plan of care and coordinate resources.
• Coordinates with a multitude of multidisciplinary MCS patient teams that can include but are not limited to physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, and care coordinators to ensure that a patient is an appropriate MCS candidate.
• Maintains continuous communication with and training of community agencies such as, but not limited to, local EMS or community hospitals regarding ongoing care and support.
• Maintains all MCS-related information that supports management of the MCS program.
• Communicates anticipated patient needs to appropriate physicians, nurses, and admitting departments. Maintains telephone contact with patients to assess clinical status, monitor response to and possible complications of MCS therapy, adjust medications in consultation with clinical providers and organize outpatient or inpatient follow-up as needed.
• Assists in urgent or non emergent MCS patient triage, including emergency room visits and transfer from outside institutions and facilitation of scheduled clinical visits, and documents care provided.
• Collaborates with inpatient nursing care specific to patient travel to tests or operating room as well as discharge education and planning.
• Provides education to MCS patients and family members as well as inpatient staff nurses and house staff regarding important aspects of care, including but not limited to device function and maintenance, activity level, diet, medication adherence and healthcare follow-up. Helps to maintain current supply of patient education materials.
• Works collaboratively with biomedical engineering to maintain up-to-date and safe equipment for MCS patients, including pumps, power modules, batteries, cables and other peripherals as well as ensuring that adequate supply is on hand for planned and emergency needs.
• Sets up consults with specialty providers, follows up consult recommendations and communicates results to MCS patient and other providers.
• Assists with communication and correspondence to/from patients, employers, pharmacies and insurance providers with regards to medication prescriptions, cardiac rehabilitation, disability, family medical leave, and payment coverage. May also communicate and correspond with other providers (e.g., utility company, telephone company) as dictated by patient needs.
• Collaborates with the creation and maintenance of clinical practice guidelines and policy and procedures as relevant to the care of the MCS patient and family.
• Maintains BWH MCS patient database.
• Provides support to other areas within the Center for Advanced Heart Disease such as but not limited to HF office, ACTIVE center, HF inpatient/outpatient coordination as well as heart transplant and MCS evaluations
• Other duties as assigned.
  
  

Regulatory

• Collaborates with MCS NPs, physicians and nursing leadership, as well as hospital quality and compliance personnel to ensure MCS regulatory compliance as defined by Joint Commission standards.
• Assists in maintaining a state of continuous regulatory readiness.
• Collaborates with the creation and maintenance of clinical practice guidelines and policy and procedures as relevant to the care of the MCS patient.
• Participates in quality assurance/process improvement initiatives.
• Maintains patient database.
• Attends device specific education classes, VAD QAPI meetings, and assist in arranging education for the multi-disciplinary VAD team members.
  
  

Professional Development

• Evaluates own practice and program effectiveness.
• Identifies pertinent nursing and health delivery problems for investigation.
• Evaluates current evidence based practice for clinical specialty and determines applicability to practice.
• Responsible for professional growth and maintenance of required credentials.
• Maintains and documents the standards and educational requirements specific to the position and licensure.
• Identifies own learning needs and goals.
• Maintains and updates clinical knowledge and skills based on current health care practice/research
  
  

Data And Research Activities

• Collects demographic and clinical data from hospital computer system, administrative sources, charts and weekly conferences and enters information into MCS databases as needed.
• Supports research nurse and efforts to advance knowledge to promote research-based practice.
• Works with research nurses to collect data on subjects enrolled in MCS clinical research studies, and enters information into web-based databases and registries.
• Assists research nurses with IRB-related correspondence as it pertains to ongoing or planned research studies.
• May be asked to prepare written summaries for administrative or clinical purposes as requested by the Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Heart Disease or by the Medical or Surgical Director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program.
  
  

Qualifications

• Graduate of an approved school of nursing with current registration in Massachusetts. Bachelors of Science in Nursing- BSN required.
• Prior experience (3+ years minimum) with cardiology / MCS-focused patient care experience required.
• Recent experience (within 2 years) cardiology / MCS-focused patient care strongly preferred.
• Comprehension with the ability to educate patients regarding self-care, advocacy, MCS equipment, complex wound management, and infection treatments strongly preferred.
• Recent experience (within 2 years) in ambulatory nursing strongly preferred.
• Triage experience or telephone-based clinical assessment technique preferred.
• Current (within 3 years) the experience of regulatory survey preparation preferred.
• Basic knowledge of hospital, industry, and agency standards for procedures used to collect, compile and present clinical and research data.
  
  

Skills, Competencies, And Abilities

• Must have strong organizational and communication skills.
• Flexibility, excellent judgment, and the ability to work independently and as part of a team are essential.
• Must be able to function well in a busy environment, and to juggle multiple responsibilities.
  
  

Primary Location

MA-Boston-BWH Longwood Medical Area

Work Locations

BWH Longwood Medical Area

Job

Nursing-Other

Organization

Brigham & Women's Hospital(BWH)

Schedule

Part-time

Standard Hours

32

Shift

Rotating

Posted Shift Description

Monday - Friday

Employee Status

Regular

Recruiting Department

BWH Nursing / Patient Care Services

Job Posting

Dec 4, 2024

---