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Northeast Georgia Health System is rooted in a foundation of improving the health of our communities.

About the Role:

Job Summary

Hospice advanced practitioner with expert knowledge of hospice patient population. Promotes and establishes criteria for delivery of quality hospice care. Proficient in analyzing, providing and managing complex patient/family care, developing and implementing patient and family teaching and facilitating learning experiences for staff and students. Responsible for initial orientation, competencies and development of new staff and for the annual hospice education program to staff, contracted vendors and community. Develops clinical policies, procedures, protocols to meet and exceed industry standards. Supervises preceptor role.

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Licensure or other certifications: Registered Nurse currently licensed in Georgia. Current BLS certification.

• Educational Requirements: Bachelors Degree.

• Minimum Experience: Minimum of five (5) years in a healthcare profession with at least three (3) years in hospice progression and a minimum of two (2) years clinical nursing.

• Other:

Preferred Job Qualifications

• Preferred Licensure or other certifications: CHPN

• Preferred Educational Requirements: MSN.

• Preferred Experience:

• Other:

Job Specific and Unique Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Leadership skills

• Knowledge and application of adult learning principles related to patient assessment, competencies of direct care delivery, quality outcomes and documentation. Ability to assess learner performance for accuracy and proficiency in a professional and constructive manner.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Sense of humor and empathy with ability to nurture. Respectful of others' needs. Teaching and mentoring skills.

• Excellent clinical nursing and documentation skills. Proficient with computers and applications.

• Excellent skills in organization and attention to detail. Action and goal oriented

• Understanding of performance improvement concepts and processes. Conceptual problem solver.

• Ability to analyze and correlate clinical care with financial and regulatory requirements and accreditation standards and to propose processes to ensure compliance with same.
  

Essential Tasks and Responsibilities

• Coordinates and provides clinical practice and staff orientation toward the goal of achieving program excellence in hospice and palliative care and customer satisfaction. Oversees and coordinates development of clinical orientation programming based upon needs assessments, discussions with key nursing leaders, and federal and state regulatory and practice laws. Coordinates and schedules all mandatory and ongoing education for each discipline. Flexes schedule to meet with evening and weekend staff as indicated. Assists with clinical education to direct patient care volunteers. Maintains records of education and interfaces with NGHS Educational Services Department. Coordinates the development of educational materials for staff, patients/families and community.

• Coordinates and oversees the mentoring of all new hires throughout first year of employment. Assess staff performance of clinical competencies accurately, consistently, and honestly providing remediation suggestions/plans as necessary. Ensures structured preceptor training is provided and oversees precepting/mentoring of all new hires throughout their first year of employment. Serves as resource for preceptors and jointly mentors new hires. Evaluates the development of new staff and designs individualized staff development plan in coordination with staff supervisor. Facilitates safe and effective delivery of patient care and correct utilization of equipment, medications, etc. according to Hospice and NGMC's policies and procedures.

• Collaborates with clinical staff supervisors to develop initial and annual competencies for clinical staff and assists in competency assessments. Develops and implements plan to evaluate clinical competence of staff. Assesses competency by direct observation through patient visits, assignments, and staff reports in IDT, skills lab, tests, review of documentation and other applicable methods. Ensures competencies are documented for all staff in accordance with agency policy and regulatory and accreditation requirements. Works with supervisors of clinical staff to develop plans for improving performance of marginal and proficient staff toward excellence.

• Audits clinical documentation of staff to ensure optimal palliative care and documentation in accordance with agency policy, regulatory requirements, and industry documentation standards. Reviews documentation of all new hires to ensure staff understanding and implementation of accurate, proper documentation. Assists with review of clinical documentation in collaboration with QAPI Coordinator of all staff to evaluate and ensure documentation meets regulatory and accreditation standards and accurately reflects care rendered and progress toward patient/family goals are being achieved. Utilizes established outcomes and documentation criteria, industry standards and all guidelines to recommend action plans to supervisors and Leadership Team to promote improvements and ensure compliance in all areas. Maintains record of documentation/chart audits and provides timely information to administration and clinical supervisors.

• Serves as clinical resource and provides education to hospice staff, contracted facilities and vendors, physicians and community groups on end of life care and issues. Stays current with palliative care developments through review of literature and research. Maintains clinical skills competence by working as registered nurse providing direct patient care one day/month. Provides education to contracted facilities/vendors, physician practices and community groups to promote excellent and compassionate end of life care. Serves as consultant to committees requesting palliative care expertise. Develops, reviews and updates clinical procedures and protocols on an ongoing basis and at least annually. Develops guidelines and pathways as indicated.

• Responsible for direct supervision of employees in areas of responsibility with working knowledge of each position. Maintains oversight of hospice preceptor role. Understands and properly executes human resource functions including attendance, productivity, PDO requests and monitors breaks and mealtimes of employees supervised. Provides thorough and ongoing training to direct reports. Participates in the recruitment, interviewing and hiring process for vacant positions, retention of all direct report staff positions and assures appropriate staff disciplinary action/documentation. Participates in the development and implementation of annual employee improvement evaluation and plan.

• Contributes to the productive and effective operation of the organization. Advocates program excellence and exceeding customer expectations. Assists the Administrative Team in development and revision of policies and procedures as requested. Plans and implements activities to develop interdepartmental teamwork within NGHS and other facilities and with physician practice groups. Assists the Hospice Executive Director in the preparation of an annual budget and monitors allocation of resources according to budget. Functions as a part of the leadership team and attends Leadership Committee meetings and other meetings as assigned by the Executive Director. Assists with urgent admissions and administrative on-call as scheduled. Performs other duties as assigned.
  

Physical Demands

• Weight Lifted: Up to 50 lbs, Occasionally 0-30% of time

• Weight Carried: Up to 20 lbs, Occasionally 0-30% of time

• Vision: Moderate, Frequently 31-65% of time

• Kneeling/Stooping/Bending: Occasionally 0-30%

• Standing/Walking: Frequently 31-65%

• Pushing/Pulling: Occasionally 0-30%

• Intensity of Work: Frequently 31-65%

• Job Requires: Reading, Writing, Reasoning, Talking, Keyboarding, Driving

Working at NGHS means being part of something special: a team invested in you as a person, an employee, and in helping you reach your goals.

NGHS: Opportunities start here.

Northeast Georgia Health System is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not tolerate discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected classification or status.