Job Description

At Houston Methodist, the Nurse Navigator position is responsible for serving as an expert population-specific clinician, patient/client advocate and assisting population-specific patients/families to navigate the complex healthcare system in an organized, effective and efficient manner. This position will assist with the standardization and efficiency of care for patients in the service line throughout the continuum of patient care. The Nurse Navigator position models patient-centered care and assumes leadership responsibilities with high level contributions in direct patient interaction, the department, the service line, and across the institution. Responsibilities for this position may include, but are not limited to, leading survivorship activities, participating in nursing initiatives such as Pathway to Excellence/Magnet, assessing service line needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, coordinating program education and serving as a clinical resource for both program and hospital staff.

Requirements:

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develops strong relationships with physicians, their office staff, and healthcare providers to ensure effective communication in patient care. Serves as a liaison between ancillary departments, clinical specialists, physicians and patients to ensure efficient patient flow for service line patients. Serves as a clinical resource for complex and/or highly specialized patient care situations to patient care providers and other health care professionals within the hospital and in the community, as appropriate.

• Builds and maintains relationships with community organizations, interprofessional departments and outside medical service agencies to help coordinate support services for patients. Partners with the Business Development staff to coordinate relationships with external/referring physicians for the program, as appropriate.

• Contributes towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Coordinates all aspects of patient care and development related to the service line. Facilitates entry of patients into the program and assists with coordination of care through personalized interaction. Follows the population-specific patient throughout the postoperative phase of care, continuum of care and/or into survivorship, as applicable. Advocates for patients and caregivers in preventing/resolving clinical or ethical issues, develops supportive department/unit practices and guidelines.

• Educates the patient and caregiver on disease-specific guidelines and surgical and non-surgical treatment options to enable patient-led treatment decisions.

• Develops/updates informational/educational resources and programs related to program services and/or plan of care in partnership with the patient and caregiver; mentors others regarding specialty populations; audits plan of care.

• Teaches nursing care principles with advanced technical knowledge and provides formal education to groups outside the department as needed. Educates and/or facilitates patient and caregiver on introduction to program, clinical trial information, resource referrals, and genetic counseling as appropriate.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Fosters successful outcomes, survivorship by developing treatment summary, providing education to patient and caregiver on follow-up schedule and communication to healthcare team. Assists with maintaining follow up schedule and addresses acute complications, late and long-term effects through continual needs assessments.

• Implements risk assessments and monitors healthcare pathways with interprofessional teams, intervening when necessary to improve timeliness of care. Actively participates in a wide range of performance improvement and shared governance activities by identifying, recommending and leading improvements in patient safety-related processes at unit or service line level. Ensures appropriate data is collected and submitted to appropriate databases for service lines supported.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participates in decisions impacting operational and capital needs. Contributes to oversight of grant funding for community outreach initiatives as appropriate.

• Makes referrals to financial navigators/business office financial counselors to assist patients needing financial support.

• Utilizes resources with cost effectiveness and value creation in mind. Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks, assisting coworkers as needed.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participates in identifying needs, planning and implementing educational programs within the service line for hospital health care providers, patients, families and/or community groups. Develops, facilitates and participates with others in the development and presentation of health care provider and community educational programs in the service line.

• Maintains personal professional development through organization membership. Reads and leads critique of evidence-based practice literature in nursing and related disciplines. Publishes evidence-based research findings and/or presents findings at a national meeting. Attends/participates in continuing education activities to ensure current knowledge in the practicing specialty.

• Seeks opportunities to identify self-development needs and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an ongoing basis.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.

Qualifications:

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree

• Master's degree preferred

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Three years clinical nursing experience

• Leadership or Coordinator experience preferred
• CV Surgery or ICU experience preferred

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS - REQUIRED

• RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure -- Compact Licensure - Must obtain permanent Texas license within 60 days (if establishing Texas residency) AND
• BLS - Basic Life Support (AHA) AND
• Magnet - ANCC Recognized Certification (ANCC) -- in applicable specialty area or Oncology Nursing Society recognized certification

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS - PREFERRED

• Magnet - ANCC Recognized Certification (ANCC) -- Case Management related OR
• ACM - Accredited Case Manager (NBCM)

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through ongoing skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations

• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security

• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles

• Demonstrates highly developed assessment, clinical, documentation, and analytical skills

• Strong psychosocial assessment and clinical skills

• Possesses knowledge of health care financial and payer issues, and eligibility for state, local and federal programs.

• Embodies the behaviors associated with the Leadership, Art and Science of Nursing (identified in Duties and Responsibilities) at the Proficient level according to Benner's model of clinical practice

• Displays professionalism, remains composed under stress, and takes responsibility for delivering on personal and organizational commitments

• Able to work independently; possesses organization/time management and prioritization skills

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform No
• Scrubs Yes
• Business professional Yes
• Other (department approved) No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. DIsaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* Yes

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

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