Overview
Dialysis is located on the forth floor of DCH Regional campus and the main floor at DCH Northport campus. Our hours at the Regional campus are Monday-Saturday 6:30-1900 with call taken on Sunday and after hours. On the Northport campus hours are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with call taken on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and after hours. Our Regional unit has eight dialysis bays, and the ability to perform bedside and peritoneal dialysis. The Northport campus has five dialysis bays and the ability to perform bedside and peritoneal dialysis. The nurses and Certified Dialyses Techs on this unit prepare and perform dialyses treatments on patients within our organization.
Responsibilities
Provide specialized care to patients who have impaired kidney function and undergo hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis treatments in the acute care environment. Plans, coordinates and directs quality, compassionate care by maintaining standards of professional nursing practice and creating positive therapeutic relationships with patients/families. Provides leadership to other team members by articulating and delegating expected standards of care, supervising and encouraging team members, and supporting their contributions. Supervises LPNs and certified clinical hemodialysis technicians (CCHTs).
Assess condition on each assigned patient on admission and on an ongoing basis to include but not limited to the patient’s physical condition, psychological status, social status, spiritual and cultural needs, pain assessment/management, nutritional and functional status, developmental or age related factors,and discharge planning needs.
Specific ages: adult and geriatric as defined by scope of
Administers and manages dialysis treatments including set-up, monitoring, and daily maintenance of equipment.
Manages the full continuum of care for End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) to include assessment, monitoring of vital signs of patient’s condition before, during and after dialysis treatments and management of dialysis access site.
Maintains functional knowledge of dialysis equipment and water systems and follows safety practices to include but not limited to water-ph monitoring, checking of chlorine residuals, auto testing and alarms testing machines, water hardness, water pressure monitoring, disinfecting and collection of environmental cultures.
Plans, directs, supervises and evaluates nursing care provided to patients according to problems identified.
Collaborates and coordinates with physicians and other disciplines regarding individualized patient treatment/care plans by participating in interdisciplinary conferences, care planning/problem identification and shift reports.
Administers medication, IV therapy, and performs treatments to all assigned patients, according to policy and procedure.
Plans and provides patient and/or significant other education based on physical, behavioral, psychological, developmental, and age-related factors, after identifying barriers to learning.
Follows safety practices and helps to maintain a safe, clean environment.
Reports pertinent patient observations and test results to the appropriate person (i.e., physicians, nurse manager, charge nurse and/or nursing supervisor) and records those observations accurately and concisely.
Documents all patient care assessments, evaluations, activities and/or observations according to policies and \ procedures.
Assigns nursing care to team members in accordance with the patient’s needs and the personnel’s capabilities and qualifications, and assigns other duties as needed.
Assists with or institutes emergency measures for sudden adverse developments in patients such as cardiac arrest.
Attends in-service programs (mandatory), all required training/education and unit/departmental service meetings, and competencies. Completes hospital required and nursing CBTs.
In order to be eligible to serve as RN Charge Nurse the following requirements must be met:
- Demonstrates leadership skills, decision making abilities and communications skills necessary for the role.
- Adequate clinical experience and functioning as a resource person for the unit.
- Ability to assign staff, considering acuity, needs of the patient, level of staff experience and unit guidelines.
Must be flexible to float between the DCH Regional and Northport campuses. Additional training will be provided.
DCH Standards:
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- Maintains performance, patient and employee satisfaction and financial standards as outlined in the performance evaluation.
- Performs compliance requirements as outlined in the Employee Handbook
- Must adhere to the DCH Behavioral Standards including creating positive relationships with patients/families, coworkers, colleagues and with self.
- Performs essential job functions in a manner that ensures the safety of patients, visitors and employees.
- Identifies and reduces unsafe practices that may result in harm to patients, visitors and employees.
- Recognizes and takes appropriate action to reduce risks and hazards to promote safety for patients, visitors and employees.
- Requires use of electronic mail, time and attendance software, learning management software and intranet.
- Must adhere to all DCH Health System policies and procedures.
- All other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Current Alabama RN licensure. Current American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider training required. 2 years of RN experience with at least one (1) year experience in dialysis is required. Professional Nursing Certification preferred. Must be able to read, write legibly, speak and comprehend English.
WORKING CONDITIONS
WORK CONTEXT
- Demonstrate leadership skills
- Requires decision making that will affect others
- Responsible to achieve outcomes
- Must be able to communicate clearly and accurately
- Ability to delegate to team members and students
- Must be able to receive delegation
- Address conflict and stressful situation
- Communicate with different personalities and engage in face to face discussion
- Dealing with unpleasant or verbally/physically aggressive personalities
- Must be able to use electronic mail, telephone and texting
- Must be able to work in groups
- Must be able to perform structured and unstructured work
- Must be meet time pressure and time lines
- Includes possible exposure to human body fluids, disease, infection, lab chemicals and hazardous materials and/or cleaning solutions
- Requires wearing of common protective and safety equipment such as gloves, safety glasses, mask, gowns, etc.
PHYSICAL FACTORS
- Medium work. Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Must be able to tolerate prolonged periods of standing and walking
- Must be able to reach reasonable distances in any direction
- Must be able to stand, walk, kneel, bend, sit and stoop
- Must be able to run in an emergency
- Must have the ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull and carry objects
- Must be able to move fingers in a coordinated manner and must be ablet o feel and perceive temperature, texture, shape and size with fingertips
- Must be able to perform the duties with or without reasonable accommodation
- Must possess stamina to work prolonged shifts
- Hearing and vision must be normal or corrected to within normal range.
- Physical presence onsite is essential.
