RN, Urology

Department Overview

The Department of Urology at OHSU is committed to providing the highest quality, state-of-the-art care for adult urology patients. Our physicians are recognized leaders in their fields, have advanced fellowship training in urological subspecialties, and are expert, high-volume surgeons. We consider it a privilege to be able to offer urologic care to our patients and continually strive to provide it with a personalized, patient-centered and compassionate focus. This position is a float between the Adult Urology clinic at Adventist Health Portland and Adult Urology at CHH1 10th floor. Clinical assignment would be based on need.

Function/Duties of Position

The practice specializes in providing urologic care for adults.  Services include catheterizations, specimen collections, prostate/testicular biopsies, cystoscopies, cystograms, lupograms, retro urethrograms, calypso beacon, gold seed placements, urodynamics, vasectomies, stent exchanges/removals/placements, voiding trials, medication administration (BCG, Lupron, Trimix, Xiaflex, testosterone pellets, Botox), Foley placement, catheter irrigations, and dilations.

A Registered Nurse (RN) working in the Department of Urology is a member of a multi-disciplinary team and has the primary responsibility for and provides direct and indirect professional nursing care for patients. This includes representing the practice both in-person and on the telephone, other OHSU departments, and non-OHSU facilities. The RN assesses patient and family needs, develops a plan of care, implements and evaluates the care delivered. The Registered Nurse is expected to practice in accordance with professional standards, core values, and with a commitment to service excellence.

Independent nursing practice

• Direct and indirect patient care
• Apply critical thinking skills and ability to independently, within your scope, perform initial assessment and interpretation of cardiac rhythms, manage patient assessment and planning, My Chart messages, phone calls and routed EPIC encounters
• Assess status of patient both in person and virtually, troubleshooting issues as they arise, coordinating with care team as required.
• Nurse visits with and without a provider for case management, triage and patient education
• Return calls to patients about lab/test results, check on blood pressure logs, wound care, answer medication and device questions
• Assess the physical, emotional, social and educational needs of patients who are calling or coming into the urology clinic in a comprehensive and systematic manner, including patient history
• Take initiative to review patient charts before provider visits in preparation for patient assessment.
• Work with medical assistants to set up labs and other tests prior to patient appointment
• Follow up on ED, post-procedure and prior office visits
• Meet with patients and present to provider

Be proactive and prepared

Tend to most patient care needs in between visits with the provider (phone calls and My Chart messages, etc.)

Utilize critical thinking skills to assess patient situations, to the best of RN ability based on knowledge transfer within nursing scope

Use templates for documentation

• Be able to evaluate urological  issues and understand the management goals and options
• Engage in transitions of care
• Schedule inpatient admissions as needed
• Conduct patient follow up calls after discharge as needed
• Understand who to contact and when
• Assist with prior authorizations and FMLA paperwork as needed
• Monitor non-episodic data to meet guideline-directed therapy goals

Referral review as needed

• Identify urgency of referral and triage as appropriate
• Cross coverage of other urology nurses as needed
• Assist with clinical flow and rooming assessment as needed for break and lunch coverage, staffing shortages, and as directed by Nurse Manager
• Comply with regulatory requirements and standards and OHSU policies and procedures

Program development and implementation

• Engage in continuous process improvement
• Engage in continuous quality assurance directives
• Maintain a willingness to embrace change with a positive attitude
• Engage in workflow and documentation optimization and standardization
• Active participation in Morbidity and Mortality conference.
• Provide educational support to staff, visiting students and volunteers as
• Actively participate in service excellence, including engaging with patients and their family to understand concerns and problem-solve resolutions

Communication

• Effectively communicate to providers, patients and other staff as needed (Epic, Outlook, telephone, in person)
• Be proficient in synthesizing patient information and summarize in a succinct, effective manner
• Write brief encounter summaries with the main cardiac studies' results (rather than referring provider to read a scanned document) as needed
• Minimize the use of Outlook for patient-related communication as much as possible, and move provider requests that come via Outlook into Epic (when patient is registered and has an active MRN).
• Engage in positive, supportive verbal communication with patients, families, providers and support staff
• Communicate appropriately and timely with other professionals to discuss relevant aspects of patient care
• Provide appropriate education to patients and their families
• Provide education, counseling, information and support that is tailored to the patients' needs (medication, disease-specific advice, etc.)
• Confirm patient synthesis of communicated information
• Ensure that the patient and their family understand the plan of care recommended by the multidisciplinary team and that their questions are fully answered
• Be able to bridge the patients' understanding and help form the team relationship for continuity of care
• Schedule nurse visits as needed for additional patient education
• Meet with provider at end of patient visits to discuss plan
• Maintain an awareness of other OHSU resources to provide support and treatment for urology patients and their families.
• Serve as team leader for medical assistants and other unlicensed assistive personnel (e.x.- device techs)
• Ongoing delegation and direction as per the OHSU Scope of Practice document on MCN
• Responsible for knowledge of what may be delegated and what may not be delegated to MAs as determined by this scope of practice document and OHSU guidelines. Responsible for assessing MAs' level of knowledge, skill and experience and addressing concerns as they arise."
• Guidance on appropriate tasks to delegate to the medical assistants
• Positive resource and role-model for MA team
• Work with Lead MA to schedule dedicated admin time to work directly with medical assistants.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years of nursing experience with emphasis on adult care
• BSN Graduates: Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing from a program accredited by Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA) 30 days before start date.
• ADN Graduates: Associate Degree in Nursing from an accredited program 30 days before the start date.
• Associate degree Nurses required to enroll in BSN program within 3 years of hire and complete within 5 years of hire

Current, unencumbered Oregon State Registered Nurse License

• Current, unencumbered Washington RN license
• BLS from AHA required. New hires will be enrolled and required to complete during orientation.
• Must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without accommodation

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with telephone triage

• Experience in an ambulatory clinic setting
• National certification in a relevant nursing specialty
• Highly effective verbal and written communication skills in a variety of collaborative settings
• Demonstrated experience in patient and family education, including development of teaching materials
• Previous experience w