Staff Nurse, Adult Medical-Surgical Unit

Provides direct and indirect age-specific care for assigned patients in medical-surgical nursing units per scheduled shifts. The role encompasses nursing assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, evaluation, professional performance and coordination of care for patients across the healthcare continuum involving families. Provides patients with medical and/or surgical cases, clinical, educational, quality, and fiscal patient care outcomes as per the American Hospital Dubai's policies, procedures, guidelines, Professional Practice Model, and standards of practice.

Responsibilities

General:

• Provides age-specific patient-centered care utilizing the nursing process.
• Performs patient assessment using appropriate, problem-focused, and age-specific assessment techniques.
• Performs continual critical care assessment of patient, and family's physical and psychological needs.
• Involves the patient, significant others, and health care providers in the plan of care when appropriate.
• Collaborates with a multi-disciplinary team to provide patient care.
• Coordinates and plans critical care/clinical pathway, and prioritizes care, based on individual needs. Revise the care plan as necessary.
• Initiates appropriate transfer plan.
• Recognizes subtle cues to anticipate potential problems.
• Documents all relevant data in the medical record according to hospital/departmental standards.
• Ensures availability and maintenance of supplies and equipment needed for the unit and patient care.
• Performs clerical duties when needed.
• Assumes responsibility for meeting Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCIA) required mandatory education, e.g., fire, safety, infection control and others.
• Participates in staff meetings and unit committees/projects.
• Participates in developing and achieving unit goals.
• Performs additional duties when required.
• Maintains a safe environment for patients and staff.
• Performs safe handling, drawing, and administrating Narcotic/Controlled Drugs and documentation as directed by policies and procedures.
• Ensures completion of unit competencies (e.g. pain management, and utilization of Emergency department devices).
• Maintains clinical and professional competency based on the latest research and established standards of practice.
• Completes yearly, the critical care nursing competencies (basic).
• Participates in unit-based Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) activities (data collection, CQI teams, incident reporting, customer complaint reporting, medication error reporting etc.)
• Participates in ongoing educational activities.
• Maintains mandatory educational requirements.

Unit Specific:

• Develops individualized care plans based on the nursing diagnosis, with updated revisions according to evaluation and re-assessment findings. Activities of daily living e.g. hygiene needs are considered in daily care planning.
• Sets priorities and plans implementation of patient care; implementation of care is completed in a timely, organized manner and follows American Hospital Dubai's nursing standards and policy and procedure. Activities of daily living e.g. hygiene needs are supported.
• Demonstrates attention to discharge planning; discharge planning that is addressed on admission, ongoing and as care plans are modified. Discharge and transfer procedures are completed in a timely and complete manner.
• Provides accurate, complete, and prompt reports on patient care conditions and response to treatment utilizing the standardized Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR). Collaborates effectively as a multidisciplinary team member.
• Ensures nursing documentation is informative, complete, accurate, concise, and legible which follows the American Hospital Dubai and Joint Commission International Accreditation's standards and reflects the nursing process from assessment through evaluation.
• Works in other areas within the hospital when assigned, within the scope of practice.
• Maintains clinical and professional competency based on the latest research and established standards of practice. Completes all Core Competencies for nursing as well as applicable Unit Specific Competencies within prescribed timelines.
• Demonstrates awareness and knowledge of Infection Control, Pain Management and Wound Care practices and standards. Reports and documents as directed in the relevant policies and procedures.
• Understands the responsibilities of safe handling, and administration of Narcotic /Controlled Drugs and documentation as directed by policies and procedures.
• Demonstrates support of leadership. Encourages team decisions, and cooperation within and across departments and assists in resolving differences of opinion.
• Demonstrates an understanding of cultural differences among customers and colleagues, and demonstrates sensitivity and tolerance to cultural differences.
• Involves patient, significant others and healthcare provider in patient's plan of care and education.
• Performs special procedures (Peritoneal Dialysis, Chemotherapy administration, Auto-Transfusion, etc.) in accordance with procedures and guidelines, following orders and appropriate monitoring.
• Demonstrates understanding and familiarity with Facility Management and Safety plans.
• Provides basic life support when needed.
• Implements and monitors infection control measures.
• Administers medications, monitor desirable and undesirable effects, and intervene appropriately.
• Ensures that patients are provided with appropriate nutrition.
• Delivers pre-operative and post-operative patient care.
• Applies safety measures related to patient care.
• Operates all unit-required equipment safely.
• Manages kidney transplant patients when applicable.
• Manages patients with infectious diseases when applicable.
• Manages pediatric patients with infectious diseases when applicable.
• Manages patients with psychiatric problems when applicable.
• Manages patients on radioactive iodine precautions when applicable.
• Participates in quality initiatives and quality improvement activities to improve the unit standards of quality provided.
• Provides emotional support and measures to alleviate fear and anxiety.
• Assesses patient and family readiness and identifies learning needs.
• Leads/encourages multidisciplinary approach for patient's discharge.
• Develops and implements the teaching plan utilizing the patient education manual.
• Evaluates the teaching-learning process.
• Documents patient and family education.

Preceptor's Responsibilities (when applicable):

• Completes the Preceptor workshop and meets the criteria indicators for the preceptor role on the unit.
• Plans, implements and evaluates the individualized competency-based orientation in collaboration with oriented, nurse manager, and clinical resource nurse.
• Provides appropriate feedback in a timely manner to orientates and Nurse Managers.
• Provides objective documentation to the nurse manager utilizing the American Hospital Dubai orientation package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in nursing (minimum of three (3) years full-time course duration) or
• Degree in Nursing (minimum two (2) years course duration) and Registration as a Registered Nurse from Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia
• For UAE nationals graduates of UAE or non-UAE universities are exempted from the experience and clinical training requirements for the applied title. (UAE nationals must submit a copy of their birth certificate and the mother's family book)
• Non-UAE national graduates from UAE universities are required to successfully complete six (6) months of clinical training post-graduation in an APS health facility (except for Registered and assistant Nurse titles)
• Must hold a valid License/Registration to practice in their home country and/or country of last employment (where applicable)
• Must hold a minimum of a valid Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification or others according to the scope of practice

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of two (2) years of recent post-graduate experience in a Medical-Surgical speciality
• Private hospital experience preferred
• Knowledge of and ability to render care and services based on age, appropriateness and developmental needs of patients
• Skills in assessment of patient and family's physical and psychological needs
• Skills in coordination and planning of care and prioritising care based on individual needs
• Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification is essential