What are the responsibilities and job description for the Nurse Navigator - Department of Global Services position at Children's National Medical Center?
The Nurse Navigator partners collaboratively with various interdisciplinary specialty team members and coordinates a patient care and communication plan for patients with assigned patient population to ensure continuity of care with compassion, commitment, and connection. Under the supervision of the healthcare providers, they provide patient education related to illness and planned treatment. Ensures continuity of care is maintained and staff, patient, parent safety is a priority. Ensures continuity of care is maintained and service excellence is a priority.
This role supports the international patient traveling to Children's National for care. The role will partner with patients, families, multidisciplinary care teams, and referring entities (governmental sponsors, payors, referring providers, etc.) to facilitate smooth patient transition to Washington and within the Children's National inpatient and outpatient settings. The nurse navigator serves as a primary clinical point of contact for Global Services patients and follows along their journeys with the goal of improved outcomes, streamlined coordination of complex care and improved patient satisfaction.
Minimum Education
BSN (Required)
Master's Degree (Preferred)
Minimum Work Experience
4 years Nursing experience (Required)
1 year Demonstrated experience in a charge nurse role in a comparable setting. (Required)
1 year Recent pediatric experience in a comparable setting. (Required)
1 year Demonstrated nursing leadership experience. (Required)
Required Licenses and Certifications
Registered Nurse in District of Columbia Upon Hire (Required)
Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider (BLS) Upon Hire (Required)
Functional Accountabilities
Coordination of Patient Care
- Work closely with multidisciplinary teams in all specialty areas to coordinate the patient's care plan and ensure proper communication.
- Continuously perform patient/family assessments as necessary to ensure needs are met.
- Use manager for complex issues that arise.
- Utilize telephonic communication to triage patient concerns and follow-up with patient and parent as needed.
- Participate in rounds and patient conferences to better meet the care needs of surgical care patients; demonstrate collaboration with multidisciplinary team including case management and inpatient areas for patient admission, discharge, home care and postoperative follow-up care.
- Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge related to surgical care patients; provide support and counseling, as appropriate to the clinical situation.
Patient Referral Process
- Use clinical protocols and evidence-based nursing knowledge to assist patients and families access to appropriate specialists.
- Assist patients and their families in obtaining referrals to needed specialists from primary care physicians.
- Communicate with all members of the healthcare team on behalf of the patient and family.
- Communicate with referring physicians offices as required by the patient and care provider.
- Manage and evaluate referral sources and follow up experience summary.
Service Excellence
- Demonstrate therapeutic communication skills by adapting techniques for specific situations.
- Effectively manage conflict resolution.
- Serve as a consumer advocate for patient/family concerns; ensure adherence by self and other staff to department and hospital policies.
- Proactively develop and enhance processes with the goal of improving the clinical experience for referred patients and families and referring heath care professionals.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary team to patient rounds and patient conferences to better meet the care needs of assigned patients; demonstrate collaboration with multidisciplinary team for patient admission or ambulatory hospital encounter, discharge, home care, community and school based services, and follow-up care.
- Leverage the existing care resources to manage patient care across the continuum to avoid duplication of effort to provide efficient care and support.
Liaison
- Communicate with referring healthcare professionals and referral sources as required.
- Continually evaluate with the care team the patient coordination and processes to identify opportunities for improvement in all aspects of the patient and family experience.
- Leverage the navigation process to help connect the family with their assigned medical team.
Organizational Accountabilities
Patient Education
- Demonstrate patient educational initiatives through involvement in projects and committee work.
- Collaborate with inpatient and other nursing staff in conjunction with Professional Practice Specialists to provide continuing education for the patient and family.
- Ensure that patient/family educational needs are met.
- Work with marketing and outreach departments to educate referring physicians and facilities on available services.
Organizational Commitment/Identification
- Partner in the mission and upholds the core principles of the organization
- Committed to diversity and recognizes value of cultural ethnic differences
- Demonstrate personal and professional integrity
- Maintain confidentiality at all times
Customer Service
- Anticipate and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met
T eamwork/Communication
- Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior
- Partner with all team members to achieve goals
- Receptive to others' ideas and opinions
Performance Improvement/Problem-solving
- Contribute to a positive work environment
- Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change
- Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes
- Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment
Cost Management/Financial Responsibility
- Use resources efficiently
- Search for less costly ways of doing things
Organizational Accountabilities (Staff)
Organizational Commitment/Identification
- Anticipate and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met
Teamwork/Communication
- Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior
- Partner with all team members to achieve goals
- Receptive to others' ideas and opinions
Performance Improvement/Problem-solving
- Contribute to a positive work environment
- Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change
- Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes
- Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment
Cost Management/Financial Responsibility
- Use resources efficiently
- Search for less costly ways of doing things
Safety
- Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance
- Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation
- Stop in the face of uncertainty and takes time to resolve the situation
- Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication
- Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers
- Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review in order to self-check behavior and performance
