Clinic Nurse

Lowcountry Oncology Associates mission is delivering high-quality and compassionate cancer care in our community, for our community and by oncologist who in live in our community.

Why Join Us? Our team values the work components of every member to create a culture of people helping people and making a difference in our lives and those we serve.

Job Description:

Responsibilities

• Provides direct patient care to patients by conducting patient histories and assessments including symptoms performance status scores and clinical changes from the previous visit and formulate the care plan for patients and family.
• Demonstrate competency in the performance of simple and complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as venipuncture, administration of IV fluids, care of vascular access devices and de-clotting of lines.
• Reviews patients’ medication, distress assessment or depression screening questionnaire, and vital signs, including pain assessment, on each visit to the clinic and plans nursing interventions.
• Assesses patient adherence with medications, treatments, and appointments.
• Provide instructions and directions to patients and families on diagnostic tests and antineoplastic treatment side effects.
• Provides patient and caregiver education and serves as an educator for nursing and other staff.
• Documents the interventions and outcomes of the care plan in the medical record.
• Evaluates the need for prescription refills, effectiveness of medications, or medication changes.
• Provide continuity of care between outpatient and inpatient departments on patient admissions to the hospital and accepts information on discharges from the hospital.
• Facilitates the transition of care for patients to home care, palliative care, or Hospice in collaboration with the cancer team.
• Optimizes physical and emotional comfort for patients and families by providing equipment, resources, or referrals to community services.
• Manages telephone calls from patients and families and triages patients calls, assesses the clinical problem, and make the nursing diagnosis and care plan related to the patient's problem.
• Optimizes the use of team resources by establishing patient priorities and advising medical assistants, nurse practitioners, physicians, and other Staffs of patient's needs.
• Reviews all the patient medical data prior to a patient visit to ensure that all results from the laboratory reports, pathology reports, and imaging studies, as well as medical records, are available for the medical team during the patient visit.
• Serves as a patient advocate on issues related to the clinical changes and physical status of patient since the previous clinic visit.
• Reviews lab results and INRs and informs patient of Coumadin/Lab results, treatment and schedules per LOA guidelines.

Quality and Safety

• Assist in the development of policies and procedures for management of clinical patients.
• Contributes to the problem list derived from the assessment in the areas of physical, emotional and psychosocial status.
• Participates in quality metrics and provides data for the oncology dashboard.

Team Leadership

• Assess patients to achieve maximal level of functioning by coordinating resources on the interprofessional team.
• Collaborates with the psychosocial team to coordinate patient and caregiver services, such as skilled home nursing care, respiratory therapy, nutritional counseling, home infusion, ostomy and central line and wound dressing supplies, medication and pharmacy, medical equipment, and psychosocial counseling.
• Assist patients with completion of disability and other forms required for their functioning and well-being.
• Identifies patients for oncology clinical trials and collaboration with the research department.
• Submits cases and attends tumor boards to participate in the interprofessional conversation related to patients.

Job Qualifications and Skills

• Proficiency and clinical management of complex patients
• Ability to adapt quickly in a fast-paced clinic environment
• Current knowledge of latest trends, skills, procedures, and protocols and hematology, oncology and internal medicine practice.
• Knowledge and skills necessary to provide care to patients of varying age groups, human development stages, and cultural groups.
• Understanding of the latest evidence-based oncology, immunology, pharmacology, community health, and cultural sensitivity information.
• Knowledge of chronic illnesses and comorbidity management.
• Ability to communicate with members of the interprofessional team with written verbal proficiency.
• Ability to coordinate oncology patient care with other interprofessional staff.
• Ability to network within the institution as well externally.
• Flexibility and multitasking skills
• Leadership ability and priority setting and delegating patient care.
• Skills and interpersonal relationships, program development, critical thinking, and problem solving.
• Strong ability to use data, computer systems, and electronic health records and support patient care delivery.

Qualifications/Competencies

• RN, LVN with South Carolina license
• CPR Certification
• Experience in an outpatient setting and oncology and chemotherapy experience preferred.
• Knowledge of professional nursing theory, regulations and practices to give and evaluate patient care.
• Knowledge of chemotherapy drugs and side effect.
• Applying and modifying the principles, methods and techniques of professional nursing to provide ongoing patient care.
• Anticipating and reacting calmly to emergency situations and in identifying problems and recommending solutions.
• Preparing/maintaining records, writing reports and responding to correspondence.
• Experience in acute care, specific patient populations and diseases
• Evidence of successful completion and didactic education and competency validation regarding safe handling, administration, patient education and support, and disposal of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.