Registered Nurse - East TCV Stepdown Unit

4 East is a 28-bed acute and intermediate care unit caring for UVA Health’s Thoracic, Cardiac, and Vascular (TCV) surgical patient population. Nurses gain exposure to a broad range of complex surgical patients. Typical nurse-to-patient ratios are 4:1 in acute care
, with the ability to flex to 5:1 when appropriate, and 3:1 in TIMU
. 4 East is an excellent destination for nurses who want to accelerate their clinical growth. The combination of acute and intermediate-care patients provides nurses with the opportunity to strengthen assessment, prioritization, critical-thinking, and clinical decision-making skills while caring for a highly specialized surgical population.

• Exposure to complex cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgical patients
• Blended acute and intermediate-care experience that builds a strong clinical foundation
• Experience with highly specialized procedures, including heart and lung transplantation
• Strong preparation for nurses interested in eventually moving into ICU or other advanced-care environments
• A culture that depends on teamwork, initiative, and colleagues supporting one another
• Significant opportunity to sharpen critical-thinking and prioritization skills
• Variety: this is not a unit where every shift looks the same

• Full-time:
  Three 12-hour shifts
• Part-time:
  Two 12-hour shifts
• Overtime:
  Opportunities are typically available for nurses interested in picking up additional shifts

Every six weeks, team members submit their preferred schedules. Leadership and administrative staff then balance those requests with patient-care and staffing needs, with the goal of honoring individual preferences whenever possible while maintaining safe staffing.

The scheduling model gives nurses an opportunity to communicate the shifts that work best for them while maintaining the coverage necessary for this high-acuity patient population.

No two days on 4 East are exactly alike.

Nurses provide comprehensive care throughout the surgical patient's journey, including:

• Performing patient assessments and ongoing reassessments
• Monitoring and caring for acute and intermediate-acuity patients
• Providing postoperative care to complex TCV surgical patients
• Documenting assessments, interventions, and outcomes
• Coordinating admissions, transfers, and discharges
• Supporting postoperative protocols and early mobilization
• Educating patients and families
• Recognizing and responding to changes in patient condition
• Prioritizing care across blended-acuity assignments
• Collaborating closely with the interdisciplinary care team

Nurses work alongside providers, PCTs, physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists, case managers, social workers, and other clinical partners
.

As a surgical unit, 4 East experiences frequent patient movement and turnover. Nurses have opportunities to become highly skilled in both complex clinical care and efficient patient throughput.

Nurses who enjoy being busy, learning continuously, and seeing tangible patient progress following major surgery can find 4 East especially rewarding.

• Strong clinical assessment and critical-thinking skills
• Ability to provide or develop competency in caring for postoperative thoracic, cardiac, and vascular surgery patients
• Ability to care for higher-acuity patients in an intermediate-care environment
• Ability and willingness to learn the management of patients following CABG, valve replacement, aneurysm repair, vascular repair, and thoracic surgery
• Clear, professional communication with patients, families, and interdisciplinary team members
• Strong teamwork and collaboration with nurses, providers,…