Nurse- Vad Mcs, Bwh

Position Summary

The Registered Nurse Coordinator in the Center for Advanced Heart Disease (CAHD: Heart Failure, VAD, and Heart Transplant) is a professional registered nurse licensed in the state of Massachusetts with heart failure experience who is responsible for all aspects of ambulatory care of the advanced heart disease patient. This position will work closely with all members of the CAHD team, inpatient staff, and others as necessary to ensure efficacious care in the ambulatory and hospital settings.

Advanced Heart Disease patients are an extremely complex group and as such the coordinator must possess a strong clinical background. The Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Staff Nurse will assist in the medical and surgical management of patients with end‑stage heart disease that are being evaluated for, undergoing, or have undergone implantation of mechanical circulatory support.

Primary responsibilities will include:

• Supporting and extending the clinical activities of MCS physicians and nurse practitioners.
• Collecting and entering quality and performance measure data into MCS databases, as required by the hospital, and by local, regional, and national agencies.
• Assisting in MCS research activities.

• Coordinates evaluation of advanced heart failure patients being considered for mechanical circulatory support, including left and/or right ventricular assist device. Responsibilities include organization of cardiac and non‑cardiac testing; collecting and reporting results; entering clinical information into electronic databases; and sharing information with internal and external providers as needed.
• Collaborates with unit staff, MCS nurse practitioners, and physicians to facilitate a comprehensive plan of care and coordinate resources.
• Coordinates with a multitude of multidisciplinary MCS patient teams that can include but are not limited to physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, and care coordinators to ensure that a patient is an appropriate MCS candidate.
• Maintains continuous communication with and training of community agencies such as local EMS or community hospitals regarding ongoing care and support.
• Supports efforts in maintaining MCS‑related information for management of the MCS program.
• Communicates anticipated patient needs to appropriate physicians, nurses, and admitting departments.
• Maintains telephone contact with patients to assess clinical status, monitor response to and possible complications of MCS therapy, adjust medications in consultation with clinical providers and organize outpatient or inpatient follow‑up as needed.
• Assists in urgent or non‑emergent MCS patient triage, including emergency room visits and transfer from outside institutions and facilitation of scheduled clinical visits, and documents care provided.
• Collaborates with inpatient nursing care specific to patient travel to tests or operating room as well as discharge education and planning.
• Provides education to MCS patients and family members as well as inpatient staff nurses and house staff regarding important aspects of care, including but not limited to device function and maintenance, activity level, diet, medication adherence and healthcare follow‑up.
• Maintains up‑to‑date and relevant patient education materials.
• Works collaboratively with biomedical engineering, nursing and quality leadership to maintain up‑to‑date and safe equipment for MCS patients, including pumps, power modules, batteries, cables and other peripherals as well as ensuring that adequate supply is on hand for planned and emergency needs.
• Sets up consults with specialty providers, follows up consult recommendations and communicates results to MCS patient and other providers.
• Assists with communication and correspondence to/from patients, employers, pharmacies and insurance providers with regards to medication prescriptions, cardiac rehabilitation, disability, family medical leave, and payment coverage. May also communicate and correspond with other providers such as utility company, telephone company as dictated by patient needs.
• Collaborates with nursing and…