Registered Nurse; RN

Registered Nurse (RN) Overview

The Registered Nurse (RN) functions under the supervision and guidance of the Clinical Director and/or Physician and participates in the multidisciplinary process of providing care and treatment to patients. The RN makes nursing decisions in uncertain conditions drawing on a broad-based depth of knowledge, recognizes life-threatening emergencies, and uses systematic, comprehensive patient assessment tools and protocols appropriately. The RN practices nursing utilizing the nursing process to give advice based on best practice, critical judgment, and protocols, and maintains excellent interviewing, documentation, and communication skills.

• Urologic nursing is the specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on assisting the health care consumer in regaining and/or maintaining urologic health and preventing comorbid physical and/or psychological illness associated with urologic conditions. This involves provision of individualized, holistic, and evidence-based care for patients with urologic needs.
• Urologic nurses perform focused health exams and educate patients on how to best maintain genitourinary health, which can significantly impact their quality of life.
• Urologic nurses utilize the nursing process of assessment, diagnosis, outcomes identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation, working collaboratively with other members of the healthcare team. Because of sensitive issues related to genitourinary disorders, caring, empathy, respect, compassion, support, and acceptance are essential to the role of the urologic registered nurse.
• Urologic nurses are self‑motivated, self‑directed, lifelong learners who recognize the need to:
  • Participate in continuing education and professional development to maintain competence;
  • Actively conduct and/or collaborate in clinic research projects;
  • Utilize current evidence‑based practice guidelines to standardize care;
  • Read, review, and participate in discussions of professional literature;
  • Maintain ongoing collaborative efforts with other members of the healthcare team;
  • Share unique knowledge and skills with other members of the healthcare team.
• Assess the patient and identify actual or potential health, safety, or educational needs.
• Implement nursing interventions based on the plan of care.
• Evaluate care and the patient's response to interventions and expected outcomes.
• Systematically evaluate the patient's response to interventions.
• Coordinate patient care with other health care team members.
• Conduct direct patient assessment and evaluation.
• Demonstrate appropriate hand‑washing technique to ensure proper infection control and follow universal precautions.
• Function as a triage nurse, providing telephone support to patients during office hours.
• Assess symptoms for various medical problems, determining if the patient should follow up with a physician or seek emergent care.
• Schedule emergent or same‑day appointments based on telephone assessment.
• Provide patients with lab results.
• Process prescription refills.
• Communicate patient information to the physician and follow through with physician recommendations.
• Document all telephone conversations related to the patient’s assessment in the electronic medical record.
• Perform all aspects of patient care in an environment that optimizes patient safety and reduces the likelihood of medical/health care errors.
• Obtain and record patient medical histories, vitals, test results, and other information for medical records while maintaining strict confidentiality.
• Coordinate the daily administrative activities, including scheduling, patient check‑in and check‑out, patient phone calls, and patient medical record maintenance.
• Verify patient information by interviewing the patient, reviewing and/or recording medical history, taking vital signs, and confirming the purpose of visit or treatment.
• Prepare treatment rooms for clinical examinations and assist practitioners with medical procedures and other patient care.
• Support patient care delivery by helping health care providers during examinations; prepare laboratory specimens; perform basic laboratory tests on the…