Advanced Practice Registered Nurse - Neurological Surgery

Responsibilities

The Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) delivers medical care to a wide variety of patients. The APRN also examines and treats patients independently and in autonomous collaboration with other health care professionals. Ensures proper illness and injury care and disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. May prescribe medications and order diagnostic tests. Advises patients about continuing care. Performs and documents complete physical examinations and comprehensive health histories.

Functions independently to perform age-appropriate history and physical for patients.

Orders and interprets diagnostic and therapeutic tests relative to patient’s age-specific needs. Prescribes appropriate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment modalities. Implements interventions to support the patient to regain or maintain physiologic stability. Assists with the provision of care in accordance with facility, state, and federal regulations. Monitors the effectiveness of interventions. Facilitates the patient’s transition within and between health care settings, e.g. admitting, transferring, and discharging patients.

Collaborates with multidisciplinary team members by making appropriate referrals. Facilitates staff, patient and family decision making by providing educational tools. Adheres to University and unit-level policies and procedures and safeguards University assets. This list of duties and responsibilities is not intended to be all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties or responsibilities as necessary.

Department addendum:
This position will work closely with the Neurosurgery Faculty, Residents, and nursing staff by assisting the physician in performing surgeries in the main OR and in ambulatory surgery, participating in daily rounds, providing patient care and discharges post-operatively, educating and counseling patients on both an inpatient and outpatient basis, providing support in a clinical setting during patient appointments, and facilitating patient surgical scheduling.

The position will also provide research and draft correspondence relating to patient work status, disability, medical prognosis and prospective plans of treatment on both an inpatient and outpatient basis and review patient diagnostics and lab reports for sign off on patient surgical packets and in the clinical setting.

Primary functions:
Provides Advanced Practice Nursing support to the department of Neurological Surgery as applicable, at inpatient and outpatient clinic locations as assigned;
Some outpatient clinic support;
Working closely with Neurosurgeons, fellows, residents, clinic and office support staff. Provides compassionate, quality and skilled patient care to Brain and Spine Neurosurgical patients. Collaborates with all members of the healthcare team in planning, triaging, implementing, monitoring and evaluating care deliver for the neurosurgical patient in a variety of settings. Performs comprehensive History, Physical, and Neurological exams including cranial and spinal assessments.

Documents/records information by Dictating and/or inputting in electronic form. Orders, obtains, and interprets laboratory and diagnostic studies. Prescribes medication and therapies within the APRN functions. Provides communication and interpretation to inpatient and outpatient hospital nursing staff, and coordinates implementation of clinic, hospital, nursing service policies and program. Optimizes efficient patient hospital and or clinic flow by analyzing treatment and referral systems on an on-going basis, and implements quality improvements, as necessary.

Monitors consistency and quality of patient outcomes for all neurosurgical specialties within the Uhealth hospital based clinics. Promotes and facilitates effective communications between the Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Hospital (UMH), Jackson Memorial Hospital and other clinical departments. Assists in the design, implementation and management of department clinical systems in order to optimize the treatment and disposition of patients with various neurosurgical disorders.

Act as a resource and a…