Registered Nurse - Atrium Health Physician Connection Line FT Variable at Atrium Health

Job Summary

Proactively manages patient flow and inpatient beds from a hospital wide perspective for multiple Atrium Health Hospitals using the most current bed allocation criteria. Collaborates with coworkers in Patient Placement as well as other departments and disciplines to assure timely bed assignments to the most appropriate level of care. Serves as a clinical resource for the Admission Transfer Coordinators. Identifies and responds to issues impacting or delaying patient throughput, escalating issues as necessary. Maintains patient confidentiality.

Essential Functions

• Promptly assigns beds in accordance with unit criteria and hospital policies
• Create pre-admission accounts in Epic for direct admission patients while avoiding the creation of duplicate accounts
• Able to successfully navigate in various applications to include but not limited to Cerner and Epic.
• Reviews applicable information in Epic and Cerner to assist with proper placement of patients
• Coordinate bed clean priorities with environmental services.
• Communicates relevant information to coworkers and escalates placement issues to the team lead as necessary.
• Serves as a mentor for new teammates and assists in hands-on training and support.
• Keeps up to date with changes in bed allocation criteria including unit changes, hospital policy changes and infection control policies.
• Provides support to customers.

Additional Essential Functions

• Obtains accepting/consulting providers, accurately documents PHI, and coordinates patient transport and bed assignment.
• Develops and maintains effective processes and documentation in information systems to facilitate efficient and appropriate admissions.
• Interacts with the entire Transfer Center team to ensure appropriate and timely placement of patients accepted for transfer.
• Gathers and maintains accurate representation of acute care facility bed capacity. Sends redistribution notification and regular updates to administrators, providers, facility leadership and area transportation agencies.
• Navigates complex algorithms based upon requested specialty in combination with knowledge of bed availability, proximity of the referring facility to the receiving facility, patient diagnosis and specialties and services needed to determine the most-appropriate receiving provider and facility.
• Attends facility Capacity and Safety Huddles to monitor staffing, safety, and capacity concerns as needed.
• Intake RN/ Patient Logistics Coordinator/ Universal Acceptor Responsibilities (as applicable):
o Utilizes computer technology integrated telephone answering system for process inbound and outbound calls.
o Activate code group alerts to multidisciplinary teams to provide timely, high-quality patient care. Documents PHI and timestamps for accurate data collection and national data registry reporting.
o Sends diversion notification and regular updates to administrators, providers, facility leadership and area transportation agencies when a facility nears capacity.
o Serves as a liaison between the medical staff of the referring facility and the medical staff at the receiving facility to ensure a smooth inbound patient transfer process.
o Prioritizes the urgency of requests presenting through the phone queue and the electronic transfer request queue, as well as the urgency of all outstanding requests.
o Obtains accepting/consulting providers, accurately documents clinical information and personal health information, coordinates patient transport by partnering with the MedCenter Air Communications Center, and coordinates bed assignment. Provides timely communication throughout the process.
o Provides guidance as needed to referring facilities as to the most appropriate service or medical specialty to address their patients' medical needs.
o Review the EHR and communicates with the referring health care team as necessary to ensure the patient has not had significant clinical findings or changes and to ensure that the intended nursing unit is still appropriate.
o Assists Transfer Center Specialist teammates to manage, prioritize and/or redirect requests pending physician acceptance, bed assignment or patient placement.

Physical Requirements
Ability to sit for prolonged periods. Ability to multi-task under pressure. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively on the computer and via telephone. Ability to continuously monitor computer screens.

Education, Experience and Certifications

Licensed RN in the state of North Carolina required; BSN preferred. At least 1 year of experience in medical office or hospital setting required. Proficient computer skills required. Strong communication and interpersonal skills required.

Additional Training, Certifications and Experience

• 1-3 Years varied experience to include Med/Surg, Critical Care and Emergency preferred.
• Working knowledge of the Dispatch and Electronic Health Record and how they relate to admission, transfer, and discharge processes preferred.
• Previous experience in a call center or in virtual care preferred.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.