Registered Nurse Care Coordinator - General Surgery (Belcourt and Franklin General Surgery Clinics)

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Surgical Specialties Clinical

Job Summary:

JOB SUMMARY
Assists in developing and meeting key Pillar outcomes and system improvement goals including financial, satisfaction, and clinical as the nursing component of the care coordination model. This position Improves outcomes by reducing all cause hospital readmissions and coordinating episodes of care among patients in a defined population or disease process. Participates in identification of appropriate patients; encourage patient and family engagement in self-care management; promote warm handovers to the next level of care by providing timely, pertinent information in a standardized way; conduct patient and family education on key elements of the patients' personal care plan by using the "teach-back" methodology and follow up phone calls; and assists the patient in navigating the healthcare system.

Weekly responsibilities are but not limited to the following:
o Pre appointment review of new patient surgical consults for all surgeons
o Summarize and document relevant clinical findings for new patient surgical consults
o Proficient to expert in scheduling, appointment types, decision trees for General Surgery
o Independent, proactive, and responsible for confirming accuracy of surgeon new consult appts
o Utilize protocols to order additional pre-appt testing for surgical consults
o RN triage calls/messages for surgeon message baskets General Surgery Belcourt and Franklin
o Hernia PROM and metrics - ensuring RN education for hernia is documented and accurate
o Periodically review of patient education materials, and update for both clinics
o Manage all RN education dotphrases, update, and communicate to team
o Fill in as RN in clinic in emergent situations
o Serve as a nursing resource for clinical question escalation pathway, scheduling pathway for the PCPC (or access)
o Expert in complex clinical patient needs (ie Wound vac, dressing changes, complex diagnoses)

Preferred Education, Skills, and Experiences:
o Registered Nurse with at least 2 years minimum ambulatory experience and at least 5 years of Registered Nurse experience needed for the position
o Bachelor of Science prepared Registered Nurse
o Ability to proficiently schedule patient appointments and knowledge of visit types
o Competent to proficient knowledge of surgical patient care
o Proficient knowledge of pre-op, VPEC, and post op care pathways

Hours:
The clinic is open Monday - Friday; Days 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Department Summary:
Vanderbilt’s general surgeons are among the best in the region, if not the nation. We offer many types of surgery, including minimally invasive procedures. Our team includes the only surgeon in Middle Tennessee performing peroral endoscopic myotomy for achalasia. We also offer magnetic sphincter augmentation for reflux.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Coordinates the evaluation process of the defined patient population. May complete and document portions of the evaluation process, collaborating with other team members to ensure completion of all required information.
• Supports patient access by serving as a liaison between the referring provider's office and Vanderbilt provider.
• Interacts routinely and effectively with the clinical team to develop a collaborative plan for the coordination of patient care from the anchor hospitalization through the defined care episode.
• Develops and manages the processes related to pre-admission and post-discharge care transitions; establishes relationships/clinical pathways with providers/agencies to optimize care for defined patient population.
• Assists in the development and dissemination of patient education materials/information to include creation of customized medication grids with input from the pharmacist/team as needed.
• Assists with discharge/transition planning in collaboration with the multi-disciplinary team, actively engaging outpatient care pro