Point of Entry Nurse (RN) | Access & Throughput Center | Days

Overview

At Houston Methodist, the Point of Entry Nurse (POE) is a licensed registered nurse (RN) who responsible for facilitation of the functional and operational aspects for patients' entrance into the hospital. This position provides support to hospital units through the facilitation and coordination of patient flow and bed utilization. The POE Nurse position collaborates with clinical staff and interprofessional health care team to ensure resource utilization is appropriate to the patient's clinical needs and within covered benefits. This position ensures a compassionate, integrated, multi-disciplinary case approach which supports health caregivers to provide the highest quality, most clinically appropriate admission placement of patients, while promoting the most cost-effective utilization of the hospital's resources for those patients admitted to the hospital. The POE Nurse position ensures the most appropriate placement of patients as it relates to floors, rooms and campus, evaluating current and future needs for optimal patient care and reviews for intake and placement, external patients are clinically appropriate.

Houston Methodist Standard

PATIENT AGE GROUP(S) AND POPULATION(S) SERVEDRefer to departmental "Scope of Service" and "Provision of Care" plans, as applicable, for description of primary age groups and populations served by this job for the respective HM entity.

HOUSTON METHODIST EXPERIENCE EXPECTATIONS

• Provide personalized care and service by consistently demonstrating our I CARE values:
  • INTEGRITY: We are honest and ethical in all we say and do.
  • COMPASSION: We embrace the whole person including emotional, ethical, physical, and spiritual needs.
  • ACCOUNTABILITY: We hold ourselves accountable for all our actions.
  • RESPECT: We treat every individual as a person of worth, dignity, and value.
  • EXCELLENCE: We strive to be the best at what we do and a model for others to emulate.

• Practices the Caring and Serving Model

• Delivers personalized service using HM Service Standards

• Provides for exceptional patient/customer experiences by following our Standards of Practice of always using Positive Language (AIDET, Managing Up, Key Words)

• Intentionally collaborates with other healthcare professionals involved in patients/customers or employees' experiential journeys to ensure strong communication, ease of access to information, and a seamless experience

• Involves patients (customers) in shift/handoff reports by enabling their participation in their plan of care as applicable to the given job

• Actively supports the organization's vision, fulfills the mission and abides by the I CARE values

Responsibilities

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Collaborates to foster healthy relationships in the work environment. Maintains a good rapport with the Emergency Department (ED), physicians and their office staff to streamline patient entry to the hospital, receiving admitting orders and special request concerning each patient. Coordinates with case manager to escalate cases.

• Demonstrates teamwork by awareness department activities, consistently offering assistance, and responding positively to requests for assistance. Works closely with ED physicians, social workers and case managers to identify alternate level of care/treatment plan for patients who do not require admission.

• Identifies levels of organizational conflict and applies tools to effectively resolve concerns, complaints or conflict with patients, families, physicians and other interprofessional health care team members. Facilitates bed issue resolution when conflicts arise.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Oversees patient placement in appropriate beds based on admission criteria, diagnosis, medical necessity, clinical needs, bed availability and staffing, demonstrating proficiency in bed placement.

• Coordinates patient flow and bed utilization through frequent and timely communication, maintaining close communication to the unit department regarding patient and physician requests to ensure smooth transition of patients in our facility. Continually assesses needs of customers.

• Reviews orders on patients from admission access points to ensure appropriate level of care. Documents, as appropriate, working diagnosis on ED placements: - Surgery schedule and PACU patients - Emergency Department - Transfer Center - Physician offices/direct admits

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Evaluates transfers to entity for appropriateness including clinical, financial and social issues and coordinates them with unit and Operations Administrator, ensuring they are managed in a timely manner and w