Registered Nurse Navigator (RN) - Radiation Oncology

ChristianaCare is currently seeking a full-time Registered Nurse for our Radiation Oncology team at the Helen F. Graham Center located in Newark, DE. All candidates must be available to cross cover the other locations listed below as needed.

• ChristianaCare B 130 Main Campus in Newark, DE
• Concord Health Center in Chadds Ford, PA

Shift:

• Full-time - 40 hours/week
• Day shift hours to be scheduled between 7:00am-5:30pm
• No holidays and no weekends.

Our Team:

There are twelve (12) Radiation Oncology Registered Nurses responsible for coverage at the three locations, with seven nurses scheduled to cover the high volume of patient visits at the main HFGCCRI location in Newark, three nurses covering the high acuity inpatients and HDR patients at the Hospital, and one-two nurse at the Concord Health location.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

• Completes comprehensive nursing assessment of patients before, during, and after radiation therapy by means of interview, patient history, and/or review of symptoms ensuring unmet needs are matched with appropriate referral sources 
• Provides professional nursing care as appropriate.  Coordinates patient care with radiation oncology physicians.
• Performs triage for a case load of between 25-40 patients per day, managing side effects of radiation/chemo-radiation treatments and providing/reinforcing education and management of symptoms.
• Identifies potential barriers to care, to include but not limited to transportation, psychosocial, financial, disparity, language, etc) and initiates referrals in a timely manner  
• Coordinate care with the research nurse in the interdepartmental management of patients requiring combined therapy (chemotherapy/hormonal/biological/radiation); navigates patient through course of treatment ensuring compliance with protocol.   
• Navigates patients through appointments including Radiation Oncology, Hematology/Oncology, Imaging, Laboratory, GYN Oncology, and Multidisciplinary Clinics (MDC)
• Coordinates plan of care with external departments including MDC, Hematology/Oncology, GYN Oncology, and other departments as appropriate
• Identifies barriers in the navigation process and seeks appropriate resources to mitigate barriers
• Schedules patients for diagnostic and other imaging studies to ensure timely delivery of care and in conjunction with physician order  
• Responsible for the coordination of care for patients undergoing high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy procedures including patient education for pre- and post-surgery; scheduling OR or anesthesia; assisting Radiation Oncologist with actual procedure; inventory supplies; sterilization of instruments, cleaning. (will discuss if this is needed)
• Monitor/manage post-anesthesia pediatric patients undergoing radiation therapy in collaboration with professional staff from A I Dupont and other facilities where the pediatric patient is located.  (will discuss if this is needed)
• Responsible for placing peripheral IVs and administering IV contrast and therapies, following established protocols and guidelines. This includes calculating GFR, selecting appropriate IV sites, and ensuring the safe and effective delivery of treatments.
• Change dressings, catheterizes patients for specific CTs, suction tracheotomies if needed, takes vital signs, triage patients for acute changes in condition.
• Provides patient education, identifies barriers to education, and reiterates physician instructions and advice; collaborates with patients to establish realistic goals and activities to enhance patient self-management and participates in plan of care. 
• Coordinate neurosurgeons, breast surgeons, urologists, interventional radiologists, other specialists and intra/interdepartmentally all aspects of the scheduling involved with complex radiotherapy cases including total body irradiation, stereotactic radiation surgery, high dose rate brachytherapy, and low dose rate brachytherapy. 
• Participates in the development of assessment tools, nursing policies and procedures, patient education literature, treatment pathways and algorithms for cancer patients within the department. 
• Leads or participates as a member on the department performance improvement committee and collaborates with other committee members, assisting in the analysis of clinical outcomes and identifying both strengths and opportunities for improvement. 

• Coordinates and provides patient, family, staff and community education through the use of expert clinical knowledge base. 
• Leads education and provides resources on transitioning patient from end of treatment to survivorshi