Job description: St. Luke’s is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke’s are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay for health care. The Health Call Triage Registered Nurse, compassionately delivers an exceptional experience to patients across their life span, through the nursing process, assesses, plans, implements, and documents the effects of care. Performs with integrity and delivers the best customer service experience making all customers and team members feel better because they talked to you. The RN is responsible to use nursing judgment in answering/returning patient calls. Works cooperatively to provide support to team members by serving as a clinical resource as well as maintaining standards for professional nursing practice. These nursing functions of the RN are carried out according to the Nurse Practice Act, hospital policy/employee handbook, hospital vision and the Philosophy of the Department of Nursing. Opportunities to identify and exceed patient expectations by committing to and building strong relationships. This would include providing test results when appropriate, directing prescription refills to the appropriate provider, following a protocol established by the providers for the appropriate triage of medical questions/concerns from patients and/or families.

The intent of this job description is to provide a summary of the major duties and responsibilities of this position and shall not be considered as a detailed of all the work requirements that may be inherent in the position.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Performs in depth, systematic assessment of all assigned patients. Formulates collaborative and individualized plan of care and identifies expected patient outcomes, using the nursing process. Implements, evaluates and documents patient care interventions and effectiveness in accordance with care plan. Organizes, coordinates and prioritizes patient care consistently utilizing available resources. Maintains an awareness of unit budget. Functions as a professional role model and resource person providing guidance to Co-Workers. Takes active role in unit-based performance improvement. Maintains responsibility for own professional development through active participation in in-services and/or continuing education programs. Complies with established chain of command for work related problems. Participates in identifying unit needs and supports unit goals and objectives that contribute to the growth of the Patient Services Department. Maintains departmental records for administrative and regulatory purposes. Collaborates with other caregivers to assure appropriate staffing levels on all shifts.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Demonstrates effective communication using AIDET techniques on every call.
• Verify patient demographic information.
• Serves as a clinical resource for other team members customers. Prioritize calls, responds to patient communications and routes complete and accurate messages to the appropriate individual. Ascertains patient’s chief complaints and describes same in chart accurately and succinctly. Reviews drug allergies and present medications. Assists with patient education re: diet, medications, etc.
• Creates a positive patient experience at every encounter, attempting to resolve any issues or concerns of the patient at the time of the phone call.
• Handles escalated calls, resolving more complex patient issues independently and in real time.
• Research complex clinical issues and work with support resources to resolve patient issues and/or partner with others to resolve escalated issues.
• Demonstrates competency in the assessment, range of treatment, knowledge of growth and development and communication appropriate to the age of the patient treated.
• Assist with appointment scheduling or connections with Urgent Care or ED’s when appropriate. Identify opportunity to develop or optimize nurse driven protocols in collaboration with providers.
• Maintain good working relations with various network departments to ensure the scheduling and clinical communication process flows smoothly.
• Provides outstanding and compassionate care and service, fostering teamwork.
• Updates and or communicates correct patient information to appropriate staff, offices. Ongoing knowledge of clinical protocols and procedures.
• Takes active role in facilitation team approach to functions within the department:
• Attends departmental meetings.
• Actively participates as a team member in resolution of problems as they are identified.
• Analyzes current procedures, bringing suggestions for improvement to the attention of team members and supervisor for consideration.
• Consistently meets productivity, schedule adherence and quality standards as determined by management.
• Maintains confidentiality of all materials handled within the Network/ Entity as well as the proper release of information.
• Complies with Network and departmental policies regarding issues of employee, patient and environmental safety and follows appropriate reporting requirements.
• Demonstrates/models the Network’s Service Excellence Standards of Performance in interactions with all customers and staff members (internal and external).
• Mentor and coach teammates in the following areas as appropriate: Customer/Service Improvement, Operational System/Process, and Safety.

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Other related duties as assigned.
• Provide clinical support in an after-hours setting.
• Support Network initiatives when applicable.