RN - Operating Room Nurse Educator

We are growing! Children's National Hospital is looking for a senior level perioperative RN with strong clinical and department based leadership experience. Our Clinical Instructors work with our new and experienced nurses to continue expanding their scope of practice within a specialty.

Surgical Services at the main hospital campus is equipped and available to provide 24 hours a day, seven days a week surgical care.

The Perioperative Services Department consists of the following areas:

•           Surgery Preparation

•           Operating Rooms (17 O.R.’s and 2 Procedure Rooms)

•           Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU-12 prep and 35 post anesthesia bays)

•           Sterile Processing Department (SPD)

•           Radiology

•           Endoscopy

In our delivery of care we aim for quality healthcare that is: patient centered, safe, timely, efficient, equitable, and effective. The department is engaged in quality, performance improvement and research to provide care that has the patient and family in mind. 

Perioperative Services’ mission is facilitated through a culture of safety. The focus of care is on the patient, family, and the environment. The department strives for an environment that enables the provision for safe patient care, excellence in performance, improvement in our process, and positive health outcomes.

Children’s National surgery center performs nearly 17,000 procedures each year on infants, children and adolescents, including kidney transplants, scoliosis, hernia repairs, and procedures to treat disorders and abnormalities of the esophagus and trachea. Other special services include corneal implants and cataract surgeries, and we specialize in cochlear implant for the ear. Children’s surgeons perform laser surgery and employ many types of minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy and thoracoscopy.  

Children’s National has a world-class team of pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and support staff who have developed a variety of programs designed with children in mind. One of our newest additions is the DaVinci robot and MRI suite.

Minimum Education
BSN Required

Minimum Work Experience
5 years of Operating Room and/or PACU/Procedural Nursing experience required; experience in procedural care of children preferred. 

Functional Accountabilities
Professional Practice/Research

• Discuss with each orientee the role expectations of orientee, Clinical Instructor, Advanced Practice Specialist and Staff Development

• Specialist related to orientation and ongoing education.

• Review individual orientee learning needs and develop an individualized education plan for orientee; Communicate orientation outcomes to

• all involved.

• Use teaching methods that facilitate education using adult learning principles.

• Participate in competency training for Unit.

• Identify patient and family educational needs with orientees.

Education

• Discuss with each orientee the role expectations of orientee, Clinical Instructor, Advanced Practice Specialist and Staff Development

• Specialist related to orientation and ongoing education.

• Review individual orientee learning needs and develop an individualized education plan for orientee; Communicate orientation outcomes to all involved.

• Use teaching methods that facilitate education using adult learning principles.

• Participate in competency training for Unit.

• Identify patient and family educational needs with orientees.

Clinical Instruction

• Provide direct patient care in area of specialty independently or in the role of a preceptor.

• Identify weekly clinical experience goals with each orientee in conjunction with Manager, Coordinator, Advanced Practice Specialist, and/or Staff Development Specialist; plan appropriate assignments and learning experiences according to didactic sequence and needs of each orientee.

• Plan patient care assignments - select experiences a day ahead and be flexible with changes; communicate w/ manager and charge nurse.

• Use individual & dual assignments. Individual – assign orientee to one or more clients–the orientee may be responsible for only certain aspects of care or total care. Dual –the orientee work along w/a staff member or CI to care for one or more clients; define role expectations of the orientee & specific objectives for the assignment (a very directed experience); dual assignments may also be two orientees assigned to one patient (important for clear communication re: aspects of care each will do).

• Develop follow-up activities with orientee after patient care experience.

• Arrange for “other” clinical experience - i.e. clinics, ORs, cath lab, etc., as appropriate for fellows and direct these experiences.

Patient Care Instruction

• Participate in planning patient and family education, in collaboration with orientee and nursing staff; select teaching/learning methods appropriate to content and families learning preference.

• Participate in planning patient and family discharge needs, in collaboration with orientee, case manager, nursing staff, and physicians.

• Allow orientee to prepare for the patient care assignment by reviewing the patient's diagnosis, status of the patient, current management plan (meds and nursing care). Prior to patient care the orientee should be able to describe pathophysiology and explain nursing care; develop med cards; describe med action, desired effect, dosage range, side effects; major nursing implications and explain related diagnostic tests (if any had been done).

• Help orientee organize their patient care priorities; role play possible scenarios and provide support to the orientee by asking questions to encourage critical thinking.

• Post Clinical Conference – Facilitate patient care discussions at a post conference; have orientee record experiences related to the case history of the patient in their clinical log, care given, personal response to clinical encounters, and questions for follow-up; document achievement of competencies of each orientee.

• Participate in teaching content in the didactic and lab setting; facilitate socialization of the orientee to the work place; serve as a role model to the orientee in terms of patient care provider, teacher, and leader.

• Participate in providing direct patient care through: assignment with orientee; teaching patients and families utilizing selected teaching/learning methods; implement discharge activities as appropriate to patients and families; what must be done on schedule; what must be done sometime during the shift.

Safety

• Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance

• Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation

• Stop in the face of uncertainty and takes time to resolve the situation

• Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication

• Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers

• Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review in order to self-check behavior and performance

Organizational Accountabilities
Organizational Accountabilities (Staff)
Organizational Commitment/Identification

• Anticipate and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met

Teamwork/Communication

• Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior

• Partner with all team members to achieve goals

• Receptive to others’ ideas and opinions

Performance Improvement/Problem-solving

• Contribute to a positive work environment

• Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change

• Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes

• Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment

Cost Management/Financial Responsibility

• Use resources efficiently

• Search for less costly ways of doing things

Safety

• Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance

• Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation

• Stop in the face of uncertainty and takes time to resolve the situation

• Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication

• Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers

• Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review in order to self-check behavior and performance