Description

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Job title:

Emergency Nurse Specialist

Work Location:

Kono

Department:

Clinical

Report to:

Director of Nursing

Line Management

Clinical Nurse Educator

Organisation Profile

Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. PIH partners with local governments to build local capacity and works closely with impoverished communities to deliver high-quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research, and advocate for global policy change. Our delivered services in the field are based in our partnership with the Governments and Ministries of Health and the support to education, training and mentorship to Health care workers and students is one of our pillars for the Health care system strengthening.

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world.

Our Work in Sierra Leone:

Partners In Health (PIH) began supporting the government of Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola epidemic in October 2014. Recognizing the large need for continued investments in the health system after Ebola, PIH is committed to long-term health system strengthening in support of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), guided by the same principles as our emergency response and our work around the world: public sector accompaniment, integrated and comprehensive services, social justice, nimbleness and flexibility, partnership, community ownership, and evidence-based interventions. In the aftermath of the epidemic, PIH is committed to supporting the delivery of comprehensive health services in Sierra Leone, from the community level to the health center and to referral hospitals.

Position Overview

The Emergency Nurse Specialist will be an integral part of the clinical team, working collaboratively with others across all of the PIH-supported facilities to ensure that staff nurses consistently deliver high quality, patient-centered care and that nursing students meet their core clinical objectives during placement. It is also important that the Emergency Nurse Specialist seeks to develop and maintain relationships with all of the clinical leadership, both within PIH and MOHS and to promote the PIH model of social medicine in healthcare.

The Emergency Nurse Specialist will provide optimal emergency nursing care to relieve patients from pain and life-threatening conditions through the nursing process. He/She will also be responsible for promoting evidence-based nursing practice through training of the emergency department staff, facilitate didactic and clinical skills training, and providing bedside mentorship to ensure that practice standards and continuously met and adhered to.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Specific Responsibilities:

The Emergency Nurse Specialist is responsible for maintaining and developing the following key performance areas:

Clinical Practice:

• Perform nursing practice in accordance with Sierra Leone’s Nursing and Midwifery standards of practice, policies and guidelines.
• Triage patients using the South African Triage Scale (SATS) system.
• Provide and perform Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support procedures.
• Monitor and interpret vital signs and offer appropriate interventions.
• Assess and perform peripheral IV cannulation.
• Perform focused and Head-to-Toe assessment.
• Perform focused assessment of level of consciousness.
• Collect blood samples for the required laboratory tests and interpret the results for appropriate interventions.
• Perform and interpret Electrocardiogram (ECG).
• Administer prescribed emergency drugs, monitor adverse reactions and provide appropriate interventions.
• Assess and manage wounds of critically injured and trauma patients.
• Monitor unstable patients and offer appropriate interventions.
• Play an active role in emergency preparedness and response.
• Ensure proper documentation of all patient care and interventions.
• Collaborate with others on the health care team to provide continuity of patient care.
• Provide mentorship and clinical support to nurses and students.
• Act as a preceptor in the training of emergency nurses and other clinical staff.
• Contribute to the design, set-up and management of the Emergency Unit.

  Education and Research:

  • Demonstrate accountability for nursing practice.
  • Maintain accreditation in mandatory and extended skills.
  • Demonstrate expert clinical knowledge through problem solving and decision making.
  • Identify strategies for optimizing patient care in the clinical environment based on current research and evidence in clinical practice.
  • Initiate, participate and contribute to the development of clinical knowledge and skills of new and existing nurses as well as student nurses.
  • Participate in the delivery of formal and informal training modules.
  • Collaborate with the Clinical Nurse Educator to identify research opportunities.
  • Participate in the development and review of clinical and practice guidelines.
  • Contribute to the nursing education component of the strategic plan of the organization.

    Quality Improvement and Management:

    • Promote and participate in quality improvement and safety activities as well as institutional accreditation processes.
    • Participate in relevant committees, meetings and service activities as required and provide relevant feedback and dissemination of appropriate information
    • Maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills on quality improvement related to emergency care.
    • Participate in critical incident debriefings as required.
    • Continuously monitor and assess care delivery interventions against established standards.

      Professional Practice and Development:

      • Actively pursue opportunities to advance own professional knowledge and skill development.
      • Maintain own competence as an Emergency Nurse Specialist through education and clinical practice.
      • Participate in relevant ongoing professional development programs.
      • Demonstrate a commitment to professional development through membership in relevant professional organizations or associations.
      • Demonstrate awareness of current nursing practice, initiatives and related health issues that enhance emergency nursing care.
      • Participate in health promotion and community outreach activities.
      • Act as an effective role model for staff through mentoring and teaching so as to achieve optimal staff development and patient outcomes