Job Category:

Clinical Support

Work Shift/Schedule:

8 Hr Morning - Afternoon

Northeast Georgia Health System is rooted in a foundation of improving the health of our communities.

About the Role:

EMU Coordinator will serve as the liaison for patients, families, and our care team. Through this work, you will help ensure effective and efficient patient care and on-going process improvement that produces excellent outcomes and exceptional patient and family experiences.

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00a-4:30p

Job Summary

Responsible for coordinating and implementing patient-centered, high quality care for patients in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) in collaboration with other members of the patient's care team.  Serves as the liaison with the multidisciplinary care team of physicians, nursing staff and other health professionals to ensure high quality patient outcomes are accomplished within the established time frame and appropriate use of resources throughout the continuum of care. The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit Coordinator participates in program development as it relates to the Epilepsy Program and serves as the Subject Matter Expert for Epilepsy care for NGHS.  Collaborates with System Nurse Educators and the Neuroscience Educator to develop and/or select materials for patient and family education.  Guides nursing care for EMU patients based on best practice and in accordance with established policies/procedures, serving as a resource person for staff, and modeling a commitment to the organization’s vision/mission/values to support an exceptional patient and family experience.
Assists with professional nursing shared governance and other projects as assigned.  Assists in the advancement of the professional practice environment by communicating the NGMC nursing strategic direction and focusing on activities that support the nursing strategic direction. Is a professional member of VOICE providing feedback on issues being addressed at meetings.

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Licensure or other certifications: Licensed to practice as RN in Georgia. Certification within two years of obtaining position.  Basic Life Support (BLS) from the American Heart Association (AHA) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification within 30 days of employment. Professional organization membership within one month of hire into the role.
• Educational Requirements: A degree in nursing (either BSN or MSN).
• Minimum Experience:
• Other:

Preferred Job Qualifications

• Preferred Licensure or other certifications:
• Preferred Educational Requirements: A Master’s Degree (Nursing or other if Possessing a BSN) within five years.
• Preferred Experience: Epilepsy Monitoring Unit experience and Performance Improvement experience.
• Other:

Job Specific and Unique Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Keeps team updated in national guidelines, changes or updates in current practices in Epilepsy, and accrediting body standards.

• Serves as Subject Matter Expert for strategic projects that span at the assigned campus.
• Must have evidence of advanced clinical knowledge, leadership abilities, teaching and communication skills.
• Effectively prioritizes and executes tasks to produce high quality work with minimal supervision.
• Supports a patient-first philosophy and engages in service recovery when necessary.
• Highly effective interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to maintain professional relationships to facilitate and assure the success of the Epilepsy Program.
• Positive attitude towards change and the ability to inspire and mentor others.
• Previous knowledge of community resources, data collection and analysis. Skills include: Proficiency in computer use, oral and written communication, ability to collaborate effectively as a team leader in a busy and growing epilepsy program.
• Collaborates with subject matter experts and other leaders to create an environment of teamwork that supports improved outcomes and service excellence.
• Demonstrates ability to maintain professional relationships in order to facilitate and assure the success of the Epilepsy Program.

Essential Tasks and Responsibilities

• Assists leaders, physicians, and staff with accrediting body requirements and coordinates accreditation activities for the Epilepsy Program/EMU.
• Assists with admission and discharge processes to ensure efficient throughput and high quality, patient-centered care.
• Assumes the active role of epilepsy awareness advocate for the patient/family unit. Advocates for and utilizes appropriate community resources for the benefit of the patient.  Assists in marketing of Epilepsy Monitoring Unit by rounding in provider clinics and attending health/resource fairs. Partners/collaborates with other organizations/corporations to help build and maintain relationships and communications and increase referrals.
• Performs retrospective review of data to monitor and evaluate the quality of patient care to formulate evidence based, performance recommendations to identify opportunities to improve patient outcomes.
• Attends and actively participates in Nursing Quality Team meetings and other patient care related committees and task forces. Monitors quality standards, variance events, and patient care trends and collaborates with clinical staff to identify opportunities and implement improvements.
• Provides community epilepsy education through lectures, interviews, and presentations to audiences as requested. Ensures that education materials are reviewed annually for health literacy and cultural competence. Assist nurses and health care staff in providing epilepsy education to patients and families when needed.
• Assures the EMU care team members are up to date on clinical pathways/management for patients.  Assist with department writing of procedures, standard work, and PI plans as requested.
• Collaborates with attending physician and interdisciplinary team in preparing, evaluating and redesigning the plan of care by attending IDT Huddles.
• Provides liaison function between the medical center and epilepsy outreach services to the community.
• Provides liaison function between hospital quality improvement, Patient Safety, discharge planning, and social service departments.
• Attends monthly and periodic team meetings for the operational functions of all epilepsy related services as requested.
• Serves as a point of contact for epilepsy treatment throughout the assigned hospital. Collaborates with members of the patient’s clinical care team in assuring appropriate treatment for epilepsy patients occurs.
• Serves as resource to committees/individuals responsible for collection and analysis of information/data related to required review functions.  Collaborates with PI department’s technical support in the provision of PI, Regulatory, or Patient Safety data.
• Communicates PI, Regulatory, or Patient Safety information to ensure patient safety and regulatory requirements are known and met.
• Escalates PI, Regulatory, or Patient Safety issues.  Investigates and acts appropriately to resolve issue.
• Collects and utilizes data to identify opportunities for patient care improvement.  Participates in NGMC Variance Evaluation Committee (VEC) and leads and participates in Root Cause Analysis (RCA) events.
• Completes special projects/reports requested by the Medical Director of Neurophysiology, and/or Director of Inpatient Medicine in a timely manner.

Physical Demands

• Weight Lifted: Up to 20 lbs, Occasionally 0-30% of time
• Weight Carried: Up to 20 lbs, Occasionally 0-30% of time
• Vision: Moderate, Frequently 31-65% of time
• Kneeling/Stooping/Bending: Occasionally 0-30%
• Standing/Walking: Occasionally 0-30%
• Pushing/Pulling: Occasionally 0-30%
• Intensity of Work: Occasionally 0-30%
• Job Requires: Reading, Writing, Reasoning, Talking, Keyboarding

Working at NGHS means being part of something special: a team invested in you as a person, an employee, and in helping you reach your goals. 

NGHS: Opportunities start here.

Northeast Georgia Health System is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not tolerate discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected classification or status.