Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Provides first line telephone triage for calls from patients, families, caregivers, referral sources, and community. Uses telephone assessment skills to solve problems, provide symptom management, answer questions and allay concerns over the telephone. Identifies patients and families (in conjunction with administrator on-call when appropriate) who require emergency on-call visits and assign the appropriate team member to make the visit.
2. Provides coordination of after hour’s weekday schedule, weekend and holiday schedule for scheduled visits, changes in scheduled visits, emergency referrals and possible admissions, in collaboration with administrator on-call as needed.
3. Collaborates with other members of the Hospice Interdisciplinary Team: client, family, attending physician, other nurses, medical, director, social worker, volunteer, and clergy in designing the plan of care for the patient and family as appropriate and assigned by nurse manager.
4. Systematically collects data that are comprehensive, accurate, continuous, and current.
5. Uses assessment data to determine nursing diagnosis.
6. Demonstrates knowledge of current pain and symptom control interventions and applies this knowledge to care appropriately.
7. Reflects sensitivity to special needs of clients from diverse cultures as these needs apply to dying, quality of life, and ethical dilemmas.
8. Understands, facilitates, and documents the elements and processes of ethical decision making for clients and families.
9. Continuously updates and adjusts care via documented nursing actions consistent with recognized nursing theories and established knowledge.
10. Teaches and counsels family members, as well as patient regarding nursing care needs and emotional needs.
11. Participates, as appropriate, in the Agency's educational activities including new employee orientation and Agency staff education programs.
12. Interprets Hospice and VNA services and programs to individuals/families and personnel of other agencies.
13. Complies with Agency's personnel policies and procedures.
May perform other responsibilities relevant to the position as assigned including nursing visits in the event of an extreme emergency.
