Job Description
Staff nurses provide holistic care to patients in hospice settings, focusing on maximizing quality of life for individuals with terminal illnesses and supporting their caregivers. Nurses assess conditions, administer treatments, and monitor progress at the Center for Compassionate Care. They manage symptoms in a home-like facility that offers 24-hour care when home management fails. This role ensures compassionate comfort through skilled interventions and education, impacting both patients and families during end-of-life stages.
Hospice El Paso operates as a non-profit organization and serves the community by providing specialized care regardless of ability to pay. Founded by local residents, it delivers comfort and support through teams of physicians, nurses, assistants, social workers, chaplains, and support staff. Services encompass home care, nursing facilities, assisted living, rehabilitation centers, and skilled nursing facilities, with a dedicated inpatient center for acute needs.
Nurses assess patients physically, psycho-socially, and spiritually upon admission and at intervals, establishing care plans in collaboration with interdisciplinary teams. They document pain levels, intervene appropriately, and educate patients on deficits. Workers report changes to decision-making coordinators and physicians, obtain orders, and implement treatments while communicating updates. They evaluate medications, ensure accuracy in administration, and make referrals for support. Following pronouncement of death protocols, nurses participate in team communications for admissions, discharges, or plan changes. A challenge involves handling extra shifts, covering calls promptly, and maintaining accurate documentation weekly, including transcribing orders and preparing reports for meetings. Physical demands include safe handling in an inpatient environment with potential for variable workloads.
The position provides competitive salary and benefits like medical, dental, and vision insurance. Additional options include company-paid life insurance and voluntary life, short-term disability, long-term disability, paid holidays, paid time off, and employer-match 403b. Full-time and part-time positions are available with night shifts. Nurses may advance professionally and work in an equal opportunity environment. No specific travel or other arrangements detailed beyond inpatient facility focus.
Responsibilities
- Assess, plan, implement, and evaluate individual care from admission to discharge
- Perform physical, psycho-social, and spiritual assessments
- Document current pain level and intervention outcomes
- Educate patients to overcome identified knowledge deficits
- Report changes in patient’s condition to DCO and physician
- Obtain physician orders and implement interventions
- Document all communication
- Assess and document medication levels
- Maintain accuracy in recording and administering medications
- Initiate prescribed treatments and evaluate effectiveness
- Make appropriate referrals to other disciplines for support
- Follow Practice Standard for Pronouncement of Death
- Communicate with IDG members for admissions, transfers, and changes
- Provide leadership and supervision to personnel
- Cover extra shifts as needed
- Respond to patient call bells promptly
- Transcribe orders from physicians and update medications
- Prepare weekly IDG reports
- Provide instruction, leadership, and direction to facility staff
- Clear chart deficiencies weekly with HIMS
- Provide satisfactory bedside report to oncoming staff
- Provide accurate and timely documentation of skilled nursing assessments
- Provide accurate and timely documentation of skilled nursing interventions prior to shift end
Requirements
- Registered Nurse (RN) active licensure
- Ability to work night shifts