Clinical Specialist Full Time Days Atlantic Health Newton Medical Center

Job Summary: Supports quality care through collaboration, education, and evidence-based practice. Promotes health, ethical standards, and professional development. Leads initiatives in research, resource utilization, and system improvement. Fosters interdisciplinary teamwork to enhance outcomes and uphold high reliability principles. Primary clinical focus areas are medical-surgical, progressive care and intermediate care nursing units.

Job Function: 01. Quality of Care: 

• Collaborates with the nursing team to provide direct or indirect patient care based on identified patient needs. 

• Advocates for patients, families, and nursing team members to ensure patient rights and an optimal healthcare environment.  

• Assists in the formation of quality improvement programs utilizing the framework of structure process and outcome based on national benchmarks 

• Evaluates quality data and translates evidenced based knowledge into recommendations to improve the quality of care and clinical practice. 

• Collaborates with nursing team members to identify interventions that reflect current scientific knowledge, are evidence based and consistent with patient and family needs.

• Supports and implements the principles of a high reliability organization in daily practice 

Job Function: 02. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: 

• Provides guidance and counseling regarding wellness, lifestyle, disease risks, and potential changes in health status to team members and patients. 

• Assists with health promotion and disease prevention services and provides appropriate evidence-based information to both team members and patients. 

Job Function: 03. Education:

• Identifies the educational needs of team members, patients and families concerning alterations in health, the disease process, current evidence-based treatment for disease processes, the hospital plan of care, and discharge planning.

• Identifies the clinical and professional development needs of the nursing team and develops and provides educational programs and conferences for the staff. 

• Supports the training of novice clinicians by serving as an instructor, role model, and mentor.

• Guides team member remediation when needed 

• Promotes and supports team members efforts to achieve specialty certification

• Assists in designing orientation and training curriculums. 

• Pursues and participates in formal and independent learning activities to enhance knowledge, clinical competency and professional development. 

Job Function: 04. Administration: 

• Participates in performance improvement activities related to area of specialization and/or clinical unit. 

• Assists in policy, protocol, order set and competency development and review as needed.

• Participates in hospital and system-wide Shared Governance and assists in the development of clinical goals related to nursing. 

• Promotes recruitment and retention by providing guidance, support and professional development opportunities to team members and students. 

• Promotes positive hospital image through collaboration and networking. 

• Assists and participates in the preparation for regulatory agency visits and disease specific accreditation visits

• Assists with the implementation of policies, procedures and protocols from regulatory agencies and helps to promote and improve the highest standards or care. 

• Assists and supports achieving centers of excellence recognition from professional organizations (IE Society of Critical Care Centers of Excellence, AACN Beacon Award) 

Job Function: 05. Individual practice: 

• Evaluates own clinical and professional performance according to the standards of the appropriate professional and regulatory bodies. 

• Seeks feedback regarding own practice from peers and colleagues and takes action to improve practice. 

• Actively pursues continuing educational, academic and certification opportunities to maintain ongoing competency 

• Maintains membership in national organizations for professional development 

Job Function: 06.  Ethics: 

• Fosters the establishment of an ethical environment that supports the rights of all participants. Contributes to the resolution of ethical dilemmas. 

• Serves as a mentor and role model to peers and team members.   

• Encourages collaboration with bioethics experts to address patient, family and team members’ moral distress 

Job Function: 07. Research: 

• Evaluates existing practice based on current research findings and translates this knowledge into practice. 

• Assesses and identifies relevant clinical nursing problems with the team and collaborates with the research team to conduct research and quality improvement projects relevant to practice. Utilizes the research process to improve patient care outcomes and enhance the environment of care. 

• Promotes evidenced based practice in the clinical and professional environment. 

• Mentors team members in the understanding of current research and how to translate research into daily practice. 

• Supports dissemination of internal EBP and research projects at the system, local and national level. 

Job Function: 08. Resource Utilization: 

• Investigates, evaluates, and recommends needed supplies and capital equipment. 

• Evaluates factors related to safety, effectiveness, availability, and cost to implement best practices. 

• Facilitates access for patients and families to appropriate healthcare services. Serves as a resource to all team members regarding healthcare delivery and policy. 

• Facilities assessment and evaluation of technology and products for implementation within the clinical setting based on a cost, safety and quality impact framework.

Job Function: 09. Collegiality: 

• Identifies and participates in opportunities to share skills, knowledge, and strategies for patient care and system improvement. 

• Promotes a learning environment that enables nursing and other healthcare personnel to make optimal contributions that affect the healthcare system. 

• Participates in professional organizations, enterprise-wide committees, and Shared Governance to address issues of concern in meeting patient needs and improving nursing practice 

Job Function: 10. Collaboration: 

• Collaborates with other disciplines in consultation, teaching, management, and research activities to improve outcomes in nursing practice and enhance the healthcare environment. 

• Utilizes the Shared Governance forum to provide support for enhancing education, practice, and quality improvement. 

• Collaborates with nurse managers and directors to identify clinical activities to facilitate professional growth of team members and areas of unit scope and role expansion. 

• Collaborates with the medical staff to support and develop interdisciplinary team management of patient care. 

Required:
1. Master's degree in Nursing, preferably in Nursing Education
2. BLS, ACLS, Basic Dysrhythmia 
3. Valid NJ or compact Nursing License.
4. 5 years of acute care experience  

Preferred:
1. 2 years in a Masters prepared role preferred