About This Role
This nursing role focuses on providing compassionate and skilled direct patient care within a hematology/oncology team, particularly involving infusion therapy. The successful candidate will manage complex patient needs, educate patients and families, and coordinate care across various departments and community services.
Responsibilities
- Provide direct patient care by conducting patient histories and assessments, including symptoms, performance status scores, and clinical changes from previous visits
- Formulate care plans for patients and families
- Demonstrate competency in simple and complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as venipuncture, administration of IV fluids, care of vascular access devices, and de-clotting of lines
- Mix and administer IV chemotherapy agents
- Review patients' medication, distress assessment or depression screening questionnaire, and vital signs, including pain assessment, on each visit to the clinic and plan nursing interventions
- Assess patient adherence with medications, treatments, and appointments
- Provide instructions and directions to patients and families on diagnostic tests and antineoplastic treatment side effects
- Provide patient and caregiver education and serve as an educator for nursing and other staff
- Document the interventions and outcomes of the care plan in the medical record
- Evaluate the need for prescription refills, effectiveness of medications, or medication changes
- Provide continuity of care between outpatient and inpatient departments on patient admissions to the hospital and accept information on discharges from the hospital
- Facilitate the transition of care for patients to home care, palliative care, or Hospice in collaboration with the cancer team
- Optimize physical and emotional comfort for patients and families by providing equipment, resources, or referrals to community services
- Manage telephone calls from patients and families and triage patient calls, assess the clinical problem, and make the nursing diagnosis and care plan related to the patient's problem
- Optimize the use of team resources by establishing patient priorities and advising medical assistants, nurse practitioners, physicians, and other staff of patient's needs
- Review all patient medical data prior to a patient visit to ensure that all results from laboratory reports, pathology reports, imaging studies, and medical records are available for the medical team during the patient visit
- Serve as a patient advocate on issues related to the clinical changes and physical status of patients since the previous clinic visit
- Review lab results and INRs and inform patients of Coumadin/Lab results, treatment, and schedules per RHO guidelines
- Assist in the development of policies and procedures for the management of clinical patients