Job Tagline:

Director of Neuro/ICU

Description:

Neuro ICU - Director

Full-Time

Regular



JOB DESCRIPTION:

Directs all aspects of management and ensures the provision of optimum patient care for a nursing unit; provides leadership in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, procedures, strategies, and services for the unit.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Graduate of an accredited school of nursing. Master's degree required. Either Bachelor's or Master's degree must be in Nursing. Must have current licensure as a Registered Nurse in the state of Georgia, five years of experience which includes three years of clinical nursing and 2 years of nursing leadership.

Scope of Care/Service:

The neuroscience intensive care units (20 beds) and second floor (7 beds). Care is provided for the patients with actual or potential life-threatening neurological or neurosurgical conditions.

Common neurological diagnoses of patients admitted: subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, traumatic brain injury, craniotomy or other treatments for brain tumors, seizures or status epilepticus, ischemic stroke, Guillain-Barre, Myasthenia Gravis, spinal cord tumors, traumatic spinal cord injury, herniated lumbar or cervical disc, spinal instrumentation. 2D-ICU and 2G-ICU also admit patient overflow from the medical and surgical intensive care units. All monitoring is done at the bedside with a central station for viewing all parameters.

Therapies include:

1. Vasoactive drug administration
2. Hemodilution/ hypervolemia

Monitoring and procedures provided include:

1. Intracranial pressure monitoring
2. Hemodynamic monitoring, including arterial blood pressure, central venous pressure, pulmonary artery monitoring
3. Cardiac output monitoring
4. Pulse oximetry and End-tidal CO2 monitoring
5. Invasive and noninvasive monitoring
6. Intubation and mechanical ventilation management
7. EEG monitoring
8. Monitoring brain tissue oxygen and brain temperatures
9. Hypothermia

Patient Care Goals:

To provide patient and family centered care in an environment that allows staff and families to work together to facilitate best outcomes for the patient.
To provide quality nursing care and continuous monitoring on a 24 hour basis with emphasis on prevention of complications and restoration of the patient to maximum functional capacity.
To provide a safe environment in which optimal intensive nursing care can be delivered, including instrumentation and equipment which is immediately available for detection of changes in condition and necessary intervention.

Skill Level of Personnel Involved in Patient Care:

The nursing staff includes a unit director, clinical nurse specialist, registered nurses, patient care assistants, and a department director assistant. Patients are provided nursing care by an all RN staff through a modified care process with a RN-to-patient ratio of 1:1 to 1:3. All registered nurses are currently licensed in the State of Georgia. The nursing staff is required to complete an extensive orientation program with competency assessments and recertifications completed on a yearly or as needed basis.