Trauma NP/PA (East)

Job Summary:
An Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner or PA employed by Erlanger is responsible for direct and/or indirect care of the trauma patient and any others as defined by the Collaborative agreement the NP has with the collaborating physician. Responsible for responding to trauma alerts within the Emergency Department (ED) as well as assisting trauma surgeons and residents at patient's bedside in ICU, OR, IMCU and various floors. The responds to all Code Blue alerts, Rapid Response alerts and crashing patients throughout the hospital. He/She is also responsible for daily rounds with the Trauma Team.

Education:
Required: Master of Science in Nursing ( *Must be AGAC certified)

Or graduate of Master's degree in Physician Assistant program.

Experience:
Required:

One to two years of nursing experience in trauma, adult ICU, or adult ED.

Preferred:
Trauma experience

Position Requirement(s): License/Certification/Registration
Required:

Nurse Practitioner license.

Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification

Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) certification*

BLS completed prior to going to unit/department and maintained going forward

Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) certification*

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification*

Course in Advanced Trauma Nursing (CATN) certification*
*May obtain within 12 months of hire

The Nurse Licensure Compact will not change how to obtain or renew a Tennessee license. However, the Tennessee nursing license will be a single state license for Tennessee Residents or non-compact state residents. Tennessee licensure or multistate licensure from a compact state must be obtained within three months of hire for non-Tennessee residents.

Preferred:

Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) instructor**

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) instructor**

Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) certification**

Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) certification*

Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) certification*

Department Position Summary:
The position of Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner or PA is to provide clinical expertise and continuity of care for trauma service patients and their families on an ongoing basis from time of admission to time of discharge. The AGACNP or PA will assist the Trauma Program Manager to meet departmental goals and objectives. The AGACNP or PA must possess a thorough knowledge of advanced nursing principles and practice skills, organizational functions, policies and regulations, current trends and new developments. He/She must be flexible and willing to take on new tasks and participate in new projects. The AGACNP or PA will:
Collaborate with the Trauma Surgeons, trauma residents and other disciplines daily to organize care delivery and to facilitate the flow of the patient through the system.

Provide input in the development of standardized procedures and guidelines designed to improve patient care and outcomes.

Participate in educational projects, i.e. inservices with nursing staff, ACLS/TNCC/BLS/CATN, annual credentialing, ATLS, ATCN, etc. He/She must be willing to present the TIP (Trauma Is Preventable) program to regional high school students, as well as participate in any Trauma Prevention Programs offered in our region (Prom Promise, Ghost Out, etc). The will be alert high risk behaviors such as drinking and driving, riding a motorcycle or ATV without a helmet, and trying to beat red lights. He/She will collaborate with the Trauma Registrar to extract data regarding high risk behaviors and incorporate this data into the TIP program.

Specific role responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
Round with the trauma team identify variations in care and correct variation as needed.
Facilitate consistency in patient care practices. Coordination of trauma plan of care with other sub-specialty services if needed.
Tertiary survey completion
Facilitate communication with family
Floor checks twice daily (late morning and in the afternoon) to see if any issues come up (hopefully it will reduce number of pages to the residents) Increased Trauma Service presence on the floor.
Also attendance at various Trauma Administrative meetings (Trauma Committee, Trauma Multidisciplinary Committee Meeting, etc..)
At times they may choose to take a patient load if the service is busy or there are staffing issues. It is not the norm. They will help with discharges if there are numerous on the service to facilitate to relieve the resident of some of that load.
If the trauma census is really large, the AGACNP's or PA's will take some patients and write the notes.
The AGACNP or PA will make rounds with the team, review the care provided by the residents to reduce variations in patient care and note any oversights in patient care management.
The AGACNP's will sign out to the residents and/or oncoming APP's each shift to note procedures, treatments and/or interventions to be performed.