Nurse Navigator - Head & Neck Clinic, Highlands Ranch (Part-time, 0.8 FTE)

• University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
• Department: Community Practice
• Job Title: Nurse Navigator - Head & Neck Clinic, Highlands Ranch (Part-time, 0.8 FTE)
• Position #: 00851560 – Requisition #: 40728

Job Summary

The Nurse Navigator (NN) will be a member of the care team that will be focused on providing personalized one-on-one patient care.

The NN assesses and evaluates patient conditions, and then plans, implements, provides, and documents patient care in a manner that follows professional nursing standards and outlined practices.

The NN will assist in expediting the process for evaluation of clinic patients through a multidisciplinary team approach, coordination of services, and scheduling exams, optimizing patient care outcomes.

The NN will help the patient navigate clinic visits, follow-up testing, diagnostics, labs, and other services, coordinate care to reduce gaps in understanding, counsel, and educate patients and families, and ensure high-quality patient outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Patient Care (50%25)
• Facilitates patient intake by phone, email, or online through Epic MHC.
• Provides high-touch and high-quality personalized patient navigation.
• Works closely with patients and families throughout the full continuum of care.

Triages, coordinates care, and orders appropriate patient testing under University of Colorado School of Medicine protocols and guidance with a heavy focus on managing needs within and outside of the organization to prevent unnecessary ER visits, hospital admissions, and/or readmissions.

Acts as Liaison between patient and clinical staff, administration, physicians, managed care companies, community/external resources to address the health needs of patients by assessing clinical, emotional, spiritual, psychosocial, and financial barriers to care. Once identified, works with the care team to find and/or create a plan to overcome barriers for successful health outcomes

Demonstrates effective communication with patients, families, peers, members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team, and community organizations and resources.

Collaborates directly with primary physician and care team to help educate/reinforce specific disease processes, treatments, and recommendations to properly diagnose, treat, and mitigate problems based on the multidisciplinary care plan.

Facilitates resolution to patient care gaps and follows up by both proactively reaching out to patients/families and continuously addressing direct phone calls and messages from patients.

Questions and prevents duplicative, fragmented, or unnecessary use of resources/services. Questions, tests/procedures for which the purpose is unclear.

Follows up on patient progress relative to subsequent testing, ED visits, hospitalizations, and ensures post-acute plan when needed. Monitors and reports on outcome measures.

Participates in clinical operations with patients, rooming patients, taking vitals, and supporting patient needs as assigned.

• Assists the physician and other providers with procedures as necessary.
• Reports all test results to the patient as directed by the physician.
• Clinic Operations (25%25)

Participates in relevant quality workgroups to assist in the development of patient education materials, clinical pathways, and workflows to improve patient and provider compliance with meeting health measures and meeting the needs of the patients/families.

Responsible for managing routine correspondence and medical records to referring agencies and providers per policy. Works creatively to facilitate prompt service to accommodate referring agencies/providers to meet their referral needs.

Cleans and stocks all patient examination rooms; cleans and prepares instruments for procedures; keeps a list of medical supplies needed.

Cleans and sterilizes equipment; checks and restocks medication cabinets as necessary.

Utilizes current nursing practices to provide patient care while focusing on the needs of the patient and exemplifying service excellence, care, concern, respect, and cooperation. As a member of a health care team, functions in the role of patient advocate by being in the position of initial contact for patient-related issues.

Demonstrates responsibility and accountability for professional practice and continued education, professional growth, and self-evaluation.

Performs appropriate basic and/or routine regular delegated medical functions as directed and within the appropriate scope of practice as inferred by knowledge, skill level, and CU clinic guidelines.

• Additional duties as assigned.
• Procedural Nurse (25%25)

Plans, implements, and evaluates patient care plans based on patient assessment to optimize outcomes and maximize available resources.

Monitors, records, and communicates patient condition as appropriate. Collaborates as needed across disciplines to coordinate patient care, including patient transfer, discharge, referral, and attends to all age-related physical, spiritual, and psychosocial needs.

Evaluates learning needs of patient and/or family and provides patient/family education appropriate to age, culture, condition, and circumstances.

Effectively delegates patient care to ancillary personnel. May precept student nurses and new hires.

Performs circulating functions before procedures, including preparing the procedural environment, orienting and assessing the patient, and reviewing the patient’s medical record and surgeon’s notes to ensure all prerequisites and preferences are met.

Ensures safety checklists and procedures are implemented and documented at all times.

Performs circulating functions during procedures, including monitoring and communicating patient condition, documenting interventions and activities, monitoring the sterile field, and controlling traffic into, out of, and around the room.

Performs scrub functions as needed, including the preparation, selection, and handling of instruments and supplies used during the surgical procedure, and performs equipment counts with colleagues.

Provides nursing care to a complex, moderate acuity procedural patient population in a technically complex environment.

• Ensures compliance with all regulatory agencies (CDPHE, CMS, OSHA, etc.)
• Ensures compliance with all infection control standards.
• Participates in CU Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives and metrics.
• Participates in practice’s process and performance improvement activities and initiatives.
• Ensures that the service expectations of both internal and external customers are met and/or exceeded.
• Must be able to recognize and respond appropriately to urgent/emergent situations according to protocols.

Work Location

Onsite – this role is expected to work onsite and is located in Highlands Ranch, CO.

Why Join Us

Community Practice Medicine, housed within the School of Medicine at the University of Colorado, is seeking trained medical professionals to join our growing team. With clinics spanning from Longmont to Castle Rock, we offer a wide variety of opportunities. Specialty areas include, but are not limited to: Orthopedics, Vascular Surgery, OBGYN, Internal Medicine, Urology, Psychiatry, and many more!

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a public education, clinical, and research facility serving 4,500 students and a world-class medical destination at the forefront of life-changing science, medicine, and healthcare.

CU Anschutz offers more than 42 highly rated degree programs through 6 schools and colleges and receives over $500 million in research awards each year. We are the single largest health professions education provider in Colorado, awarding nearly 1,450 degrees annually.

Powered by our award-winning faculty, renowned researchers, and a reputation for academic excellence, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus drives innovation from the classroom to the laboratory to the delivery of unparalleled patient care.

Why Work for the University?

We have AMAZING benefits and offer exceptional amounts of holiday, vacation, and sick leave! The University of Colorado offers an excellent benefits package, including:

• Medical: Multiple plan options
• Dental: Multiple plan options
• Additional Insurance: Disability, Life, Vision
• Retirement 401(a) Plan: Employer contributes 10%25 of your gross pay
• Paid Time Off: Accruals over the year
• Vacation Days: 22/year (maximum accrual 352 hours)
• Sick Days: 15/year (unlimited maximum accrual)
• Holiday Days: 15/year
• Tuition Benefit: Employees have access to this benefit on all CU campuses
• ECO Pass: Reduced rate RTD Bus and light rail service
• There are many additional perks & programs with the CU Advantage.

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications:
• Graduate of an accredited Nursing program through Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC).
• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
• Three (3) years of registered nurse experience in either a clinical or a hospital setting.
• Substitution: A combination of education and related technical/military/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree on a year-for-year basis.
• Applicants must meet minimum qualifications at the time of hire.

Preferred Qualifications

• Three or more (3+) years of registered nurse experience in either a clinical or a hospital setting.
• Two or more (2+) years of experience in nurse navigation in specialty area.
• Bilingual, Spanish-speaking.
• Nursing certification (ANCC) in specialty area.
• Epic, Kronos, and Healthstream experience.

Conditions of Employment

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship. We are unable to provide work visa sponsorship or employment authorization for this position now or in the future.

• Registered Nurse (RN) in the State of Colorado.
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers issued by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross healthcare provider level CPR certification.
• Complies with applicable University of Col