Clinical Nurse Specialist / CNS Fellow Critical Care (Full Time/Days)

LOCATION: Lancaster, PA - Lancaster General Hospital

HOURS: Full Time (40 hours per week). Days, no weekends or holidays. 

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health is seeking a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) or CNS Fellow with Critical Care expertise. The CNS is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse APRN responsible for elevating the delivery of safe, high-quality care across Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. The CNS practice is outlined by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists NACNS and regulated by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing. 

As a self-directed and empowered clinician, the CNS applies the nursing process to diagnose and treat illness, promote health, and influence change within their specialty area. They integrate evidence-based practices, develop and implement standards of care and lead programs designed to achieve cost-effective, patient focused outcomes across the three spheres of impact: Patient/Client, Nursing/Nursing Practice, and Organization/Systems. 

Qualified individuals must have the ability with or without reasonable accommodation to perform the following duties:

Expert Clinician:

• Applies nursing process to care for patients with complex needs across the lifespan.
• Conducts comprehensive, holistic assessments utilizing established or innovative evidence-based practice.
• Plans for systematic investigation of patient problems through clinical inquiry.
• Utilizes therapeutic relationship-building communication and shared decision making to promote health and wellness, healing, self-care, and peaceful end of life.
• Facilitates the access and utilization of hospital and community resources to assist in-patient’s return to wellness and ongoing health promotion.
• Teaches and provides reinforcement to patients and their support person s , addressing their educational needs, and leveraging teach-back to evaluate comprehension and learning.
• Leads nurses, committees, and councils to change practice, disseminate outcomes, and influence health policy.
• Actively participates in professional nursing organizations and encourages clinical nurses to do the same.

Educator:

• Designs and employs educational strategies that consider readiness to learn, individual preferences needs and the impact of social determinates.
• Identifies and facilitates opportunities for nurses and other clinical staff to acquire knowledge and skills that foster professional development.
• Supports and works collaboratively with appropriate members of the Nursing Professional Development team and nursing councils to assess education needs of patients, families, and staff and develops programs accordingly.
• Mentors nurses to critique and apply research evidence to nursing practice.
• Fosters individual nurses professional development and growth.

Consultant:

• Collaborates with all members of the health care team including advanced practice clinicians, physicians, specialists, and other disciplines across the continuum of care to promote team building and to provide clinical consultation and education.
• Collaborates with nursing personnel and other health care providers to identify needed changes in equipment or products based on the evidence, clinical outcomes, and cost effectiveness.
• Contributes to unit-based governance models and system-wide nursing councils as a member, in a chair co-chair role, or as a consultant.
• Partners with other regional and system CNS colleagues to drive best practice and consult on community care projects.

EBP Mentor Researcher:

• Provides concurrent and retrospective analyses of outcomes for designated patient populations with emphasis on vulnerable patient populations, such as older adults, the cognitively impaired, the behaviorally mentally challenged, and minor patients.
• Facilitates quality improvement activities directed at process outcomes and clinical practice through EBP and research methods.
• Identifies nursing research problems and utilizes nursing research strategies to develop clinical knowledge and research-based clinical practice.
• Translates nursing practice to evidence-based information to achieve and sustain nursing sensitive outcomes.
• Participates in unit based Performance Improvement initiatives utilizing LEAN training tools resources. This includes quality rounding.
• Works with staff to disseminate research and EBP activities internally and externally.
• Assists nurses with developing presentations poster and didactic for local, state, national and global programs.
• Collaborates with the Director of Nursing Research and Science to support and engage in the organizational research and EBP agenda.

Role Model:

• Establishes an environment for patient advocacy and ethical decision-making.
• Demonstrates therapeutic and effective communication strategies.
• Is a visible role model for nursing practice.
• Influences and shares legislative and regulatory policies on nursing.
• Leads or actively engages in nursing, organizational, and system-level projects.
• The following duties are considered secondary to the primary duties listed above:
• Identifies professional needs to maintain expertise and keep current with health care trends and nursing practice within profession and specialty area.
• Participates in the development and enhancement of quality standards for patient care based on nationally recognized standards and regulatory guidelines.
• Other duties as assigned.