Nurse Educator RN - Surgery Department

About the position

The Nurse Educator RN serves as the clinical expert and drives evidence-based clinical practice for all staff. This role is pivotal in assessing unit nursing practice and its impact on patient outcomes. The Nurse Educator leads and provides clinical direction to nursing staff in the delivery of patient care programs, ensuring that licensed staff maintain an established level of clinical competency. Responsibilities include the ongoing coordination of department orientation and education for all personnel, overseeing the clinical direction of unit-specific orientation, staff development, skills training, continuing education, and staff education records. The Nurse Educator also participates in quality, safety, and satisfaction programs, providing direct care to patients using the Nursing Process as needed to model best practices. In this role, the Nurse Educator displays clinical reasoning, which encompasses clinical decision-making, critical thinking, and a holistic view of situations, integrating formal and experiential knowledge. They plan unit preceptorships and actively participate in the review process of new staff, guiding their progression toward independent functioning through collaboration with preceptors, unit leadership, physicians, and other department leaders. The Nurse Educator is responsible for mentoring, coaching, and leading nursing personnel to provide safe and effective evidence-based care in rapidly changing environments or critical situations. They monitor and support new organizational and unit practices through audits, observations, and other methodologies, ensuring recognition and support of practice initiatives and priorities at all levels of the organization. The Nurse Educator integrates advanced technologies with clinical practice to enhance learning and adoption at the unit level and organizationally when appropriate. They promote a healthy supportive learning environment utilizing adult learning concepts, taking complex material to the level of the learner. Additionally, they initiate and/or participate in nursing research, model behavior conducive to the education of students, externs, and other healthcare professionals, and create practice changes through research utilization and experiential learning. The role also involves assisting nursing staff in accessing nursing databases available for resources to support evidence-based practice, role modeling proactive efforts to achieve optimal patient care outcomes based on identified initiatives, best practices, and evidence-based guidelines. The Nurse Educator is expected to maintain a body of knowledge and tools that facilitate the management of environmental and system resources for patients, families, and staff. They collaborate in the development and revision of clinically based department policies, procedures, and standards of care to assure best practices. The role includes protecting patient/family and staff members from harm through active advocacy and recognizing risk management concerns to prevent future occurrences. The Nurse Educator actively participates in Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to ensure appropriate clinical follow-up based on RCA outcomes, guiding staff to evaluate factors such as safety, effectiveness, availability, cost benefits, and impact on practice when choosing practice options. In addition to these responsibilities, the Nurse Educator attends Clinical Education Committee (CEC) meetings to promote organizational approaches to education needs and acts as a liaison between departments and other nursing areas, as well as medical staff, to promote competent and quality care across the continuum. They demonstrate leadership skills necessary to establish expectations, develop plans to measure, assess, and improve the quality of care provided by staff members, and support programs ensuring continuing education of all staff members to meet organizational goals and individual position competencies. The Nurse Educator also facilitates the learning of a standard reporting system (SBAR) to effectively communicate patient care needs and role models the hospital mission and values by communicating effectively with colleagues, physicians, hospital departments, and other hospital resources.

Responsibilities

• Displays clinical reasoning, including clinical decision making, critical thinking, and a holistic view of situations.
• Plans unit preceptorships and participates in the review process of new staff.
• Guides the planning and participation of unit staff to provide organization and unit-specific in-services and training.
• Mentors, coaches, and leads nursing personnel to provide safe and effective evidence-based care.
• Monitors and supports new organizational and unit practices through audits and observations.
• Integrates advanced technologies with clinical practice to enhance learning.
• Promotes a healthy supportive learning environment utilizing adult learning concepts.
• Initiates and participates in nursing research and models behavior conducive to education.
• Assists nursing staff in accessing nursing databases for evidence-based practice.
• Maintains a body of knowledge and tools for managing environmental and system resources.
• Collaborates in the development and revision of clinically based department policies and standards of care.
• Protects patient/family and staff members from harm through active advocacy.
• Participates in Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for clinical follow-up based on outcomes.
• Acts as a liaison between departments and medical staff to promote quality care.
• Demonstrates leadership skills to establish expectations and improve quality of care.
• Facilitates learning of a standard reporting system (SBAR) for patient care communication.

Requirements

• BASIC LIFE SUPPORT (BLS) certification required.
• Registered Nurse (RN) license required.
• Bachelor's degree in nursing or related field required.
• 3+ years of related experience in nursing education or clinical practice.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in nursing research and evidence-based practice implementation.
• Advanced certifications in nursing education or clinical specialties.

Benefits

• Competitive salary range from $91,359.84 to $146,175.74 based on experience and skills.
• Comprehensive health insurance coverage.
• Retirement savings plan options.
• Continuing education and professional development opportunities.