Nursing Shift Coordinator

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Nursing and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state's future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System's anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

General Summary

Under the general direction of a Nurse Manager, the Coordinator assumes administrative responsibility for the Department of Nursing for assigned shift.  Serves as a liaison between administration and staff during the non-business hours of operation and assists unit personnel in problem solving, interpretation of institutional policies and procedures, and coordination of patient care services.  

Collaborates with the Nurse Managers to assure that decisions are consistent with unit and divisional goals.  Represents hospital administration and assists the “Administrator On-Call” in resolving those problems which require the immediate attention of an on-site manager.  

Principal Responsibilities and Tasks

The following statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification.  They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by personnel so classified.

1. Maintains and communicates accurate information regarding availability and type of patient beds and services within the hospital to support patient placement.  Plans and coordinates patient and bed assignments with the Admitting Office.

• Anticipates and responds to patient problems or complaints.   Ensures the availability of resources necessary for the provision of patient care.  Assists in the ongoing evaluation of patient care services using predetermined and measurable nursing care standards.
• In absence of Director of Nursing or Assistant Director may initiate and coordinate external disaster plan and actions when directed by the Administrator-On-Call.

2. As the primary resource for nursing personnel, responds appropriately to clinical issues; guides and directs staff according to nursing standards and practice. 

• Institutes immediate disciplinary action, as appropriate and as required, in accordance with UMMS Human Resources policies and procedures.
• Coordinates staff utilization by assisting the charge nurse when necessary in identifying resources to meet the unit’s needs.
• Assists in the implementation of Primary Nursing through the development and     implementation of unit-based standards of nursing practice 

3. Assists Operations Center with patient flow issues and works with Nurse Mangers to ensure safe staffing on patient care units. Coordinate patient flow and bed access.  Monitors and evaluates patient flow and patient placement considering financial and regulatory issues. 

• Responds to all codes in the department to provide clinical and administrative support.  
• Works with the CPR team nurse to ensure appropriate response to adult codes and to carry out a post code assessment.
• Assists in placement and transport of acutely ill patients to ensure patient safety and coverage.

4. Identifies and provides for specialized care needs of post arrest patients until planned transfer to the appropriate critical care unit is complete. Oversees the interim management of patients requiring specialized care but who are not in intensive care units.

5. Utilizes knowledge of legal principles that affect the provision of nursing care and educates nursing staff of those principles related to consent, blood administration, patient elopement, discharge against medical advice and other such issues.

6. Supports research activities in the Department of Nursing. Promotes professional growth and     development of nursing staff and establishes a climate conductive to meet the educational needs of     the night staff by providing unit coverage for off-shift in-services (i.e., CPR certification, fire/safety education, equipment education, equipment demonstration, etc.) as required.

7. Identifies educational needs and collaborates in the planning, implementation and evaluation of in-services and other continuing education programs for nurses.

8. Collaborates with hospital and physician leadership to define, reduce and eliminate barriers within the system which may impede patient flow.

• Negotiates with MD’s re: bed placement 
• Works within the critical care model
• Negotiates off service patient placement with MD, staff and managers
• Works collaborative with MD Director of Center to resolve bed management issues
• Communicates a rationale for placement decisions and determines level of understanding among staff and physicians

9. Ensures smooth functioning of the bed management process to reduce wait times and avoid unnecessary movement of patients.  

• Makes timely bed assignment
• Triages/prioritizes admissions from multiple sites, i.e., community referral, Express Care, ED, etc., and internal transfers
• Manages complex decisions related to patient placement.
• Matches the clinical needs of patients with staff competencies and unit resources to optimize patient placement decisions
• Pre-assigns scheduled patients to beds
• Ensures patients are placed in a clinically appropriate level of care

10. Ensures that the necessary resources are appropriately deployed (e.g., housekeeping) to meet the timely need for bed access especially when there are sudden changes in bed requirements.

11. Develops, implements and monitors trends in patient placement (e.g., census, Express Care, denials, Red Alert status) to continually improve the patient placement process and to ensure a     smooth bed management process. 

12. Maintains continuous knowledge of patient census, Alert Status, OR, STC Fly-by, or ExpressCare demands.

• Ensures continuous analysis of patient throughout.  Identifies barriers or process issues.
• Tracks bed turnaround time and analyzes variances.
• Prepares and communicates data on program outcomes to key constituencies communicating with managers in real time.
• Leads performance improvement efforts related to patient placement and access.

13. Makes authoritative decisions regarding the following:

• Places scheduled and emergency patients into an appropriate inpatient bed consistent with hospital guidelines. May maximize the use of inpatient beds to place patients.
• Determines appropriate level of care based on the patient’s clinical status and match this with the competencies of a given inpatient unit.
• Determines if there is a need to place patients in the PACU, ED or landing zone. 
• Transfers or defers patients to system partner hospitals with the agreement of the attending physician. 
• Negotiates times for transfer to UMMS from outlying hospitals and may deny admission when all access possibilities have failed.

Patient Safety

Ensures patient safety in the performance of job functions and through participation in hospital, department or unit patient safety initiatives.

1. Takes action to correct observed risks to patient safety.
2. Reports adverse events and near misses to appropriate management authority.
3. Identifies possible risks in processes, procedures, devices and communicates the same to those in charge.

Education and Experience

1. Graduation from an accredited School of Nursing with the attainment of a diploma, Associate or Bachelor’s degree is required.  If educational level is less than a baccalaureate program, completion of the BSN degree will be required. 
2. Current licensure in the State of Maryland or eligible for licensure.
3. Three years of nursing work experience in a Medical/Surgical and/or Critical Care unit is required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

1. Knowledge of policies and procedures related to hospital emergency codes, discipline and disaster plan is needed for resolving administrative and clinical matters.
2. Ability to deliver various educational programs to the off-shift nursing staff related to nursing care and standards, legal principles, CPR and the like.
3. Ability to respond, investigate, identify and problem-solve regarding issues related to administrative and clinical matters that require immediate and decisive action.
4. Ability to manage staff related to personnel issues such as absenteeism, tardiness, performance standards and to take the appropriate action.
5. Highly effective verbal and written communication skills are required to interact with patient families, departmental units, and medical staff on all essential matters and to instruct and evaluate nursing staff.
6. Ability to demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the patient population(s) served.  Ability to demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and ability to assess data reflective of the patient's requirements relative to his or her population-specific and age specific needs.   

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