ECMO Specialist (RN or RCP) - Levine Children's Hospital - FT Nights

Overview

Successful candidates will hold an RN or RCP license from an accredited school, have three years of acute care experience in their specialty. Preference given to candidates with Neonatal, Pediatric, or Adult Critical Care experience. Candidates will be required to earn and/or maintain ACLS, PALS, and NRP certifications. Schedule requires rotating weeknights, weekends, and call shifts.

Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital (LCH) has taken the community to another level of service in order to provide care for the growing population of children in our region.  At 247 beds, LCH is the largest children’s hospital between Atlanta and Washington DC.  It serves high patient acuity as the flagship children’s hospital within the innovative Atrium Health and offers a full complement of over 125 pediatric subspecialists in over 25 different pediatric specialties.  There are 4 pediatric hospitalist teams, a 20-bed PICU (including Cardiac ICU), an 85-bed NICU, and an inpatient pediatric rehabilitation facility.  Levine Children’s also has the region’s first 24/7 emergency room just for kids, staffed by doctors trained in pediatric emergency medicine.  LCH has repeatedly been ranked among the “Best Children’s Hospitals” in the nation by US News & World Report.

Job Summary

Operates extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) equipment and performs ECMO therapy according to physician orders, provides care through skillful assessment, diagnosis, outcomes identification, planning, implementation and evaluation in accordance with facility and department policies, procedures, and/or protocols under the supervision of the ECMO team manager.

Essential Functions

• Monitors pump functioning throughout patient therapy and maintains pump integrity; monitors circuit volume and administers products, medications and/or volumes as ordered; monitors anticoagulation, electrolyte acid-base balance and blood gas composition volumes and adjusts ECMO circuit to maintain physician orders.
• Recommends appropriate changes to current patient management based on new information or changing patient status.
• Generates and compiles appropriate documentation and charges related to ECMO.
• Operates point of care laboratory equipment; interprets and acts on results based upon physician orders.
• Sets up and primes ECMO circuits; initiates and maintains extracorporeal life support according to protocols. Assists with logistics of cannulation, decannulation, and in-house transport of patients on ECMO.
• Coordinates and assists with interfacility transport for patients on ECMO.
• Manages planned and emergent disruption of ECMO. Replaces circuit components under normal and emergent conditions.
• Facilitates a multidisciplinary approach in the care of ECMO patients.
• Participates in Quality Improvement and Research.
• Assures to maintain competency with ECLS/ECMO procedures at least 24 hours quarterly and 96 hours annually of pump time. If these can not be met with patient care, specialist will participate in drills to meet requirements.
• Provides CRRT in the neonatal and pediatric populations. Will assist with provision of CRRT in adult cardiac patients on ECMO as requested.
• Promotes shared governance, or facility decision making activities, developing and nurturing research to positively affect clinical outcomes and promotion.

   

Physical Requirements

 

Work requires walking, standing, sitting lifting, reaching, stooping, bending, pushing and pulling. Must be able to lift and support 35 pounds in handling patients, medical equipment and supplies. Must speak English in good, understandable terms. Intact sense of sight, hearing, smell and touch. Finger dexterity. Critical thinking and ability to concentrate. Must be able to respond quickly to changes in patient and/or conditions. Additional department specific physical requirements may be identified for unique responsibilities within the department by the nurse leader.

Education, Experience and Certifications

Graduate of an accredited Registered Nurse or Respiratory Therapy program is required with current licensure and certification as appropriate. For RN, BSN preferred. Current Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider status according to American Heart Association. ACLS preferred. Minimum of (2) two years of direct patient care experience in a neonatal, pediatric or adult ICU setting is required.