Obstructive Airways Nurse Navigator, Pulmonology

Overview

JOB SUMMARY

The purpose of the Obstructive Airways nurse navigator position is to fully integrate the clinical and research mission of the Advanced Obstructive Airways Disease and the bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction (bLVR) Programs. This person will serve as a liaison between clinical and research operations, facilitating both expansion of the clinical programs through local and regional research referrals and seamless patient enrollment in clinical trials to provide access to novel therapies for our clinic population. The Obstructive Airways Nurse Navigator will be based in Winston Salem but may be required to occasionally travel to other local pulmonary clinics for research recruitment and enrollment. The Obstructive Airways Nurse Navigator will report to the Director, Airways Disease Research Center.

Clinical Responsibilities

• Coordinate the bLVR program including:
  • Triaging patient referrals (collecting clinical data, administering respiratory questionnaires, gathering pulmonary function data and imaging studies for review)
  • Organizing all data for presentation at the weekly bLVR conference call for multidisciplinary review
  • Arranging physician clinic visits for bLVR consults
  • Ordering all follow up testing in preparation for bLVR (i.e., echo, stress testing, cardiopulmonary exercise testing) and tracking patients through bLVR work-up
  • Scheduling bLVR procedure and inpatient hospitalization
  • Tracking patient post-bLVR clinic visits, pulmonary function testing, and CT imaging in the bLVR database
• Provide nursing support for the Advanced Obstructive Airways Disease Program
  • Triage patients referred to the Advanced Obstructive Airways Disease program to the appropriate provider
  • Serve as the main nursing contact for obstructive airways disease patients seen in the advanced obstructive airways disease clinic
  • Provide support for prior authorizations for advanced COPD therapies (dupilumab, ensifentrine, endobronchial valves) through Specialty Pharmacy Services
  • Coordinate referrals to pulmonary rehabilitation and pulmonary transplant
• Provide educational support to the Advanced Obstructive Airways Disease Program
  • Assess inhaler technique (InCheck Dial) and provide inhaler instruction
  • Provide smoking cessation education and resources
  • Coordinate a COPD patient support group

Research Responsibilities

• Enroll COPD patients into the COPD research registry and biorepository
• Serve as a point person for registry enrollment of patients referred from the community to the Airways Disease Research Center
• Recruit COPD patients eligible for COPD clinical trials 
• Travel to local pulmonary clinics as needed to recruit and enroll obstructive airways disease patients into the registry and clinical trials.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

• Associate's degree in Nursing from an accredited School of Nursing with one year of nursing experience, preferably in a related field, research, acute care, or a specialty area.
• Bachelor's degree in Nursing with two or more years of nursing experience preferred.
• Documented education and/or training in the pulmonology field preferred.

LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION, and/or REGISTRATION

• Licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the State of North Carolina required.
• Must complete the CITI certification for Human Subject Research if not already completed and any additional required WakeOne training for research coordinators.