Profession: Registered Nurse
Specialty: PCU
Location: Metairie, LA
Facility: Short Term Acute Care - 407 beds
Job Type: Per Diem (PRN)
Hourly Rate: $42 to $46, based on shift and experience
Shift: Days and Nights (7:00am to 7:30pm, 7:00pm to 7:30am)
Duration: 12 hours
Experience:2 years of consecutive acute care experience in last 5 years
License: Active Louisiana RN License or compact
Certifications: ACLS, BLS
Charting Experience: Epic required
Job Duties & Responsibilities:
- Organize, prioritize, and coordinate progressive care for high-acuity patients, including managing complex central/peripheral lines, arterial lines, chest tubes, or specialized drains, while administering advanced pain management and maintaining optimal patient positioning.
- Continuous Telemetry & Hemodynamic Monitoring: Constantly monitor, interpret, and intervene based on cardiac telemetry, vital signs, and lab values, quickly identifying early signs of hemodynamic instability or arrhythmias.
- Perform rigorous clinical documentation and frequent, detailed head-to-toe or focused assessments required for intermediate-care patients.
- Monitor patients for acute changes in condition, potential complications (such as respiratory distress, sepsis, or stroke metrics), and surgical/procedural sites for optimal healing, strictly adhering to Joint Commission infection control standards.
- Titrate and manage specialized IV medications and vasoactive drips according to facility protocols, and rapidly intervene during acute clinical declines.
- Perform advanced life support measures, including CPR and ACLS protocols, if emergencies or code events arise.
- Collaborate dynamically with the multidisciplinary care team (including Intensivists, Cardiologists, and Case Managers) to coordinate care plans, escalating concerns immediately when patient safety or acuity exceeds standard PCU thresholds.
- Maintain and advocate for a safe environment for everyone, utilizing fall precautions, skin integrity protocols, and safe handling techniques for high-risk patients.
- Ensure seamless continuity of care and efficient throughput, facilitating smooth transitions for patients upgrading from the ICU or downgrading to Med-Surg floors.
- Educate and prepare complex patients and their families regarding continuous home care, medication adherence (especially anticoagulants or cardiac meds), and lifestyle modifications before discharge.
