Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) - Float

Licensed practical nurse – medical/surgical unit

Statement of purpose

To provide support for the mission and vision of the hospital through your actions, attitudes, and personal conduct as a team member of your department, an employee of the hospital, and a contributor to the health and wellbeing of the patients we service; to provide the duties outlined in this job description to the best of your abilities; and to strive for excellent service to your customers.

Job summary

Under supervision of professional nurse, renders nursing care to patients within an assigned unit. Observes and reports symptoms and conditions of patients. Assists in administering medications as prescribed by physician and notes reactions. Sets up treatment trays and assists physician with treatments. Maintains records reflecting patient’s conditions, medication, and treatments. Performs other duties as assigned.

General

Duties

• Support your manager and administration in the implementation of the hospital’s mission, vision, and overall goals.
• Actively participate as a member of your department by providing excellent customer service, identifying areas for improvement and implementing operational changes.
• Assist your department in providing efficient and effective patient care by actively participating in the orientation process, your department meetings, available educational events, personal

performance evaluations and focused counseling opportunities.

• Promote high standards of performance by exhibiting compassion and professionalism at all

times and by being responsible for your actions, attitude, and body language.

• Communicate in a timely and effective manner using multiple communication mediums. This

includes notes, e-mails, phone calls, one-on-one interaction, and participation in meetings.

• Support performance improvement monitoring by collecting data, reporting incidents,

identifying patient care problems and providing performance information to your manager.

• Assist your manager in meeting departmental budget goals, identifying capital equipment

needs, and developing new strategic goals for the department.

• Follow all departmental and hospital policies. Request clarification and guidance if needed.
• Keep track of equipment and supplies to make sure your department retains the tools needed to provide patient care and to assure departmental resources are used wisely.
• Manage your time to assure you clock in and out as scheduled, complete your assignments within the scheduled timeframe, and minimize changes in the departmental work schedule.

Qualifications

• Graduate of an accredited school of nursing.
• Required to maintain a current Licensed Practical Nurse license in Louisiana.
• Required to maintain a current certification in BLS and CPI.
• Required to complete annual restraint education.
• Required to have IV certification.
• Required to participate in annual Infection Prevention education.

Reviewed: 07/29/20 LPN – Medical Surgical Unit

• Required to follow Infection Prevention guidelines (i.e., proper use of isolation precautions,

proper use of PPE, etc.)

• Required to follow all Employee Health protocols (i.e., annual TB skin test, annual flu vaccine,

and annual employee physical (if maintaining insurance benefits), etc.)

• Required to complete annual training including HEAT, Ethics, and Omnicell.
• Required to attend all mandatory inservices including departmental meetings.
• Required to be a role model and support person for CNA’s.
• Required to participate in monthly PI.
• Required to have basic computer knowledge.
• Required to have the ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and verbally.
• Required to pass pre-employment drug screen and random drug screens.

Professional

Requirements

• Adheres to dress code, appearance is neat and clean.
• Completes annual education requirements.
• Maintains regulatory requirements, including all federal, state, local regulations and accrediting organization standards.
• Maintains and ensures patient confidentiality at all times.
• Reports to work on time and as scheduled, completes work within designated time.
• Wears identification while on duty, uses computerized punch time system correctly.
• Completes inservices and returns in a timely fashion.
• Attends annual review and department inservices, as scheduled.
• Attends at least 10 staff meetings annually, reads and returns all monthly staff meeting minutes.
• Represents the organization in a positive and professional manner.
• Actively participates in performance improvement and continuous quality improvement (CQI) activities.
• Complies with all organizational policies regarding ethical business practices.
• Communicates the mission, ethics and goals of the hospital, as well as the focus statement of the department.

Staffing/

Schedule

Schedules are provided for each department in a four (4) week time frame. Depending on needs of the department (i.e., census, employee illness, vacation requests, etc.) staff may be asked to work other shifts to cover the department with the appropriate number of staff. This includes:

• Working shifts that are not the employee’s normally scheduled shifts.
• Working departments that are not the employee’s normally scheduled department.
• Working times that are not the employee’s normally scheduled time (i.e., 7a – 7p, 7p – 7a).
• Taking call for the unit – Call means that you do not report to work unless the need arises and you are notified that extra staff is called to work. Taking call means that you are available for a

set time frame, normally a

• 12 hour shift, and that you can report to work within 30 minutes

after notification, and will work the shift or until the need for extra staffing has been fulfilled.

• If asked to work a different shift or to take call, the employee will be paid according to the

facilities set

• shift differential and call pay rates.

Qualifications job knowledge

• Techniques of administering treatments.
• Preventing spread of disease by proper disposal of infected material and cleaning of equipment.
• Method of handling sterile material under supervision.
• First-Aid assistance to render in emergencies.

Reviewed: 07/29/20 LPN – Medical Surgical Unit

• Operation of appliances.
• Possibility of cuts or minor burns from instruments and equipment.
• May be exposed to communicable diseases.
• Possibility of strains due to moving patient or injury from irrational patients.

Specific

Duties

• Administering personal hygienic and therapeutic measures for patients as desired.
• Assisting with diagnostic procedures.
• Appling dressings, binders, ointments, powders, and other aids as prescribed by professional nurse or physician.
• Following other instructions issued by a registered nurse.

Responsibility

The Licensed Practical Nurse is directly responsible to the Charge Nurse or Registered Nurse.

Direct reports