The OB/Labor and Delivery Nurse performs a variety of nursing care procedures requiring professional knowledge and consideration of specific patient conditions and treatments, and ability to work independently in completing assignments. Guidelines include physicians orders, standards of care, nursing policies and procedures manuals, hospital policies. Nursing duties include support to individuals of all ages and their families during their ante partum, post-partum, laboring stages, newborn baby care, and care of post-surgical C-section patients.

Utilizing after-hour call services, holidays, and weekends. On Call responds to all emergencies including trauma and fetal distress C-sections including total peri-operative nursing care. Able to react in a calm manner and make sound nursing judgments in an emergency environment. Clinical decisions are made initially independently during the scheduled shift; maintains complete accountability for all actions taken. Consults with the appropriate manager/supervisor in difficult situations requiring additional input. Accountable for proper delegation and supervision of CNA/Tech, LPN, Ward Clerk and/or PCE on unit during shift.

Key Essential Functions and Accountabilities of the Job

Promotes the SEARHC Seven Standards of Excellence; Implements a safe, therapeutic, and efficient care for patients with needs due to multisystem disease and/or complications of treatment with appropriate infection control measures; sets priorities for care of patients based on acuity and/or patients preference; anticipates potential problems; adapts to change on the area by setting priorities for emergencies, changes in patient status and unusual occurrences; initiates, manages, and documents the nursing procedures consistent with scientific principle and departmental policy; demonstrates knowledge of equipment use; accurately administers age-specific medications and therapeutics; carries out the medical and nursing care plan and coordinates patient care activities with physicians and other healthcare team members; initiates action to reduce, correct, or prevent immediate, ongoing, or potential risks to the patient; facilitates healing by providing nursing care that is individualized, goal oriented, based on scientific principles and the nursing process; seeks out resources when beyond the scope of skill, knowledge or experience; explains test, procedures, and disease process to patient/significant others; follows through on nursing care plans by teaching and demonstrating skills essential for understanding and coping with illness and promoting optimal health; communicates and interacts with patient/significant others in a positive and supportive way; provides counseling using emotional, intellectual and psychological supports and utilizes other healthcare professionals in dealing with psychosocial problems if needed; takes steps to decrease stress and/or increase effectiveness of coping mechanisms of patient/significant others; evaluates patients progress or lack of progress towards goals, directing new goal setting and implementing revised patient care plans as directed by reassessment; documents the patients response to care; closes out patient care plan by discharge or has in place an after care plan to meet the patients needs; Assures confidentiality of patient information.

Plans, coordinates, and completes patient care on C-section post-surgical and obstetrics unit. Closely monitors patients returning from surgery; provides total patient care from post-surgical recovery to discharge, including teaching and self-care demonstrations. Labor/Delivery, Postpartum and Neonatal Nursing. Provides focused 1:1 care during labor, including nursing/medical interventions, vaginal exams, comfort measures, pain relief and labor coaching. Monitors, interprets, and documents electronic fetal heart rate tracing using current NICHD terminology and performs scheduled NSTs. Cares for high-risk maternal or neon tal patients, stabilizes and prepares patients for transfer to a tertiary care facility. Offers breastfeeding support, teaching, and breastfeeding consults. Triages OB phone calls and unscheduled outpatients to ensure safe, timely provision of care. Assists MD with bedside procedures, pelvic exams and OB-related procedures. Performs well baby checks. Supervises and delegates to CNA and housekeeping staff. Seeks continuing education to maintain current standards in fetal heart monitoring. Complies with ACOG standards of care.

Accomplishes nursing assessment through interviewing, observation and nursing process; obtains, interprets and applies age-related (pediatric, adult, and geriatric) patient information in terms of cognitive, physical, emotional and normal growth/development needs of the patient; completes thorough Nursing Admission Databases/initial patient assessment; documents assessment findings that are consistent with other providers and include review of body systems, laboratory results, diagnostic findings, chart reviews, and interdisciplinary input; identifies problems and nursing diagnosis by recognizing the impact of health problems on patients and families; distinguishes between normal and abnormal assessments in order to identify patient capabilities and limitations including psychosocial risks; utilizes resources to assess patients with conditions that are new, unfamiliar, or not commonly seen.

Imparts educational knowledge to develop skills to enhance decision making and promote understanding by interacting with patients, family, staff, and community; engages in ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching in terms of patient understanding and behavioral outcomes; organizes and participates in patient care conferences as applicable; identifies staff, patient, and family needs and develops a plan for education and/or makes appropriate referrals; develops/implements educational programs and learning aides of the department (i.e.. In-services, special projects, learning aides, patient care standards); documents education accurately and completely; provides discharge patient information; participate in in-services and educational programs in the department, hospital and/or community as assigned; ACLS trained within the first six months of employment and biannually thereafter; completes all mandatory training and competency checks; utilizes opportunities for incidental teaching with staff members.

Communicates with staff, patients, significant others and other members of the healthcare team in a way that is supportive, constructive, and positive; gives feedback to other staff and healthcare team members in regard to behavior that does not support achievement; assists in the orientation of new staff, travelers, and students by sharing knowledge, experience and verbal encouragement; guides others in choosing nursing intervention, developing skills and applying knowledge; follows and directs others to follow corporate, hospital, and departmental policies, procedures and patient care standards; supports the area and overall Nursing services mission by assigning staff to productive tasks and floating to other units as needed; provides input regarding the need for change in policies, procedures, and patient care standards; able to perform as Contact RN leading assigned RNs, LPNs, and CNAs and accomplishes all assigned patient care and area support activities during the shift.

Develops and contributes to a plan of nursing action based on existing and potential patient problems and obtainable patient responses which are mutually acceptable to the healthcare team; transcribes and notes physician orders accurately; utilizes past experience to provide a range of options for nursing care; initiates patient care plans using patient care standards; addresses identified nursing diagnosis and coordinates the plan with