The Staff Nurse assumes responsibility for nursing duties at Amoskeag Health. S/he triages all telephone calls and walk-in patients with medical questions/concerns. This position is also cross-trained with the Team Nurse position and Perinatal Care Nurse, and will rotate through that job on a regular recurring basis to keep skills current (see "Secondary Duties"). RESPONSIBILITIES & AUTHORITIES: PRIMARY: • Assess patient's need for treatment or advice via telephone call or personal encounter (walk-in). Consults with provider whenever necessary in order to advise patient of most appropriate action; reinforce provider plan of care. • Determine, based on patient need, if patient needs to be seen by a provider and how quickly. Promote continuity of care within limits of staffing availability. Schedule urgent appointments appropriately. • Respond to patient calls within a timely manner. Document all calls/visits; maintain accurate notes on telephone message and attach to progress note in patient's chart. All documentation in a patient's medical record must be complete. If care is not documented it is not valid. SECONDARY (Cross training): • Meet with providers on a regular basis and work jointly to establish expectations for how team issues will be managed, such as scheduling, forms and refill issues. • Integrate health teaching into daily clinical routines, including appropriate information on health maintenance and disease management, for all ages, during each patient encounter. • In case of patient referral to another facility, coordinate care with appropriate staff at the other facility (Mental Health Center, Emergency Department, VNA, etc) • Prepare prescription refills (via pharmacy line; patient calls/visits) and necessary vouchers, when indicated. Chart all refills and updates as needed. • Maintain Nurse Visit schedule: responsible for attending to scheduled nurse visits and documenting care in Logician. Visit reasons may include Depo-Provera, B-12 or other injections, Medication Review, PT/INR dose changes, on-site assessment of acutely ill patients, weights for babies with failure to thrive, repeat BP checks, immunizations, NST's or other reasons. • Assist with non-scheduled nursing needs during/throughout the shift. These requests vary from assistance with ECG's, meeting with patients who have walked in for a free pregnancy test, starting a patient on an NST machine, stabilizing an acutely ill patient until the ambulance arrives, administering a nebulizer treatment, starting an IV (if trained to do so). • Work cooperatively with team-mates to monitor the schedule and keep the flow of patients moving. From time to time this may require assisting the MA with immunizations or rooming patients. Vice versa, this may mean the MA's may need to assist the nurse with call volume or other needs. • Assist with the processing of various patient paperwork. The nurse should prepare as many components as possible before handing off to the provider. Samples of patient paperwork are disability forms, handicap sticker requests, authorizations for wheelchairs and other assistive devices, letters to return to work, PE and Immune report requests. This list is not all inclusive. • All nurses are responsible to maintain their office space and to clean up after themselves if they have used an exam room, any medical equipment or instruments. Nurses will assist in pulling out full sharps dispensers and will replace those and other stock as needed. • Opening and Closing duties, Lunch coverage: There are duties responsible to the particular nurse who is covering at various times during the day. The specific duties are listed in our protocols. Each nurse is responsible for specific duties based on the shift they are working that day. • Continually update personal, clinical and professional knowledge and skills through formal and informal educational experience. Comply with state continuing education laws. • Become aware of and currently updated regarding community resources that would assist our patients. • Actively participate in policy/protocol development for the clinical setting. • Attend and participates in MCHC meetings as directed. If absent, responsible for reading minutes of meetings and signing the documentation. • Attend mandatory safety-related, infection control in-services as designated by the Senior Management Team. • Maintain licensure for RN/LPN status by ongoing professional education; maintain professional development. • Sensitivity to cultural diversity of population being served. Maintain patient age-related competence. • Other responsibilities as assigned by supervisor. • Must be able to tolerate latex exposure from vaccine vials as well as tolerate perfumed oils, and other perfumed products .