Diabetes Education Coordinator-RN III

JOB PURPOSE OR MISSION: Participates in the multidisciplinary quality diabetes education activities of the Diabetes Center for individuals, groups, health care professionals, the community and General Health System. Carries out patient care assignments and established nursing procedures, maintaining standards of performance and performing the job appropriately to meet the needs of the age population served, as defined in the department’s scope of service.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

CRITERIA A: Everyday Excellence Values - Employee demonstrates Everyday Excellence values in the day-to-day performance of their job.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Demonstrates courtesy and caring to each other, patients and their families, physicians, and the community.
• Takes initiative in living our Everyday Excellence values and vital signs.
• Takes initiative in identifying customer needs before the customer asks.
• Participates in teamwork willingly and with enthusiasm.
• Demonstrates respect for the dignity and privacy needs of customers through personal action and attention to the environment of care.
• Keeps customers informed, answers customer questions and anticipates information needs of customers.

CRITERIA B: Corporate Compliance - Employee demonstrates commitment to the Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest Guidelines, and the GHS Corporate Compliance Guidelines.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Practices diligence in fulfilling the regulatory and legal requirements of the position and department.
• Maintains accurate and reliable patient/organizational records.
• Maintains professional relationships with appropriate officials; communicates honesty and completely; behaves in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner in all professional contacts.

CRITERIA C: Personal Achievement - Employee demonstrates initiative in achieving work goals and meeting personal objectives.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Uses accepted procedures and practices to complete assignments. Uses creative and proactive solutions to achieve objectives even when workload and demands are high.
• Adheres to high moral principles of honesty, loyalty, sincerity, and fairness.
• Upholds the ethical standards of the organization.

CRITERIA D: Performance Improvement - Employee actively participates in Performance Improvement activities and incorporates quality improvement standards in his/her job performance.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Optimizes talents, skills, and abilities in achieving excellence in meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
• Initiates or redesigns to continuously improve work processes.
• Contributes ideas and suggestions to improve approaches to work processes.
• Willingly participates in organization and/or department quality initiatives.

CRITERIA E: Cost Management - Employee demonstrates effective cost management practices.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Effectively manages time and resources
• Makes conscious effort to effectively utilize the resources of the organization — material, human, and financial.
• Consistently looks for and uses resource saving processes

CRITERIA F: Patient & Employee Safety - Employee actively participates in and demonstrates effective patient and employee safety practices.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Employee effectively communicates, demonstrates, coordinates and emphasizes patient and employee safety.
• Employee proactively reports errors, potential errors, injuries or potential injuries.
• Employee demonstrates departmental specific patient and employee safety standards at all times.
• Employee demonstrates the use of proper safety techniques, equipment and devices and follows safety policies, procedures and plans.

JOB FUNCTIONS

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS include, but are not limited to:

1. Develops and/or revises a plan of care in collaboration with other team members and based on assessment data, to include goals, objective, interventions

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Carries out patient assessments/reassessments and develops plan of care as outlined by the Patient Care Standards and Diabetes Standards of Care.
• Continually formulates, initiates and evaluates realistic and achievable patient goals/interventions for diabetes pregnancy.
• Adapts the plan of care to meet individual patient or physician need, without compromising safety.
• Recognizes deviation from normal and explores other acceptable options.
• Confers with patient/family, and Diabetes Center staff upon development of a plan of care, within defined time lines.

2. Documents the nursing and education process, medications and unusual occurrences.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Completes assessment forms thoroughly and accurately as outline by hospital/department policy.
• Continuously analyzes data/information and develops nursing diagnosis and educational protocol based on the changing needs of the patient.
• Actively participates in evaluation, planning, and revision of the diabetes education program in collaboration with Diabetes Center staff and in response to changes in patient population needs, outcomes of monitoring and evaluation activities, or changes in national standards of the Diabetes Center or hospital accrediting and licensing organizations.

3. Uses internal and/or external resources to develop strategies for resolving/assisting in managing consumer problems.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Promptly identifies specific resources relevant to the problem.
• Demonstrates the use of effective problem solving skills.
• Takes initiative and collaborates with other health care team members in problem resolutions.
• Assists staff in compiling and developing educational materials for patients, to include materials for learning disabled and visually impaired patients, professional staff, and the community as outlined in the National Standards for Diabetes Patient Education Programs.
• Participates in community outreach through Diabetes Center’s adult and youth support groups, summer camping programs and networking.
• Promptly identifies recurrent problems of a specific patient population.
• Takes initiative in solving nursing care problems of a complex nature.
• Utilizes appropriate written documentation for communicating purposes as outlined by department guidelines.
• Takes steps to correct errors in coworkers delivery of care either through communication or direct action to ensure patient safety.

4. Creates an environment that facilitates growth and development of colleagues, demonstrating advanced knowledge.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Effectively participates in planning continuing education programs for staff and professional community.
• Identifies, communicates, and cooperates in the execution of clinical research studies, on GHS property or native American reservations, participating as a principal investigator in the study.
• Utilizes team conferences to evaluate care given by all health team members, revises plan of care, and to present research findings.
• Coordinates the quarterly proficiency and biannual linearity studies, and other quality controls for decentralized lab testing.
• Plans orientation and supervises ancillary and support personnel of the Diabetes Center.

5. Coordinates and facilitates the educational and support activities of patients with diabetes.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Organizes and implements priorities of patient care planning, without supervision.
• Functions independently, efficiently, safely, and gives direction under stress.
• Demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of intensive insulin therapy, use and management of insulin pumps, aspects of care of diabetes pregnancy.
• Demonstrates knowledge of products/programs available for patients.

6. Effectively handles unexpected and/or emergency situations.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Recognizes situations that have a potential for risk management intervention and responds appropriately.
• Demonstrates the ability to adapt to changes in the work load and/or patient assignment.
• Demonstrates a working knowledge of the Diabetes meal plan.
• Communicates with staff within appropriate time frames and at multiple sites to keep staff abreast of patient progress/needs/concerns.
• Demonstrates the ability to perform in an accurate and precise manner in crisis and emergency situations.

7. Serves as a resource to other members of the health care team.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Coordinates the continuity of prescribed medical care with nursing care.
• Delegates the delivery of care to appropriate team members.
• Participates in providing clinical experience for students.

Plans, conducts and evaluates staff development programs, including orientation and mandatory in-services.

8. Performs all other duties as assigned.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

• Participates in evening classes, support group meetings, weekend programs for adults and youth, including summer camp, adult and youth retreats, community outreach.

SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
Five years nursing experience in an acute care area, to include two years working with children and adults with diabetes. Additional experience in pregnancy and diabetes, insulin pumps and patients with learning disabilities and visual impairment desired

SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Registered Nurse required, BSN preferred

SPECIAL SKILL, LICENSE AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS
Current Louisiana RN licensure
Certification as a Diabetes Educator (CDE preferred)

HIPAA REQUIREMENTS:
Maintains knowledge of and adherence to all applicable HIPAA regulations appropriate to Job Position including but not limited to: Medical records without limitation both paper and electronic, patient demographics, lab and radiology results, patient information related to surgery or appointment schedules, information related to patient location, religious beliefs and/or public health records.

SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:
Maintains knowledge of and adherence to all applicable safety practices appropriate to Job Position including but not limited to: Incident reporting, handling of wastes, sharps and linen, PPE, exposure control plans, hand washing, environment of care, patient identification, administers/receives/collects meds/blood order or products, validates, transports, monitors or observes patients for procedures including infusion pumps, and monitors clinical alarms.