Pre-Admission Testing Nurse

Navajo Preference Employment Act

In accordance with Navajo Nation and federal law, TCRHCC has implemented an Affirmative Action Plan pursuant to the Navajo Preference in Employment Act. Pursuant to this Plan and corresponding TCRHCC Policy, applicants who meet the necessary qualifications for this position and (1) are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe will be given preference in hiring and employment for this position, (2) are legally married to enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and meet residency requirements will be given secondary preference, and (3) are enrolled members of other federally-recognized American Indian Tribes will be given tertiary preference. Overview

POSITION SUMMARY

The Pre‑Admission Testing (PAT) Nurse is responsible for ensuring patients are fully prepared for surgery prior to the day of the procedure. This role supports patient safety, anesthesia readiness, and operating room efficiency by completing pre‑operative assessments, coordinating required testing and medical clearances, and identifying risks that could delay or cancel surgery.

Qualifications

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Associate or Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing

Licensure/Certification

• A valid, current, full, and unrestricted Professional Nursing License to practice nursing in any state of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States
• Must have and maintain a current, valid certification of the following throughout employment:
• Basic Life Support (BLS) from the American Heart Association
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) from the American Heart Association
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) from the American Heart Association
• Trauma Nurse core courses (TNCC) within 2 years of hire
• Perioperative or ambulatory nursing certification within 1 year of hire

Experience

• Minimum of one (3) year of experience within a perioperative pre-op, PACU, ICU, ED, or medical-surgical setting.

Other Skills and Abilities

A record of satisfactory performance in all prior and current employment as evidenced by positive employment references from previous and current employers. All employment references must address and indicate success in each one of the following areas:

• Positive working relationships with others
• Possession of high ethical standards and no history of complaints
• Reliable and dependable; reports to work as scheduled without excessive absences
• Knowledge of normal growth, development, and life cycle changes. This also includes knowledge of the physical, psychosocial, and behavioral characteristics of the group for which care is provided.
• Knowledge of infection control procedures and safety precautions
• Knowledge of disease entities in order to recognize complications and therapeutic interventions required
• Knowledge of assessment practices related to pain management and various treatment modalities of pain relief
• Knowledge of pharmaceuticals in order to recognize the desired effects, side effects, and complications on their use, with emphasis on vasopressors and emergency medications, and titration of these medications
• Posses and employs an ability to communicate with patients and families during times of emotional and physical stress
• Complete Patient Sitter Competency Training (upon hire)
• Successful completion of and positive results from all background and reference checks, including positive employment references from authorized representatives of past and current employers, demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC a record of satisfactory performance and that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job.
• Successful completion of fingerprint clearance requirements, physical examinations, and other screening indicating that the applicant is qualified to be employed by TCRHCC and demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job.
• Submission of all required employment-related documents, application, resumes, references, and other required information free of false, misleading or incomplete information, as determined by TCRHCC.

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EFFORT

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical

Generally, this position requires ¾ of the day sitting in an office reviewing medical records and interviewing patients while using a computer keyboard. ½ of the workday involves standing and the ability for simple grasping. Less than ¼ of the day the incumbent will be walking, driving, bending, climbing, kneeling, crouching, twisting, reaching, using firm grasping, fine hand manipulation and maintaining balance. The incumbent will or may be occasionally required to lift/push/pull up to 100 lbs. Incumbent should have the ability for ¾ of the workday hearing normal speech and using the telephone. ½ the workday will have the ability to use near and color vision while also using depth perception. Occasionally requires the use of far vision, seeing fine details and hearing overhead pages.

Mental

The incumbent will have the ability to concentrate, work alone and adapt to shift work for ¾ of the workday. For ½ the workday will be required to cope with high levels of stress, make decision under high pressure, demonstrate a high degree of patience, handle a high degree of flexibility and multiple priorities in a stressful situation. ¼ of the workday the incumbent will work in areas that are close and crowded, cope with anger/fear/hostility of others in a calm manner and manage altercations. This position requires the incumbent to accept a flexible schedule to meet the needs of the unit.

Environmental

Work occurs primarily in a clinical office setting with occasional exposure to standard healthcare environmental conditions, including infectious diseases, chemical agents, dust, fumes, gases, extremes in temperature or humidity. Noise level is occasionally moderate. Incumbent may be exposed to hazardous or moving equipment occasionally.

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Conduct pre‑operative nursing assessments in person or by telephone
• Obtain and review health history, medication lists, allergies, and surgical risk factors
• Ensure required laboratory testing, EKGs, imaging, and medical clearances are completed
• Identify abnormal findings and coordinate follow‑up with providers
• Communicate patient readiness to surgeons, anesthesia, and surgical services
• Provide pre‑operative instructions and patient education
• Ensure chart completeness prior to surgery date
• Document assessments and care coordination in the electronic health record
• Support reduction of first‑case delays and day‑of‑surgery cancellations
• Ensure proper PPE is always worn while on duty including but not limited to, face mask, gloves, gown, isolation gown, NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or higher, if available), and eye or face shield.
• Complete all donning and doffing tasks in a safe acceptable method and discard of used PPE accordingly. (see CDC website for most current updates)
• Complete task training for all routine cleaning and decontamination processes for all surfaces contaminated by a communicable disease to ensure a high level of patient, visitor, employee and external customer satisfaction.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Conduct pre‑operative nursing assessments in person or by telephone
• Obtain and review health history, medication lists, allergies, and surgical risk factors
• Ensure required laboratory testing, EKGs, imaging, and medical clearances are completed
• Identify abnormal findings and coordinate follow‑up with providers
• Communicate patient readiness to surgeons, anesthesia, and surgical services
• Provide pre‑operative instructions and patient education
• Ensure chart completeness prior to surgery date
• Document assessments and care coordination in the electronic health record
• Support reduction of first‑case delays and day‑of‑surgery cancellations
• Ensure proper PPE is always worn while on duty including but not limited to, face mask, gloves, gown, isolation gown, NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or higher, if available), and eye or face shield.
• Complete all donning and doffing tasks in a safe acceptable method and discard of used PPE accordingly. (see CDC website for most current updates)
• Complete task training for all routine cleaning and decontamination processes for all surfaces contaminated by a communicable disease to ensure a high level of patient, visitor, employee and external customer satisfaction.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Associate or Bachelor's Degree in Nursing

Licensure/Certification

• A valid, current, full, and unrestricted Professional Nursing License to practice nursing in any state of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States
• Must have and maintain a current, valid certification of the following throughout employment:
• Basic Life Support (BLS) from the American Heart Association
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) from the American Heart Association
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) from the American Heart Association
• Trauma Nurse core courses (TNCC) within 2 years of hire
• Perioperative or ambulatory nursing certification within 1 year of hire

Experience

• Minimum of one (3) year of experience within a perioperative pre-op, PACU, ICU, ED, or medical-surgical setting.

Other Skills and Abilities

A record of satisfactory performance in all prior and current employment as evidenced by positive employment references from previous and current employers. All employment references must address and indicate success in each one of the following areas:

• Positive working relationships with others
• Possession of high ethical standards and no history of complaints
• Reliable and dependable; reports to work as scheduled without excessive absences
• Knowledge of normal growth, development, and life cycle changes. This also includes knowledge of the physical, psychosocial, and behavioral characteristics of the group for which care is provided.
• Knowledge of infection control procedures and safety precautions
• Knowledge of disease entities in order to recognize complications and therapeutic interventions required
• Knowledge of assessment practices related to pain management and various treatment modalities of pain relief
• Knowledge of pharmaceuticals in order to recognize the desired effects, side effects, and complications on their use, with emphasis on vasopressors and emergency medications, and titration of these medications
• Posses and employs an ability to communicate with patients and families during times of emotional and physical stress
• Complete Patient Sitter Competency Training (upon hire)
• Successful completion of and positive results from all background and reference checks, including positive employment references from authorized representatives of past and current employers, demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC a record of satisfactory performance and that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job.
• Successful completion of fingerprint clearance requirements, physical examinations, and other screening indicating that the applicant is qualified to be employed by TCRHCC and demonstrating to the satisfaction of TCRHCC that the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job.
• Submission of all required employment-related documents, application, resumes, references, and other required information free of false, misleading or incomplete information, as determined by TCRHCC.

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EFFORT

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical

Generally, this position requires ¾ of the day sitting in an office reviewing medical records and interviewing patients while using a computer keyboard. ½ of the workday involves standing and the ability for simple grasping. Less than ¼ of the day the incumbent will be walking, driving, bending, climbing, kneeling, crouching, twisting, reaching, using firm grasping, fine hand manipulation and maintaining balance. The incumbent will or may be occasionally required to lift/push/pull up to 100 lbs. Incumbent should have the ability for ¾ of the workday hearing normal speech and using the telephone. ½ the workday will have the ability to use near and color vision while also using depth perception. Occasionally requires the use of far vision, seeing fine details and hearing overhead pages.

Mental

The incumbent will have the ability to concentrate, work alone and adapt to shift work for ¾ of the workday. For ½ the workday will be required to cope with high levels of stress, make decision under high pressure, demonstrate a high degree of patience, handle a high degree of flexibility and multiple priorities in a stressful situation. ¼ of the workday the incumbent will work in areas that are close and crowded, cope with anger/fear/hostility of others in a calm manner and manage altercations. This position requires the incumbent to accept a flexible schedule to meet the needs of the unit.

Environmental

Work occurs primarily in a clinical office setting with occasional exposure to standard healthcare environmental conditions, including infectious diseases, chemical agents, dust, fumes, gases, extremes in temperature or humidity. Noise level is occasionally moderate. Incumbent may be exposed to hazardous or moving equipment occasionally.