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UConn Health is searching for a Perioperative Nursing Professional Development Specialist/Nurse Educator (job title Clinical Nurse Specialist) to join our patient-focused care team. Gain experience in a world-class facility with the highest level of technology, designed specifically with patient safety and experience in mind.

This role supports professional nursing practice of our Perioperative teams (operating rooms, preoperative, postoperative, procedural areas) through education, orientation, collaboration, competency management, mentoring and planning. This full-time position works within John Dempsey Hospital (Professional Practice and Clinical Excellence Department) and is in Farmington, CT.

Benefits of this position include:

• Desirable day shift

• Industry leading, affordable access to medical, dental, vision, life and retirement benefits

• Tuition waivers and reimbursements for self and dependents

• Easy access to I-84, Rte 9 and surrounding Greater Hartford communities

• Organizational culture focused on diversity and inclusion, innovation and patient experience

• State of the art, award winning campus environment

SCHEDULE: This is a full-time position, 40 hours per week. Monday through Friday, 30-minute unpaid meal break

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:

• Serves as a clinical consultant and resource person to Nursing Managers, other clinical nurse specialists, physicians, preceptors, nursing staff from other departments, students, outside agencies and affiliated institutions to positively impact standards of care, nursing care delivery and patient outcomes

• Serves as a consultant and educator in areas of clinical specialty

• Designs, implements and evaluates orientation and transition to practice programs of new staff

• Mentors for career advancement and professional development

• Acts as liaison by establishing effective collegial relationships

• Initiates, facilitates and participates in research activities having implications for the understanding/improvement of clinical activities and nursing practice

• Demonstrates an understanding of the group process and role of change agent

• Uses teaching methods in working with individuals and groups to impact standards of care and nursing delivery

• Assists in coordinating and implementing educational/orientation/quality/performance improvement programs

• Facilitates the education process of staff and students

• Provides in-services and continuing education

• Participates in and guides the development and revision of institutional policies, protocols, procedures and standards of care based on evidence based practice

• Participates in departmental and shared governance committees/boards as appropriate

• Assists in preparation for regulatory site visits including The Joint Commission (TJC), Department of Public Health, etc.

• Acts as learning facilitator, change agent, mento, leader, champion for inquiry, advocates for NPD specialty, and partner for practice transitions

• Performs related duties as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITY

• Considerable knowledge of current clinical literature, research in practice and therapeutic nursing interventions

• Considerable knowledge of the principles/theories of adult learning

• Knowledge of unit based orientation plans

• Skill in the process of educational needs assessment skill in planning, developing, implementing and evaluating of educational programs to meet the needs of the nursing department

• Considerable interpersonal skills

• Considerable oral and written communication skills

• Ability to provide therapeutic interactions with patients/clients

• Ability to evaluate patient care plans

• Ability to incorporate research findings into standards of care

• Teaching ability.

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:

General Experience:

• Registered Nurse with a Master's degree in Nursing or Education and a minimum of two (2) years of recent Perioperative Services experience.

• Must possess and maintain during employment a license in the State of Connecticut as a Registered Nurse.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must possess and maintain during employment Certification in a related specialty as required for the subspecialty for the unit. If not certified at the time of hire, is required to become certified within one year of employment.

• Must possess and maintain during employment Certification in a related specialty. If not certified at the time of hire, is required to become certified within one year of employment.

• Must possess and maintain American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) certification for healthcare providers.
  

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum one (1) year experience providing clinical education

• Three (3) or more years of recent Perioperative Services experience

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Incumbents in this classification may be exposed to communicable and infectious diseases.

• Incumbents may be required to travel in course of their daily work.

FULL TIME EQUIVALENT MINIMUM SALARY: $95,202.00 – more based on experience

Why UConn Health

UConn Health is a vibrant, integrated academic medical center that is entering an era of unprecedented growth in all three areas of its mission: academics, research, and clinical care. A commitment to human health and well-being has been of utmost importance to UConn Health since the founding of the University of Connecticut schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine in 1961. Based on a strong foundation of groundbreaking research, first-rate education, and quality clinical care, we have expanded our medical missions over the decades. In just over 50 years, UConn Health has evolved to encompass more research endeavors, to provide more ways to access our superior care, and to innovate both practical medicine and our methods of educating the practitioners of tomorrow.