RN, Adult Urology

Department Overview

The Department of Urology at OHSU is committed to providing the highest quality, state-of-the-art care for adult urology patients. Our physicians are recognized leaders in their fields, have advanced fellowship training in urological subspecialties, and are expert, high-volume surgeons. We consider it a privilege to be able to offer urologic care to our patients and continually strive to provide it with a personalized, patient-centered and compassionate focus. This position is in the Adult Urology clinic in CHH on the South Waterfront. The clinic comprises ten physicians, one nurse practitioner and four physician assistants who treat the spectrum of urologic conditions. Other support staff include patient access specialists and MAs.

Function/Duties of Position

The practice specializes in providing urologic care for adults.  Services include catheterizations, specimen collections, prostate/testicular biopsies, cystoscopies, cystograms, lupograms, retro urethrograms, calypso beacon, gold seed placements, urodynamics, vasectomies, stent exchanges/removals/placements, voiding trials, medication administration (BCG, Lupron, Trimix, Xiaflex, testosterone pellets, Botox), Foley placement, catheter irrigations, and dilations.

A Registered Nurse (RN) working in the Department of Urology is a member of a multi-disciplinary team and has the primary responsibility for and provides direct and indirect professional nursing care for patients. This includes representing the practice both in-person and on the telephone, other OHSU departments, and non-OHSU facilities. The RN assesses patient and family needs, develops a plan of care, implements and evaluates the care delivered. The Registered Nurse is expected to practice in accordance with professional standards, core values, and with a commitment to service excellence.

• Independent nursing practice
  • Direct and indirect patient care
  • Apply critical thinking skills and ability to independently, within your scope, perform initial assessment and interpretation of cardiac rhythms, manage patient assessment and planning, My Chart messages, phone calls and routed EPIC encounters
  • Assess status of patient both in person and virtually, troubleshooting issues as they arise, coordinating with care team as required.
  • Nurse visits with and without a provider for case management, triage and patient education
  • Return calls to patients about lab/test results, check on blood pressure logs, wound care, answer medication and device questions
  • Assess the physical, emotional, social and educational needs of patients who are calling or coming into the urology clinic in a comprehensive and systematic manner, including patient history
  • Take initiative to review patient charts before provider visits in preparation for patient assessment.
    • Work with medical assistants to set up labs and other tests prior to patient appointment
    • Follow up on ED, post-procedure and prior office visits
    • Meet with patients and present to provider
    • Be proactive and prepared
• Tend to most patient care needs in between visits with the provider (phone calls and My Chart messages, etc.)
  • Utilize critical thinking skills to assess patient situations, to the best of RN ability based on knowledge transfer within nursing scope
  • Use templates for documentation
• Be able to evaluate urological  issues and understand the management goals and options
• Engage in transitions of care
  • Schedule inpatient admissions as needed
  • Conduct patient follow up calls after discharge as needed
  • Understand who to contact and when
• Assist with prior authorizations and FMLA paperwork as needed
• Monitor non-episodic data to meet guideline-directed therapy goals
• Referral review as needed
  • Identify urgency of referral and triage as appropriate
• Cross coverage of other urology nurses as needed
• Assist with clinical flow and rooming assessment as needed for break and lunch coverage, staffing shortages, and as directed by Nurse Manager
• Comply with regulatory requirements and standards and OHSU policies and procedures
• Program development and implementation
  • Engage in continuous process improvement
  • Engage in continuous quality assurance directives
  • Maintain a willingness to embrace change with a positive attitude
  • Engage in workflow and documentation optimization and standardization
  • Active participation in Morbidity and Mortality conference.
  • Provide educational support to staff, visiting students and volunteers as
  • Actively participate in service excellence, including engaging with patients and their family to understand concerns and problem-solve resolutions
• Communication
  • Effectively communicate to providers, patients and other staff as needed (Epic, Outlook, telephone, in person)
  • Be proficient in synthesizing patient information and summarize in a succinct, effective manner
  • Write brief encounter summaries with the main cardiac studies' results (rather than referring provider to read a scanned document) as needed
  • Minimize the use of Outlook for patient-related communication as much as possible, and move provider requests that come via Outlook into Epic (when patient is registered and has an active MRN).
  • Engage in positive, supportive verbal communication with patients, families, providers and support staff
  • Communicate appropriately and timely with other professionals to discuss relevant aspects of patient care
• Provide appropriate education to patients and their families
  • Provide education, counseling, information and support that is tailored to the patients' needs (medication, disease-specific advice, etc.)
  • Confirm patient synthesis of communicated information
  • Ensure that the patient and their family understand the plan of care recommended by the multidisciplinary team and that their questions are fully answered
    • Be able to bridge the patients' understanding and help form the team relationship for continuity of care
    • Schedule nurse visits as needed for additional patient education
    • Meet with provider at end of patient visits to discuss plan
    • Maintain an awareness of other OHSU resources to provide support and treatment for urology patients and their families.
• Serve as team leader for medical assistants and other unlicensed assistive personnel (e.x.- device techs)
  • Ongoing delegation and direction as per the OHSU Scope of Practice document on MCN
• Responsible for knowledge of what may be delegated and what may not be delegated to MAs as determined by this scope of practice document and OHSU guidelines. Responsible for assessing MAs' level of knowledge, skill and experience and addressing concerns as they arise."
  • Guidance on appropriate tasks to delegate to the medical assistants
  • Positive resource and role-model for MA team
  • Work with Lead MA to schedule dedicated admin time to work directly with medical assistants.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years of nursing experience with emphasis on adult care
• BSN Graduates: Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing from a program accredited by Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA) 30 days before start date.
• ADN Graduates: Associate Degree in Nursing from an accredited program 30 days before the start date.
• Associate degree Nurses required to enroll in BSN program within 3 years of hire and complete within 5 years of hire
• Current, unencumbered Oregon State Registered Nurse License 
• Current, unencumbered Washington RN license
• BLS from AHA required. New hires will be enrolled and required to complete during orientation.
• Must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without accommodation

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with telephone triage
• Experience in an ambulatory clinic setting
• National certification in a relevant nursing specialty
• Highly effective verbal and written communication skills in a variety of collaborative settings
• Demonstrated experience in patient and family education, including development of teaching materials
• Previous experience working with patients with implanted cardiac devices and other advanced cardiac therapies
• Excellent organizational skills
• Professional demeanor
• Current competency with EPIC EMR

Additional Details

Length of Orientation – Experienced Nurse

• External candidates: OHSU & Nursing New Employee Orientation (NEO) for about a week.
• Either Transition to Practice (TTP) Program Specialty Fellowship/Fellowship Learning Pathway or Orientation experience for 3 days-26 weeks depending on the care area. An employment service agreement may apply.

This position also comes with great benefits! Some highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care plans. Covered at 100% of the cost for full-time employees and 88% for dependents.
• $50K of term life insurance provided at no cost to the employee
• Two separate above market pension plans to choose from
• Vacation - 192 to 288 hours per year depending on length of service, prorated for part-time
• Holidays - up to 64 holiday hours per calendar year (employees accrue .0308 holiday hours for each hour paid – included in vacation accruals)
• Sick Leave - 96 hours per year, prorated for part-time
• Substantial public transportation discounts (Tri-met and C-Tran)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Innovative Employee Assistance Program (EAP) including extensive wellness resources

Why apply to OHSU?

We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington.
All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact [email protected]