Nurse Navigator

Nurse Navigator – UPMC Neurosurgery

UPMC Neurosurgery is seeking a compassionate and experienced Nurse Navigator to join our Central PA team in Harrisburg. In this role, you’ll help guide patients through the neurosurgical process, providing education, coordinating care, and serving as an important connection between patients and their care team before and after surgery.

Schedule:

Monday through Thursday,

8: 00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday,

7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. No weekends or holidays! Approximately10% travel is required to support other office locations.

Location:

UPMC Neurosurgery – Central PA, 205 S. Front St., 6th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17104

What You’ll Do:

• Assist with preoperative chart preparation and review of surgeons’ schedules.
• Guide patients through the surgical process by coordinating care, addressing needs, and ensuring appropriate follow-up.
• Provide comprehensive preoperative education to prepare patients for surgery and support optimal outcomes.
• Collaborate with surgeons, Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), staff nurses, and surgery schedulers to ensure coordinated patient care and efficient workflows.
• Cross-train in staff nurse responsibilities to support team coverage and continuity of care.
• Conduct post-operative nurse visits for suture removals.
• Respond to time-sensitive clinical inquiries from patients and staff, facilitating timely communication, assessment, and follow-up as appropriate.

If you’re an experienced RN who enjoys patient education, care coordination, and helping patients feel informed and supported throughout their surgical journey, consider joining UPMC Neurosurgery – Central PA as a Nurse Navigator.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team in guiding the patient and family in regard to diagnostic and treatment options. Provides emotional support specialized patient care, support and educational needs. Assumes the role of care coordinator and patient advocate throughout the process.
• Uses all components of the nursing process, to provide comprehensive nursing care, support and education to patients and their families during screening and diagnostic tests, treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation.
• Provides expert knowledge of specialty (i.e. women's, breast health, oncology, etc.) issues to health care professionals and patients/families. Works closely with the interdisciplinary team to meet the education and development needs of the professional and ancillary staff.
• Possesses the ability to obtain and interpret information considering age specific needs. Provides health promotion, disease prevention, and nursing care while cognizant of age, developmental status, culture, ethnicity, and sexual orientation to individual patients and members of the community.
• Integrates current research findings and technology into practice, performance improvement, and education as appropriate.
• Participates in the evaluation of patient care and programs through quality improvement activities. Identifies and coordinates performance improvement activities, including monitoring, evaluation, and development of appropriate outcomes; participates in processes to implement change.
• Monitors changes in legislation and regulations to assure that effective actions are taken in a timely and consistent manner.
• Demonstrates UPMC's commitment to service excellence by understanding the needs of patients, their families, physicians and co-workers and doing what is required the first time, every time by being responsible, sensitive, accurate, timely, coordinated and thorough
• Assesses and addresses the educational needs of individual patients and members of the community as a whole, in regard to health issues with an emphasis on specialty practice. Participates in the evaluation and development of patient education materials and provides individualized teaching based on needs of the patients and the community.
• Provides staff development and serves as a clinical resource and consultant to members of the interdisciplinary team, identifying additional resources as needed.
• Coordinates tests, treatments, referrals and appointments as necessary to meet the physical, spiritual and psycho-social needs of the patient and family. Provides clinical support and patient care during procedures.
• Works as a team member to plan, develop, market and implement community health and wellness educational programming and health care services, with an emphasis on specialty care.
• RN with Bachelor's Degree preferred.
• Three to five years of current clinical experience required.
• Preferred experience with the population served (i.e. women's health, breast health, oncology, etc.)
• Must be self-directed and possess strong leadership and communication skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge and clinical competence in the area of specialty with an emphasis on wellness and disease prevention throughout the life continuum.
• Demonstrates ability for high degree of analysis, critical thinking and independent clinical judgment.
• This position typically reports to Department Manager/Nurse Manager

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:

Registered Nurse currently licensed in the practicing state. Current certification in specialty or obtained within one year CPR required based on AHA standards that include both a didactic and skills demonstration component within 30 days of hire

• Basic Life Support (BLS) OR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Act 34

Current licensure either in the state where the facility is located or, if the facility is in a state covered by the multistate Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC) agreement, a multistate license issued by a participating NLC state. Hires and current employees working on an out-of-state NLC license who later change their residency to the state where the facility is also located will have 60 days upon changing their residency to apply for licensure within that state.

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran