The Clinical Nurse Specialist, Geriatrics will work closely with staff and physicians across the hospital to provide senior friendly care and minimize time in hospital for frail seniors. As a consultant supporting clinical care, education and research the CNS Geriatrics will support frontline patient care by sharing specialized knowledge and skills and leading nursing research related to care of frail seniors.The CNS Geriatrics position is primarily for Geriatrics Emergency Management (GEM), although the expectation is that the role will provide coverage at times for other Regional Geriatric Program (RGP) areas at times i.e. Internal Consult Team, Elders Clinic or Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) unit.
The RGP CNS GEM will be engaged in geriatric assessments of frail elderly patients in the emergency department and in collaboration with ED interdisciplinary staff optimize care transitions for the frail elderly patient.
The CNS GEM will have a comprehensive knowledge of community resources to support frail elderly living in the community in addition to comprehensive knowledge of the vulnerabilities of the medically complex elderly patient.
Duties and Responsibilities:The CNS works within 4 domains of practice
.Clinical Domain:- Serves as an expert nursing clinical resource in the field of geriatrics to patients, families, nursing colleagues and other health care professionals for enhancement of patient care and nursing practice.
- Involved in direct and indirect patient care using a systems-oriented and population-focused approach.
- Coordination of patient care including collaboration with the interdisciplinary and medical teams through conferences, team meetings and rounds.
- Collaborates with the interprofessional team in the development of comprehensive care plans for complex or high risk patients
- Provides patient and family education and transition planning.
- Collaborates with internal and external partners for the transition and coordination of patient care, including discharge planning
Knowledge Translation- Promotes best practices for seniors care supporting practice and environmental changes to support care
- Critically appraises geriatric related research and applying it to practice, quality and patient safety initiatives
- Builds nursing capacity by supporting implementation and evaluation of evidence based practice at the point of care
- Mentors nursing students (undergraduate and graduate) and staff, e.g., professional development and quality improvement initiatives
- Leads and collaborates in the development of education programs based on current evidence for patients/families, nurses and interprofessional team members, and evaluates system interventions to decrease risks and complications
Scholarship- Identifies changing trends in population health and collaborates with the team and regional partners to adapt practice to changing needs
- Leads nursing research activities and quality improvement initiatives, incorporating patient satisfaction data
- Mentors nurses in the development of abstracts, presentations and publications
- Identifies opportunities to engage with research teams as co-investigators
- Participates in presentations/publications of research and quality improvement initiatives
- Eligible for cross appointments with affiliated/approved institutions to build coalitions, share resources, knowledge and expertise
Leadership- Facilitates and leads team-based activities
- Leads and actively promotes decreasing admissions and LOS for frail seniors working with community partners to provide wrap-around care
- Leads and participates in developing corporate and unit/program policies, guidelines and other practice documents
- Leads and participates in unit and hospital wide committees and working groups to develop, implement and sustain best patient care practices
- Facilitates identification of opportunities for collaboration with academic and health care partners
QUALIFICATIONS: - Must have Current General Class (Practising) Registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario
- Master's of Nursing degree required
- Experience and education in specialized geriatric nursing
- Experience leading nursing research
- Demonstrated leadership in committee work, education, quality improvement and knowledge translation initiatives
- Must have an excellent attendance record
Hours: Must be willing to work evenings and/or weekends as directed by the Program.
