Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Level III
Unexpected events can occur even with a perfect pregnancy. Our neonatal intensive care team is well equipped to handle such events with highly proficient, experienced, competent, and committed team members who strive to provide family centered excellent care to the critically ill, premature and medically fragile infants 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 85% of our neonatal intensive care unit nurses hold Bachelors degrees or higher in nursing and have specialty certification. Another 15% are working on obtaining these high accolades within a year or two. Our employee turnover rate is less than 2%.
Our team includes physicians, respiratory therapists, social workers, physical therapist/ occupational therapists, dieticians, chaplaincy services, pharmacists and other unit support staff who share the same vision, mission, values, and philosophies of Harris Health System. Our team embraces and promotes evidence based practices that have become the hallmark of our neonatal intensive care unit. A few of the projects that were implemented are skin to skin care for all infants including stable intubated infants and a donor breast milk program for infants who are extremely premature and do not have mothers breast milk. Exclusive use of breast milk for extremely premature infants has significant impact on the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis. Primary care is a successful process that was started in 2008 where dedicated as well as experienced nurses volunteer to take care of extremely premature/critically ill infants from admission to discharge consistently.
The units have vibrant and enthusiastic Community of Practice (CoP) teams who are heavily involved in the neonatal nursing practice. Additionally there are unit based councils to address special events and projects. Every single RN is part of a particular council. For example, the unit based patient satisfaction council coordinates all the activities related to parent teaching sessions, discharge follow up calls, and discussion and documentation/ review of parental concerns. The unit education council is responsible for coordination of all clinical educational activities on the unit. There are also nursing clinical managers and core charge nurses for each shift to provide leadership guidance. Collaboration between the nurses, physicians and other team members is remarkable and highly commendable.
The Nurse Clinician II (NCII) has knowledge and skills necessary to meet standards for professional practice specified in Texas Nursing Practice Act and by HCHD Nursing Service. The practice patterns of competent generalists are characterized by the application of standards, principles, and algorithms to clinical situations. The NCII independently and safely manages patients with problems common to patients in his/her assigned clinical area; recognizes when he/she needs assistance and seeks appropriate resources.Graduate from an accredited school of Nursing; BSN preferred.
Licensed to practice nursing in the State of Texas.
One (1) year full time experience - Nursing.
Must be adequate to meet the following communication requirements:
Accurately interprets and transmits clinical information in English, both verbally and in written form; and Sends and receives messages patients/families/SOs can comprehend.
