Presented on April 4, 2016
Presented by Erica Bland RN, BSN, OCN – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

The charge nurse plays a vital role in the preparation of patients for Interventional Radiology (IR) procedures and is essential to the safe coordination of care while navigating difficult clinical scenarios. In this tertiary care medical center, the charge nurse maintains the primary responsibility for triaging each IR patient referral with regards to nursing considerations. Effective and optimal communication with the primary nursing team is essential to the safe transition of care (handoff) and it is a Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal.

This presentation will describe nursing navigation of challenging clinical cases and the essential competencies an IR charge nurse needs to perform this role. All cases demonstrate the essential role of the charge nurse in coordinating safe patient care. The four cases include: 1) gastrostomy
placement in a patient with head and neck cancer; 2) clinical screening of a patient with an elevated white blood cell count scheduled for an implanted venous access device; 3) rapid patient preparation for placement of an emergent chest tube for acute pneumothorax; and 4) the clinical challenges associated with a request to perform bilateral nephrostomies in a patient with an elevated potassium and significantly dosed continuous narcotic infusion. The charge nurse needs a rigorous orientation process to perform these screening functions effectively. Clearly written clinical guidelines aid the charge nurse in clinical decisions.

At the conclusion of this presentation, the learner will understand this model of practice, critical components of handoff communication, and strategies for management of challenging clinical scenarios.

Erica is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania BSN program and is currently enrolled in the MSN Nursing Administration program at New York University with an anticipated graduation date of May 2017. In August 2009, she joined the MSK Interventional Radiology Department and have advanced along the clinical ladder to Clinical Nurse IV, Operations Coordinator. Her professional expertise is both direct patient care and managing daily clinical operations for a very busy interventional oncology unit.