Nurse Navigator Palliative Care Clinic

Summary

Job Description:

BHMG

Palliative Care

Job Summary:

The Palliative Care Nurse Navigator serves as a clinical resource and primary coordinator for patients with serious or life-limiting illnesses and their families across the continuum of care. In collaboration with the palliative care interdisciplinary team, the nurse navigator coordinates referrals and consultations, assesses patient and family needs, facilitates communication, and supports individualized, goal-concordant care plans.

The role identifies and communicates changes in symptom burden, including pain, dyspnea, anxiety, and other distressing symptoms, and facilitates timely evaluation and treatment by the appropriate care team members. The nurse navigator supports goals-of-care discussions, advance care planning, shared decision-making, and patient and family understanding of treatment options, prognosis, and available services. The nurse navigator also advocates for patient- and family-centered care in end-of-life scenarios, ensuring that care decisions reflect the patient's goals, values, preferences, cultural beliefs, and documented wishes.

Responsibilities also include patient and caregiver education; education and support for staff regarding palliative care principles, symptoms management, goals-of-care communication, advance care planning, hospice, and end-of-life care; coordination of psychosocial, supportive, hospice, and community resources; identification of barriers to care; and facilitation of transitions among hospital, outpatient, home-based, and hospice services. The nurse navigator promotes continuity, quality, equitable access, positive patient experiences, effective care coordination, appropriate resource utilization, and compassionate, goal-concordant care throughout the end-of-life process."

Minimum Education, Experience, Training and Licensures Required:

• Bachelors of Science in Nursing, required.
• A minimum of three years of job-related experience required.
• Current Kentucky or Compact State unrestricted license as a Registered Nurse
• Basic Life Support certification via the American Heart Association

RN, registered nurse, BSN