Neonatal Nurse Specialist

Here, it's different. Come join us.

Children's Hospital Colorado has defined and delivered pediatric healthcare excellence for more than 100 years.

Here, the nation's brightest nurses, physicians, scientists, researchers, therapists, and care providers are creating the future of child health. With an optimist's outlook, a trailblazing spirit, and a celebrated history, we're making new strides every day.

We've been Magnet-designated four times by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and are consistently recognized among the best of the best pediatric hospitals with #1 rankings in Colorado and the region by U.S. News & World Report.

As a national leader in pediatric care, we serve children and families from all over the nation. Our System of Care includes four pediatric hospitals, 11 specialty care centers, 1,300 outreach clinics and more than 10,000 healthcare professionals representing the full spectrum of pediatric care specialties.

Here, we know it takes all of us, every role, to deliver the best possible care to each child and family we treat.

That's why we build our teams toward a foundation of equity in access, advancement, and opportunity. We know teams of individuals with different identities and backgrounds can nurture creativity and innovation. We know we can see, treat, and heal children better when our team reflects the diversity of our patient population. We strive to attract and retain diverse talent because we know a truly inclusive and equitable workforce will help us one day realize our most basic calling: to heal every child who comes through our doors.

A career at Children's Colorado will challenge you, inspire you, and motivate you to make a difference in the life of a child. Here, it's different.

Neonatal Nurse Specialists are members of a health care team working in collaboration with neonatal nurse practitioners, attending neonatologist, staff nurses, respiratory therapists, and other health care professionals to provide patient management, education, and continuity of care.

Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a Level 4, 82-bed regional referral center for the seven-state region with a platinum-level designation for ECMO. We treat neonate, infant and pediatric patients less than 2 years old with conditions including hypoxemic respiratory failure, infections, hematological, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic disorders, single major or multiple anomalies requiring diagnostic work-up and/or surgical intervention. We provide continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), renal dialysis and body cooling for neonates among many other therapies to provide the highest level of neonatal care to infants and their families. The culture in the NICU includes great teamwork and support for nurses who are learning and growing. Children's Hospital Colorado provides many opportunities for advancement within a Clinical Advancement Program for nurses.

This position is eligible for relocation assistance, if relocating from 100 miles or greater.

Department Name: Neonatal Nurse Practitioners
Job Status: Full time, eligible for benefits
Shift: 40 hours per week

• Education: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) & Master's Degree Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP)
• Experience: 1 year clinical and pediatric experience required. Minimum of 2 years of RN NICU experience.
• Certification(s): BLS/CPR from the American Heart Association; Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) Certificate and optional Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Board Certification as a NNP
• Licensure(s): Registered Nurse License (RN)

POPULATION SPECIFIC CARE

• Neonate - <30 days
• Infancy - >30 days to 1yr
• Toddlers - >1yr to 3yrs

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

An employee in this position may be called upon to do any or all of the following essential functions. These examples do not include all of the functions which the employee may be expected to perform.

• Ethics: Begins to gain self awareness about one's own ethical principles.
• Functions primarily as a team member involved with patient management under the direct authorization and supervision of a board certified neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP-BC) and/or physician member of the medical staff. Performs nursing functions independently. Direct medical management/ advanced practice nursing management (i.e., patient history, examination, ordering and interpreting tests, making diagnoses and instituting treatment programs, advanced procedure performance, completing discharge documentation) is authorized and performed under the direct supervision of a NNP-BC and/or a physician member of the medical staff. All orders must be cosigned by a fully credentialed NNP-BC or physician.
• Healthcare delivery systems: Begins to recognize how external and internal factors influence healthcare. Begins to evaluate outcomes of care. Begins to learn how to develop an individualized care plan.
• Leadership: Begin to transition from RN role. Recognizes importance of interdisciplinary care. Reviews guidelines and protocols.
• Policy: Member of professional organization. Becomes familiar with policies that impact neonatal nursing, neonates and families.
• Practice Inquiry: Searches literature to answer clinical questions. Reviews protocols and procedures with preceptor. Attends in-services.
• Quality: Becomes familiar with quality improvement process. Begins to note relationship between quality and patient care.
• Scientific foundation: Attends lectures and reads current EBP literature.
• Technology and Information Literacy: Begins to identify family needs and relays to multidisciplinary team. Uses technology to obtain and document comprehensive maternal and newborn history. Familiar with EMR and how to utilize data to create a plan of care.
• Attend fellowship educational offerings. Complete fellowship evaluations

SCOPE & LEVEL

• Guidelines: Trains in the field and assists higher level personnel to acquire learning through practical experience.
• Complexity: Performs routine and/or basic tasks common to the field. Procedures, methods, and techniques to be used are well established with options to be considered well defined. Tools, work aids, and materials to be used are specified.
• Decision Making: Duties assigned are primarily routine, repetitive, and restricted in intricacy with little or no discretion in how they are carried out.
• Communications: Contacts with team members, clients or the public where factual information relative to the organization or its functions are received, relayed, or a service rendered according to established procedures or instructions.
• Supervision Received: Under close supervision, the employee receives training to develop skills and abilities in a specific line of work or general occupational area. Work product is subject to close, continuous inspection.

Ability to Perform Essential Functions of the Job

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Body Movement

• Will frequently stand/walk for 6-8 hours per day.
• Will frequently use hands while keyboarding and writing.
• Will frequently sit for 2-4 hours per day while accessing computer, talking on the telephone, and while attending meetings.
• Back and Upper Body (lifting and carrying)
• Will occasionally lift/force exerted up to 100 pounds.

Vision

• Constantly uses sight in performance for daily job duties.

Hearing

• Constantly uses hearing in performance for daily job duties.

Others

• Able to assist or assume direct patient care as census directly permits. Exposure to unsteady or falling patient: In the course of transferring a patient, may encounter a patient who falls or loses balance, causing employee to fall and/or bear the full weight of a patient.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Exposure: Exposure to blood/body fluid: Regular/Frequent.
• Exposure: Exposure to heights: Occasional.
• Exposure: Exposure to infectious diseases: Frequent.
• Exposure: Exposure to radiation: Occasional.
• Exposure: Exposure to lung irritations: Occasional.
• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Independent discretion/decision making.
• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Makes decisions under pressure.
• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Manages stress appropriately.
• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Works with others effectively.

It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. Be aware that none of the questions are intended to imply illegal preferences or discrimination based on non-job-related information.

Here, you matter. As a Children's Hospital Colorado team member, you will receive a competitive pay and benefits package designed to take care of your needs that includes base pay, incentives, paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, company provided life and disability insurance, paid parental leave, 403b employer match (retirement savings), a robust wellness program, and access to professional development tools, including an education benefit to help you advance your career.

As part of our Total Rewards package, Children's Colorado offers an annual employee bonus program that rewards eligible team members based on organizational performance. If organizational goals are met for the year, the bonus is paid out the following April.

Children's Colorado delivers annual base pay increases to eligible team members based on their performance over the previous year.