Job Summary

​Specially trained clinician who provides care to patients receiving some form of mechanical life support. Provides consistent clinical support for all ECMO and LVAD patients to ensure safe and efficient care delivery. Provides expert resourcing and emergency clinical support for the multidisciplinary teams of Critical Care Medicine, Heart Failure, and Cardiothoracic Surgery. Collaborates effectively with members of the health care team in the provision of care to patients and families.

Job Duties

• Assists the physician, perfusionist and/or other clinical staff members with initiation of ECMO or LVAD, the course and conduct of ECMO or LVAD, and the conclusion of ECMO or LVAD and any related therapies therein including but not limited to circuit or component changes, priming, blood bank communications, medication administration as licensure permits, and hemofiltration as examples. Responsible for assisting in priming, initiating, and withdrawing ECLS support in all ICU environments.
• Provides on-call clinical resourcing and on-call emergency management for ECMO and LVAD and on call responsibility as determined by program need.
• Participates in annual educational competency training for the multidisciplinary MCS team. By assisting in developing ECMO and LVAD related policies, procedures protocols and guidelines.
• Identifies learning needs and designing, planning, implementing and effectively incorporating appropriate learning techniques when teaching the educational ECMO and LVAD program to the bedside nursing staff.
• Provides direct patient care, and clinical resourcing support for all ECMO and LVAD devices in all ICU environments. Assesses blood gas values, anticoagulation parameters and other laboratory values and work within a prescribed set of parameters and guidelines to maintain the patient in an optimal state of well-being.
• Serves as the immediate expert or has the ability to consult experts when it comes to the awareness of potential emergencies and prevention of complications and immediate resolution. Demonstrates a superior working knowledge of ECMO and LVAD therapy including but not limited to the ECMO circuit and LVAD pump, adjustments to pump flow, sweep flow, FiO2, anticoagulation therapy to maintain parameters within limits set by the physician, point of care testing, patient monitoring systems, and related policies and procedure guidelines.
• Monitors anticoagulation, analgesics, inotropes, and other infusions are titrated, blood products are ordered and given, and the ECMO pump flow and oxygenator gas flow adjusted as needed. Provides a detailed examination of the circuit to ensure its integrity, while written parameters and a plan of care are worked out during rounds.
• Assists in data collection for various databases, quality improvement initiatives and research activities related to ECMO and LVAD. Updates, maintains, and submits information to the registries.
• Completes all required documentation, charting and monitoring according to established protocols. Monitors and communicates when inventory and equipment need to be ordered to ensure no shortages occur.
• Demonstrates a culture of safety through a hand-off of the ECMO patient covering all aspects of both patient care and the ECMO circuit.
• Assist Perfusion staff in OR when schedule permits in the operation and maintenance of extracorporeal equipment and instrumentation during cardiopulmonary bypass.
• Serves as a resource to staff during the intra-operative phase of LVAD device implantation and facilitates the admission process of the patient with an LVAD from outside the hospital to the CICU.
• Coordinates and participates in the clinical management of potential and post LVAD patients in partnership with physicians and the multidisciplinary team. As well as provides education to patients & families on LVAD equipment and care.
• Assists with all in hospital and out of hospital transportation of LVAD and ECMO patients to and from any Geisinger or non-Geisinger facility via helicopter or ambulance.

Work is typically performed in a clinical environment. Accountable for satisfying all job specific obligations and complying with all organization policies and procedures. The specific statements in this profile are not intended to be all-inclusive. They represent typical elements considered necessary to successfully perform the job. Additional competencies and skills outlined in any department-specific orientation will be considered essential to the performance of the job related to that position.

Position Details

Schedule is 1.0 FTE/Nights.

Education

Graduate from Specialty Training Program- (Required), Bachelor's Degree- (Preferred)

Experience

Minimum of 2 years-Related work experience (Required)

About Geisinger

Founded more than 100 years ago by Abigail Geisinger, the system now includes ten hospital campuses, a 550,000-member health plan, two research centers and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. With nearly 24,000 employees and more than 1,700 employed physicians, Geisinger boosts its hometown economies in Pennsylvania by billions of dollars annually. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Geisinger values who you are, where you are from, and where you are going. We seek out people of various backgrounds and cultures with unique abilities, non-traditional career paths and ambitious aspirations. We are an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and Minorities are encouraged to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability or their protected veteran status. Read more about Our Commitment to Inclusive Recruiting.

Our Vision & Values

Everything we do is about making better health easier for our patients, our members, our students, our Geisinger family and our communities.

KINDNESS: We strive to treat everyone as we would hope to be treated ourselves.

EXCELLENCE: We treasure colleagues who humbly strive for excellence.

LEARNING: We share our knowledge with the best and brightest to better prepare the caregivers for tomorrow.

INNOVATION: We constantly seek new and better ways to care for our patients, our members, our community, and the nation.

SAFETY: We provide a safe environment for our patients and members and the Geisinger family.

Our Benefits

We offer healthcare benefits for full time and part time positions from day one, including vision, dental and prescription coverage.