Responsible for providing care to patients who receive mechanical circulatory support as an advanced surgical treatment for heart failure They facilitate the process of mechanical circulatory support therapy from patient identification and evaluation through implantation and post-implantation follow-up. This position may be required to access and administer medications within their scope of practice and according to State Law.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

*All duties listed below are essential unless noted otherwise*

1. Evaluates potential Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) patients using predetermined criteria, schedules testing, compiles information and presents at multidisciplinary weekly team meetings.

2. Educates MCS candidates and their caregivers of risks, complications, benefits, life-style changes, operation, maintenance and ongoing care of their MCS equipment.

3. Coordinates inpatient care in various areas of the hospital including inter-operative device management and post-operative preparation for discharge and follow-up needs.

4. Coordinates long-term management and follow-up care for outpatients post MCS implant.

5. Collaborates with Primary Care physicians and Advanced Practitioners to implement clinical interventions for all MCS patients throughout their care continuum.

6. Participates in the development and maintenance of current education materials and provides ongoing education sessions to maintain staff competencies.

7. Promotes the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program to increase patient referrals; this may include participating in outreach meetings, travel, activities with payers and providers and developing and maintaining relationships with community physicians and nurses.

8. Participates in the gathering and entering of data for INTERMACS, the international database for MCS programs.

9. Participates in program quality improvement monitoring, initiatives and projects.

10. Works closely with financial coordinators and insurance company case managers to provide MCS information to assist in obtaining procedural coverage approval.

11. Oversees utilization of MCS resources within the program’s budget and participates in planning for future budgets.

12. May assist with supervision and evaluation of department support staff.

13. Collaborate with Heart Transplant Coordinators in providing care in pre-transplant phase for bridge to transplant MCS patients.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

1. Demonstrated potential ability to perform the essential functions as outlined above.

2. Demonstrated human relation, effective communication and critical conversation expertise.

3. Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team environment

4. Demonstrated ability to function calmly and competently in high-stress situations.

5. On-Call Responsibilities: Skills and desire to adapt to urgent situations and complete job duties even if they fall outside normal business hours.

6. Other duties as assigned.