Clinical Nurse I - Critical Care

County of Santa Clara; California (MO); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The County of Santa Clara seeks a Clinical Nurse I to join its healthcare team. This entry-level role involves providing direct patient care in various critical care units, ensuring adherence to nursing practices and protocols. The ideal candidate will possess a California RN License and a Bachelor's degree in Nursing, contributing to high-quality patient care across multiple hospital facilities.

Qualifications

• Must possess California RN License or Interim Permit.
• BSN preferred.
• Basic Life Saving Certification (BLS) is required.

Responsibilities

• Provides direct patient care under supervision.
• Documents patient behavior and care.
• Collaborates in establishing patient care priorities.

Skills

Patient Care

Communication

Team Collaboration

Education

California Registered Nurse License

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Job description

Under close supervision, to apply the theoretical concepts of the nursing profession while providing routine direct patient care within the parameters of established nursing policies and procedures in controlled patient care situations required by the assigned clinical setting; to develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities of nursing.

Distinguishing Characteristics

The Clinical Nurse I classification is the entry level classification in the Clinical Nurse classification series. The Clinical Nurse I is distinguished from the Clinical Nurse II in that the Clinical Nurse I is a graduate nurse or registered nurse (RN) with limited nursing experience. Incumbents work under close supervision of another registered nurse, providing only routine and general patient care assignments within well-defined guidelines.

The Clinical Nurse classification series is distinguished from the Public Health Nurse classification series in that the Clinical Nurse classification series works directly with individual patients or a defined patient assignment, where patients are injured, ill, or in life-threatening situations requiring nursing interventions, whereas the Public Health Nurse works in clinics, homes, and community settings caring for the health of the population to prevent disease and improve population health.

The Clinical Nurse classification series differs from the Psychiatric Nurse classification series in that the Psychiatric Nurse classification series works in mental health hospitals and clinics providing psychiatric and nursing interventions.

Clinical Nurse I - Critical Care
Positions available in critical care units at each hospital include:

Saint Louise Regional Hospital - Mixed Intensive Care Unit

O'Connor Hospital - Mixed Intensive Care Unit
Valley Medical Center - Medical Intensive Care Unit
Valley Medical Center - Cardiac Care Unit
Valley Medical Center - Surgical Intensive Care Unit
Valley Medical Center - Trauma Intensive Care Unit
Valley Medical Center - Burn Unit
Regional Medical Center - Intensive Care Unit
Float Pool

The eligible list will be used for future openings within this competency area. The competency area includes the units listed above.

The Power of WE: Together, we can make a greater impact. Bringing better care and expanding healthcare services across the community. Santa Clara Valley Healthcare (SCVH) is the second largest public health care system in California and includes three acute care hospitals, 14 clinics and 60+ specialty and sub-specialty services. Our mission is to provide high-quality, accessible healthcare and excellent service to everyone in Santa Clara County.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center- SCVMC is a full-service tertiary acute care teaching hospital with 699 licensed beds providing a wide range of specialized services, including Rehabilitation, Burn, Trauma, and NICU. SCVMC was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as #6 Rehabilitation Hospital in the nation and #1 in the West and designated as a 2024 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care, Heart Failure, Stroke, Hip Fracture, and Pneumonia.

O'Connor Hospital - O'Connor Hospital (OCH) is a 358 licensed bed acute care facility offering a full range of inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and specialty programs to residents of Santa Clara County. It was founded in 1889 as one of the first hospitals in the county. OCH has grown significantly over the past five years in both its inpatient volume and its Emergency Department visits. Along with these volume increases other ancillary and clinical departments like imaging, lab, pharmacy, and respiratory have seen growth as well.

St. Louise Regional Hospital - Since 1989, St. Louise Regional Hospital (SLRH) has been caring for the residents in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, offering a wide range of inpatient and outpatient medical specialties. SLRH has 93 beds, is a Designated Primary Stroke Center, and is the only acute care hospital in the area. Located in Gilroy, SLRH maintains a CALSTAR 2 emergency helicopter base on the premises.

Regional Medical Center– Regional Medical Center (RMC) is a 258-bed hospital that is the main emergency healthcare provider for East San José, treating a wide range of critical and life-threatening conditions for more than 60 years. Since the SCVH integration of RMC effective 4/1/25, RMC has expanded the critical services including Level II trauma, Thrombectomy capable Stroke Center and STEMI care, and has been seeing an increased number of emergency visits and inpatient volume.

Learn more about Santa Clara Valley Healthcare: https://www.scvh.org/home and follow us on: LinkedIn |www.linkedin.com/company/county-of-santa-clara/

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The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification. However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level. Each individual in the classification does not necessarily perform all duties listed.

Assessment

• Obtains data for nursing assessment from patient and/or family;

• Learns to utilize assessment data to formulate nursing diagnosis;

• Observes patient behavior and documents it in a clear, concise manner.

Planning

• Identifies obvious patient care problems and establishes priorities for care based on nursing and medical diagnoses;

• Under direction, initiates a patient care plan and collaborates with other staff members when appropriate; may suggest revisions to a patient care plan dependent upon the changing needs of the patient;

• Contributes to the development of unit standards of care;

• Under direction, plans patient teaching activities.

Implementation

• Complies with external and internal licensure regulations and accreditation body standards pertaining to nursing practice;

• Recognizes and implements legal and ethical responsibilities and duties of registered nurses;

• Establishes priorities and provides nursing care based on the patient care plan;

• Accepts accountability for all nursing care provided;

• Monitors compliance with safety standards and care protocols for self and others;

• Documents nursing care provided and patient's response to care;

• Assists in coordinating the activities needed to implement the patient care plan;

• Participates in implementation of patient discharge plan;

• Under direction, teaches patient and families;

• Seeks supervision and guidance in developing nursing skills, in performing procedures not yet mastered, and when functioning in unfamiliar situations.

Evaluation

• Evaluates the patient's response to care provided;

• Communicates evaluation outcomes to appropriate staff;

• Evaluates teaching provided by self and others.

• May be assigned as a Disaster Service Worker (DSW), as required*;

• Performs other related duties, as required.

Sufficient education, training, and experience to demonstrate the ability to perform the above tasks, plus the possession and direct application of the following knowledge and abilities:

Training and Experience Note: The required knowledge and abilities are attained through possession of an active California Registered Nurse License without restrictions;

OR

Possession of a California Interim Permit issued to a graduate of a California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) approved registered nurse program.

Possession of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is preferred.

Special Requirements

• Must possess and maintain the following certification(s) during employment:

o Basic Life Saving Certification (BLS)

• For clinical specialty areas, must possess and maintain the following certification(s) during employment:

o Advance Cardiovascular Life Saving Certification (ACLS)

o Other identified specialty area certification for specialty patient populations at appointment, as required.

• Ability to travel to alternate locations in the course of work. If driving, possession of a valid California driver’s license prior to appointment and the ability to qualify for and maintain a County driver authorization.

• *As a condition of employment, pursuant to California Government Code Sections 3100-3109 and Local Ordinance, all County of Santa Clara employees are designated Disaster Service Workers (DSWs), including extra help. A DSW is required to complete all assigned DSW-related training, and in the event of an emergency, return to work as ordered.

Knowledge of:

• California Nurse Practice Act;

• American Nursing Association Code of Ethics;

• Nursing Professional Practice Model;

• Federal and State healthcare laws and regulations appropriate to the operation of California hospitals;

• Current nursing and related medical theory necessary to administer nursing care within assigned clinical setting;

• Principles, practices, and methods of acute and primary care clinical nursing, including community aspects and continuity of patient care;

• Diagnosis and treatment of common medical problems as related to a clinical specialty area;

• Clinical systems, supplies, and equipment;

• Safety and Infection Control practices;

• Sciences basic to nursing (anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology);

• English usage, style, grammar, punctuation, and spelling;

• Common computer systems and charting applications.

Ability to:

• Build effective therapeutic relationships;

• Assume responsibility and accountability for patients;

• Collaborate with peers to develop and implement individualized teaching plans;

• Utilize educational resources available for promoting self-learning;

• Focus on the whole clinical picture of the patient;

• Integrate input from other disciplines for decision making;

• Respond in a timely manner to changes in patient condition;

• Model professional accountability for clinical practice;

• Respond to patient requests and needs with some ability to shuffle priorities;

• Escalate issues when demands exceed capacity;

• Read and understand material safety data sheets and other safety communications;

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures;

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work, at all levels, including colleagues, the public, and representatives of other agencies.

The physical requirements may include:

• Ability to work alternate work schedules, weekends, and holidays, as necessary;

• Ability to perform physical skills required to deliver patient care;

• Bend, stoop, reach, perform fine motor movements, see, hear, and touch.

• Strength to lift, move and transfer most patients; to restrain and carry children; to move and carry equipment; and to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which requires sufficient body weight and adequate lung expansion;

• Mobility: bend, stoop, get down on the floor; combination of strength, dexterity, mobility, and coordination to assist patients; ability to move around physically and adequately in confined spaces (patient rooms, bathrooms, treatment settings, around patient equipment, etc.);

• Fine Motor Movements: manipulate syringes and IVs; assist patients with

feeding and hygiene; write appropriate notations; document in health record; and perform sterile procedures and other skilled procedures;

• Vision: Visualize patients in order to assess and observe their health status; skin tone, color changes, dermatological conditions, non-verbal behaviors, changes in signs and symptoms of illness, health improvement or deterioration, etc.;

• Hearing: Hear and see patients, monitor signs and symptoms, hear alarms, patient voices, call lights, and assess patient conditions, non-verbal behaviors, changes in signs and symptoms of illness, health improvement or deterioration, hear through the stethoscope to discriminate sounds, and accurately hear on the telephone;

• Touch: Ability to palpate both superficially and deeply and to discriminate tactile sensations.