Paramedic, Adult Emergency Department at Vanderbilt University

Job

Primary Location

Organization

The Paramedic in the Adult Emergency Department independently works off assessment skills to activate patient care protocols to deliver patient care within his/her full scope of practice as defined by the state of Tennessee and the ED's scope of practice. Maintains compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards. Responsible for triage care in the pre-hospital environment. Responsible for effective communication to ensure safe and quality patient care in the paramedic team, transport and handover. 

Vanderbilt’s paramedics play an integral role in our Emergency Room and Level 1 Trauma Center.  We offer an opportunity to work in a teaching environment where continuous learning and professional development are encouraged every day. Our ER Paramedics are responsible for:

• Trauma resuscitations 
• Critical-care-monitor transports of patients throughout the hospital
• Administer medications
• Participate in codes
• Respond to emergency care calls on the hospital campus
• Give and receive an SBAR bedside report, as a team, with RN when handing off care.

Department/Unit Summary
The Adult Emergency Room is the Level 1 Trauma Center for Middle Tennessee with 88 treatment areas including four trauma bays. We are one of the busiest emergency rooms in the country and see 69,000 patients annually. We have the ability to quickly diagnose through our use of two CT scanners and an x-ray machine for the Adult ER. We are a Comprehensive Stroke Center, Accredited Chest Pain Center, and the Designated Level 1 Burn Center for the region.

The ED has 45 beds in 33,900 square feet of space.  The department has 2 CT scanners, a decontamination shower, and a family grief support room.  Adjacent to the ED is an 8 room psychiatric transition unit and an 11 bed Observation Unit. Our ED has four state of the art trauma bays that provide a location for our '17 minute' trauma resuscitations on Level I patients.  Our trauma philosophy is rapid intake to the hospital environment for the 4000 trauma admissions received at our facility each year.

Position Shift:

• Our paramedics work three 12-hour shifts per week in the emergency room.
• The weekend requirements are to work a Saturday and Sunday shift every other weekend.
• We currently have night shift available (7P to 7A), which includes evening, night, and weekend layered shift differentials.

View how Vanderbilt Health employees celebrate the difference they make every day:

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded and your abilities challenged. It is a place where your diversity — of culture, thinking, learning and leading — is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Additional Key Elements/ Responsibilities: 

• Actively participates with other members of the healthcare team to provide direct patient care.
• Effectively communicates patient handover to the health care team.
• Utilizes the problem solving model to independent resolve patient problems and follow through with HCT to implement solutions.
• Transports patients via various modes of transportation while providing quality ALS management to all ages.
• Responds to emergency requests within Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt sponsored or other contracted events.
• Maintains clinical competency per regulatory and accreditation compliance.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES:

AIRWAY ESTABLISHING (NOVICE):- Possesses sufficient fundamental proficiency to successfully demonstrate airway establishing in practical applications of moderate difficulty. Generally works under the direction of others while accomplishing assignments. Has retained equivalent knowledge from past experience.

CRITICAL THINKING - (INTERMEDIATE):- Clearly and quickly demonstrates the recognition of assumptions and concepts. Shows a solid empirical grounding and a sound reasoning leading to conclusions, implications and consequences. Able to accept and understand objections from alternative viewpoints. Responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes.

VENTILATOR MANAGEMENT (INTERMEDIATE):- Demonstrates mastery of ventilator management in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering ventilator management services without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving technical instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.

ASSESSING, INTERVENING & STABILIZING PATIENTS (INTERMEDIATE):- Demonstrates mastery of assessing, intervening and stabilizing patients in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully assessing, intervening and stabilizing patients without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving technical instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.

MEDICATION MANAGEMENT (INTERMEDIATE):- Demonstrates mastery of Medication Management in practical applications of a difficult nature. Conducted individual or group interventions to improve the ability of an individual to self administer medications as prescribed, offering improvement in insight, education regarding side effects, effects of medication and level of symptoms. Conducted systematic and regular assessment of actual or potential side effects experienced by a person as a result of prescribed medication. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully conducting Medication Management without requiring support and instruction from others.

CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Organizational Impact: Delivers job responsibilities that impact own job area/team with some guidance.
• Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Uses existing procedures, research and analysis to solve standard job related problems that may require some judgement.
• Breadth of Knowledge: Requires subject matter knowledge within a professional area to meet job requirements.
• Team Interaction: Individually contributes to project/ work teams.

CORE CAPABILITIES:

SUPPORTING COLLEAGUES (P1):

• Develops Self and Others: Continuously improves own skills by identifying development opportunities.
• Builds and Maintains Relationships: Seeks to understand colleagues' priorities, working styles and develops relationships across areas.
• Communicates Effectively: Openly shares information with others and communicates in a clear and courteous manner.

DELIVERING EXCELLENT SERVICES (P1):

• Serves Others with Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service.
• Solves Complex Problems: Seeks to understand issues, solves routine problems, and raises proper concerns to supervisors in a timely manner.
• Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Listens carefully to understand the issues and provides accurate information and support.

ENSURING HIGH QUALITY (P1):

• Performs Excellent Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards.
• Ensures Continuous Improvement: Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond.
• Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Demonstrates basic knowledge of conditions that affect safety and reports unsafe conditions to the appropriate person or department.

MANAGING RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY (P1):

• Demonstrates Accountability: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service.
• Stewards Organizational Resources: Displays understanding of how personal actions will impact departmental resources.
• Makes Data Driven Decisions: Uses accurate information and good decision making to consistently achieve results on time and without error.

FOSTERING INNOVATION (P1):

• Generates New Ideas: Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiatives that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them.
• Applies Technology: Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action.
• Adapts to Change: Embraces change by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.

• High School Diploma/GED
• Current TN Paramedic license (EMTP) required
• 2 years of experience. 
• BLS required, ACLS, PALS and PHTLS are preferred.

 Additional job requirements include: 1. Medical crew members must be able to twist, bend and provide patient care in confined spaces. 2. Must be able to tolerate stressors of flight and transport, including, but not limited to, excessive motion, vibration, and extreme temperatures. 3. Must maintain weight so as to fit into the seat belts / shoulder harnesses as provided by the aircraft or ambulance manufacturer without modification to those safety devices.

Physical Requirements/Strengths needed & Physical Demands:

•  Heavy Work category requiring exertion of 50 to 100 lbs. of force occasionally and/or up to 20 to 50 lbs. of force frequently and/or up to 10 to 20 lbs. of force continually to move objects.

Movement

• Occasional: Sitting: Remaining in seated position
• Occasional: Carrying over 35 lbs: Transporting an object holding in hands, arms or shoulders, with help of coworkers or assistive device.
• Occasional: Bending/Stooping: Trunk bending downward and forward by bending spine at waist requiring full use of lower extremities and back muscles
• Occasional: Climbing: Ascending or descending stairs/ramps using feet and legs and/or hands and arms.
• Occasional: Kneeling:Bending legs at knees to come to rest on knee or knees.
• Occasional: Crouching/Squatting: Bending body downward and forward by bending legs and spine.Reaching above shoulders: Extending arms in any direction above shoulders.
• Occasional: Reaching above shoulders: Extending arms in any direction above shoulders.
• Frequent: Standing: Remaining on one's feet without moving.
• Frequent: Walking: Moving about on foot.
• Frequent: Lifting under 35 lbs: Raising and lowering objects under 35 lbs from one level to another
• Frequent: Lifting over 35 lbs: Raising and lowering objects from one level to another, includes upward pulling over 35 lbs, with help of coworkers or assistive device
• Frequent: Carrying under 35 lbs: Transporting an object holding in hands, arms or shoulders, with help of coworkers or assistive device.
• Frequent: Push/Pull: Exerting force to move objects away from or toward.
• Frequent: Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing, crouching or maneuvering self, patient and equipment simultaneously while working in large and small spaces
• Frequent: Reaching below shoulders: Extending arms in any direction below shoulders.
• Frequent: Handling: Seizing, holding, grasping, turning or otherwise working with hand or hands.
• Frequent: Fingering: Picking, pinching, gripping, working primarily with fingers requiring fine manipulation.
• Frequent: Bimanual Dexterity: Requiring the use of both hands.

Sensory

• Frequent: Communication: Expressing or exchanging written/verbal/electronic information.
• Continuous: Auditory: Perceiving the variances of sounds, tones and pitches and able to focus on single source of auditory information
• Continuous: Vision: Clarity of near vision at 20 inches or less and far vision at 20 feet or more with depth perception, peripheral vision, color vision.
• Continuous: Smell: Ability to detect and identify odors.
• Continuous: Feeling: Ability to perceive size, shape, temperature, texture by touch with fingertips.

Environmental Conditions

• Occasional: Chemicals and Gasses: Medications, cleaning chemicals, oxygen, other medical gases used in work area.
• Occasional: Climate: Ability to withstand exposure to atmospheric extremes including heat, cold, humidity, and barometric pressure changes.
• Frequent: Pathogens: Risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens and other contagious illnesses.