Hospice Registered Nurse - Home Health & Skilled Nursing
Charlotte, North Carolina
Novant Health Outpatient Hospice Crisis Response

Job Opportunity: Registered Nurse - Hospice

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Employment Type: Travel/Contract
Contract Length: 13 weeks

Job Description

• Provide nursing care in a home health/hospice and skilled nursing setting.
• Care for patients with 6 months or less to live, primarily geriatric.
• Focus on end-of-life care including after treatment survivorship and cultural awareness.
• Manage medication administration and pain management using WHO analgesic ladder, adjuvant therapy, breakthrough dosing, pediatric dosage calculations, pain assessment, and pharmacologic/non-pharmacologic interventions.
• Perform symptom assessment and management for conditions such as altered mental status, anorexia/cachexia, aphasia, constipation/diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, and pressure ulcers.
• Engage in professional nursing skills including goal setting with patient/family, intake assessments, Medicare state regulations, patient/family education, and pressure ulcer prevention.
• Participate in call rotations Friday through Sunday, 8 pm – 8 am, covering patient needs and death visits.
• No float requirement; weekend on-call rotation only.
• Average daily census: 63 patients; approximately 5 visits per day.
• Shift: 8-hour days, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, 40 hours per week.

Required Qualifications

• Valid Registered Nurse (RN) license in North Carolina.
• Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) or Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN).
• Minimum 2 years of hospice nursing experience, including experience within the last year.
• Experience in home health and skilled nursing settings.
• Certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) issued by the American Heart Association or American Red Cross.
• Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) issued by the American Heart Association or American Red Cross.
• Knowledge and experience in end-of-life care including after treatment survivorship and cultural awareness.
• Proficiency in pain management techniques including adjuvant therapy, breakthrough dosing, medication tolerance management, pediatric medication dosage calculations, and pharmacologic/non-pharmacologic interventions.
• Understanding of types of pain management: somatic pain, visceral pain, and neuropathic pain.
• Familiarity with Medicare state regulations.
• Completion of Orientation Safety Manual Acknowledgement.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with death pronouncement, death/dying counseling, spiritual needs identification, perideath family care, and postmortem care.
• Knowledge of ethical and legal issues such as advanced directives, medical futility, organ donation, palliative sedation, and withholding/withdrawing treatment.
• Skills in equianalgesic opioid dosing and PCA pump management.
• Phlebotomy and IV management skills including starting and maintaining IVs and managing peripheral IVs, central lines, and ports.
• Authorization of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) necessity.
• Symptom management of ascites.

Orientation & Training

• Unit orientation: 40 hours in addition to general hospital orientation.
• Additional required trainings and competencies include medication/pharmacology competency, color blindness testing, dysrhythmia/EKG competency exam, and facility-specific education modules.
• Must complete facility-specific compliance and safety training prior to start.

Additional Information

• Scrubs: Not provided; RNs wear all navy blue.
• Patient population: Primarily geriatric hospice patients with terminal diagnoses.
• Documentation and compliance requirements include background checks, health screenings (TB, immunizations, drug testing), and various facility-specific forms and agreements.
• Flu vaccination or approved exemption required during flu season.
• Interview: Zoom interview required prior to offer.

Call & Scheduling

• Call rotation Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights (8 pm – 8 am).
• No float requirement.
• Scheduling based on unit needs.

This position is ideal for RNs with hospice and home health experience who are comfortable providing compassionate end-of-life care in a travel assignment setting.