Job/Position Summary:

The LifeFlight Critical Care Ground Transport Paramedic provides advanced pre-hospital and inter-facility patient care from initial contact until care is relinquished to the accepting medical facility. Maintains thorough patient care documentation of assessment and intervention throughout the entire transport and will practice within the scope of practice as defined by the state of Tennessee and programs protocols. Demonstrates proficient clinical knowledge and competency of psychomotor skills during transport and will maintain through actively participating in ongoing advanced skills laboratories and hand-on clinical exercises. Acts as a clinical role model and resource to resolve complex situations and patient care issues. Participates in improvement activities and problem solving projects as assigned by the leadership team. Communicates safety concerns to leadership team, educational needs of customers and service area and deliver stellar customer service to both internal and external customers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Plans and manages care according to the LifeFlight and VUMC standards while able to independently plan, deliver and evaluate goal focused, individualized, safe, age specific care for all patients within the scope of TN and Vanderbilt Scope of Practice.
• Maintains clinical proficiency and competency per regulatory and accreditation compliance.
• Participates in (self and program) improvement activities and problem solving projects.
• Reviews current research and participates in applying findings for evidence based practice.
• Competent in documentation that accurately reflects care provided and meets LifeFlight documentation standards.
• Competent in collaborative communication to facilitate quality patient care and ensure safe hand off when care is relinquished at the accepting facility.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

Department/Unit Summary:

In August 2019, Vanderbilt LifeFlight Vanderbilt LifeFlight expanded its ability to transport critically injured patients from the air to include two new specialized ambulance and personnel for critical care ground ambulance transport.Each ambulance is staffed 24/7 by an AEMT, a Critical Care Paramedic and a Critical Care Nurse. The ambulance is based at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and will respond to variable locations including Clarksville, Lebanon and Nashville. With the additional two ground specialized ambulances, Vanderbilt LifeFlight has a fleet of 23 transport modes - 13 ground ambulances, nine helicopters and one airplane.

One set of patients that will benefit from this new mode of transport is those that need Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment. This is a very specialized procedure that uses a pump to circulate blood through an artificial lung back into the bloodstream. ECMO acts as an artificial heart and lung for the patient during ECMO therapy.

Position Shift:

• Nights 7 pm- 7 am, three 12 hour shifts required per week

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Additional Key Elements:

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES:

AIRWAY ESTABLISHING (INTERMEDIATE): - Demonstrates mastery of airway establishing in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering airway establishing 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.

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.

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.

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: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance.
• Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment.
• Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area.
• Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

CORE CAPABILITIES:

SUPPORTING COLLEAGUES (P2):

• Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance and gain knowledge in new areas.
• Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.
• Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences.

DELIVERING EXCELLENT SERVICES (P2):

• Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.
• Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.
• Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness.

ENSURING HIGH QUALITY (P2):

• Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.
• Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them.
• Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring.

MANAGING RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY (P2):

• Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.
• Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.
• Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities.

FOSTERING INNOVATION (P2):

• Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.
• Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.
• Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.