Registered Nurse (RN): Emergency Department – Mixed Shift

Department: Emergency Department
Status: Full-Time | 0.9 FTE (36 hours/week)
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Reports To: Manager: Emergency Department / Med Surg / Respiratory Services
Location: Pagosa Springs Medical Center – Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Shift: Mixed Shift | Day and Night Shifts Based on Department Needs

🚑 Position Highlight

Provide high-quality emergency nursing care in a rural Critical Access Hospital where your clinical judgment, adaptability, and ability to respond to a wide range of patient needs make a meaningful difference every shift.

This is a mixed-shift position requiring flexibility to work both day and night shifts as department needs dictate. The ideal candidate is comfortable practicing across varying shifts and brings the clinical judgment, teamwork, and adaptability needed in a rural Emergency Department.

Position Summary

Pagosa Springs Medical Center (PSMC) is seeking a skilled and compassionate Registered Nurse to join our Emergency Department team. The Emergency Department RN provides urgent and emergent nursing care to patients presenting with a broad range of illnesses, injuries, and acuity levels.

In this role, you will assess and triage patients, prioritize care based on clinical condition, initiate emergency nursing interventions, administer medications and treatments, monitor and reassess patients, collaborate closely with physicians and other members of the healthcare team, educate patients and families, and accurately document assessments, interventions, and changes in condition.

As a Critical Access Hospital, PSMC offers Emergency Department nurses the opportunity to maintain a broad clinical skill set and play an important role in providing essential emergency care close to home for our rural community.

Why Join PSMC?

• Practice emergency nursing in a Critical Access Hospital serving a rural mountain community
• Care for patients across a broad range of ages, conditions, and acuity levels
• Work closely with physicians, EMS, nursing colleagues, and other clinical departments
• Utilize and strengthen emergency nursing skills including triage, cardiac monitoring, IV therapy, airway management, medication administration, stabilization, and patient transfer
• Join a collaborative team where critical thinking, adaptability, and teamwork are essential
• Serve a community where access to high-quality local emergency care makes a meaningful difference
• Live and work in beautiful Pagosa Springs, Colorado, surrounded by the San Juan Mountains and exceptional year-round outdoor recreation

Key Responsibilities

Emergency Assessment & Triage

• Perform comprehensive nursing assessments and continuously reassess patients based on clinical condition
• Triage patients utilizing Emergency Severity Index (ESI) guidelines
• Assess cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, hemodynamic, pain, comfort, and mental status needs
• Recognize changes in patient condition and promptly communicate abnormal findings to the appropriate provider
• Apply critical thinking and sound clinical judgment in a fast-paced emergency care environment

Emergency & Clinical Nursing Care

• Provide nursing care within the RN scope of practice as defined by the State of Colorado
• Initiate and manage treatments including IV therapy, oxygen therapy, catheters, NG tubes, orthopedic braces and splints, EKGs, and other ordered interventions
• Administer medications and IV infusions safely and accurately
• Monitor patients receiving procedural or conscious sedation and provide appropriate recovery care
• Provide acute pain and comfort management
• Perform cardiac monitoring and identify dysrhythmias, taking appropriate action based on rhythm interpretation
• Support airway management, hemodynamic monitoring, vascular access, and other emergency interventions within applicable scope and demonstrated competency
• Maintain infection prevention, medical and surgical asepsis, and patient safety practices

Patient-Centered Care & Education

• Provide age-specific, culturally competent, ethical care while protecting patient dignity, privacy, and rights
• Educate patients and families regarding medications, treatment plans, pain management, follow-up care, and discharge instructions
• Include patients and designated support persons in decisions affecting the plan of care
• Identify individual learning needs and evaluate the effectiveness of patient and family education
• Address psychosocial needs and adapt care appropriately for patients of different cultural and religious backgrounds

Care Coordination & Communication

• Collaborate effectively with Emergency Department physicians, providers, nursing staff, EMS, and other hospital departments
• Communicate patient status throughout the continuum of emergency care
• Coordinate transfers of care using established hospital procedures and SBAR communication
• Ensure provider orders are accurate, complete, and appropriately implemented
• Coordinate interdisciplinary resources based on patient needs
• Provide clear and accurate handoff communication when transferring patients to another level or location of care

Documentation, Safety & Quality

• Complete required assessments and clinical documentation accurately in the electronic health record
• Document medications, treatments, interventions, patient responses, and changes in condition
• Use appropriate patient identifiers and accurately reconcile medications and allergies
• Follow National Patient Safety Goals and established PSMC policies and procedures
• Prioritize patient safety and take appropriate action to prevent potential errors or adverse events
• Maintain required competencies, continuing education, and Emergency Department clinical skills

Teamwork & Professional Practice

• Communicate effectively with providers, employees, patients, and organizational leadership
• Remain calm and professional in high-stress, rapidly changing situations
• Demonstrate adaptability when patient needs or circumstances change
• Work independently while appropriately utilizing available clinical resources
• Assist with maintaining clean, appropriately stocked Emergency Department patient care areas
• Serve as a resource and mentor to other staff and support continuous learning within the department