Angela Hartzell
Wilmington,NC
Summary
Compassionate Registered Nurse with seventeen years of professional experience in health care. Skilled in excellent patient centered care, high-quality customer service, and the ability to motivate healthcare teams working in acute, chronic and high patient volume settings. Hardworking Registered Nurse with success providing individualized patient care. Committed to delivering best-in-class patient care through effective education and counseling. Proven leadership focused on increasing and enhancing patient care and satisfaction. Streamline safety protocols for comprehensive patient care. Dedicated and compassionate Registered Nurse (RN) with progressive career history in direct patient care, triage and care coordination in fast-paced environment. Proven to remain calm under pressure and skillfully handle difficult patients and high-stress situations. Consistently developing strong relationships with patients and families through empathetic communication, respectful attitude and excellent customer service.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Registered Nurse Staff Development Coordinator/ Infection Control Preventionist
Liberty
05.2023 - Current
- Creates and implements employee training programs
- Assess the training needs of the company and its employees, and then develops and presents training and development programs
- Monitor the effectiveness of these programs and adjust strategies as needed
- Involved in tasks such as administering vaccinations, conducting criminal background checks, and maintaining employee health records
- Assist with new hire search, interviewing, and placement, and provide ongoing in-service training to meet mandatory annual training requirements
- Direct, administer, or supervise the training of employees
- Prepare newly hired employees for their roles in the organization and helps develop the skills and efficiency of all current staff
- Strong people skills and a dedication to helping both employees and employers achieve their goals
- Talented communicator who is able to express self and give instruction in a variety of ways and through many mediums
- Identifying and reporting trends and data to clinical and administrative personnel
- Develop educational materials and presentations to educate healthcare professionals and the public on the latest infection prevention techniques and trends
- Build plans to protect patients from the spread of disease within healthcare facilities
- Reinforce and redesign infection prevention strategies - including crisis planning, facility containment procedures, and best practices for personal and community safety
- Stay updated on the latest trends and research in infection prevention to ensure evidence-based practices reflect the most effective health data practices
- Utilized critical thinking skills to prioritize nursing interventions based on patients'' acuity levels and individual needs.
- Conducted thorough patient assessments to identify changes in condition, promptly notifying physicians and initiating appropriate interventions when necessary.
- Administered medications safely according to established guidelines while closely monitoring for side effects or adverse reactions requiring intervention.
- Enhanced patient satisfaction by providing compassionate, holistic nursing care that addressed physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
- Assisted in the training and mentorship of new nursing staff members, contributing to a positive work environment and high-quality patient care.
- Prevented the spread of infections by consistently adhering to strict infection control protocols and educating patients on proper hygiene practices.
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to develop comprehensive treatment plans for complex patients with multiple comorbidities.
- Served as a preceptor for nursing students during their clinical rotations, providing valuable real-world experience and guidance to foster professional growth.
- Skillfully managed challenging patient situations using de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention strategies, and therapeutic communication skills.
- Improved patient outcomes by implementing evidence-based nursing interventions and individualized care plans.
- Participated in ongoing professional development opportunities to stay current on best practices in nursing care and emerging trends in healthcare delivery.
- Promoted a culture of safety within the healthcare facility by participating in quality improvement initiatives, identifying potential hazards, and advocating for best practices in nursing care delivery.
- Provided support for patients'' families during difficult medical decisions or end-of-life care, serving as a liaison between the healthcare team and loved ones.
- Advised patients and caregivers of proper wound management, discharge plan objectives, safe medication use, and disease management.
- Contributed to interdisciplinary team meetings by presenting relevant clinical data about patients'' progress toward reaching established goals of care.
- Facilitated patient transitions between different levels of care, ensuring continuity of services and minimizing disruptions in treatment plans.
- Implemented evidence-based fall prevention strategies, resulting in a significant decrease in patient falls within the unit.
- Demonstrated expertise in wound management techniques resulting in accelerated healing times for patients with complex wounds or pressure injuries.
- Oversaw delivery of care for patients on medical-surgical unit, providing direct care, delegating nursing assignments and supervising team comprised of nurses, LPNs, technicians, and unit clerks.
- Streamlined medication administration processes for increased safety and accuracy during busy shifts.
- Managed quality care for patients with heart failure, end-stage renal disease and coronary artery disease.
- Participated in nursing simulation activities, evidence-based practice project implementation and competency development to further nursing education.
- Contributed substantially to successful department JCAHO accreditation by consistently operating to highest standards of care.
- Orchestrated quality-driven, cost-effective care in high-volume trauma setting.
- Educated family members and caregivers on patient care instructions.
- Documented treatments delivered, medications and IVs administered, discharge instructions, and follow-up care.
- Communicated with healthcare team members to plan, implement and enhance treatment strategies.
- Managed patients recovering from medical or surgical procedures.
- Evaluated patient histories, complaints, and current symptoms.
- Monitored patient reactions after administering medications and IV therapies.
- Provided skilled, timely and level-headed emergency response to critically-ill patients.
- Explained course of care and medication side effects to patients and caregivers in easy-to-understand terms.
- Offered exceptional care and support to individuals recovering from acute incidents and dealing with chronic conditions.
- Used first-hand knowledge and clinical expertise to advocate for patients under care and enacted prescribed treatment strategies.
- Observed and documented patient factors such as diets, physical activity levels, and behaviors to understand conditions and effectively modify treatment plans.
- Implemented care plans for patient treatment after assessing physician medical regimens.
- Promoted patient and family comfort during challenging recoveries to enhance healing and eliminate non-compliance problems.
- Quickly responded to situations impacting safety and security to unit, actualizing crisis prevention interventions to control and de-escalate situations.
- Participated in evidence-based practice project implementation, nursing competency development and nursing simulation activities.
- Collaborated with leadership to devise initiatives for improving nursing satisfaction, retention and morale.
- Reported findings to quality departments after conducting routine restraint audits and worked with team to devise corrective actions for deficiencies.
- Sustained quality standards by performing routine medication audits and upholding internal and industry best practices.
DON Interim/ Staff Development Coordinator/ Infection Control Preventionist
06.2023 - 10.2023
- Highly accomplished nursing manager with 14+ years of nursing experience, including 13 years of leadership
- Adept at managing nursing services ensuring high-quality care, and monitoring compliance with regulations
- Proven track record in initiatives to improve patient outcomes and resident and family satisfaction
- Skilled in staff development, quality improvement, and interpersonal communication
- Manage all aspects of nursing services, ensure high-quality care, and monitor compliance with government regulations for a team of over 100 nursing staff
- Create and implement patient outcome initiatives
Registered Staff Nurse Clinical Liaison
Lower Cape Fear Lifecare Hospice
05.2022 - 11.2022
- Works under the supervision of the Director of Business Development with clinical supervision from Patient Access Manager
- Develops well-informed, responsive relationships through business development efforts and marketing with referral sources
- Facilitates referrals by gathering and interpreting medical and financial data, meeting with patients/families/case managers/providers to ensure optimal transition to hospice services, coordinating transfers and discharges, assessing appropriateness, and beginning admission if appropriate
- Acts as a resource/consultant to assess patient needs, through effective communication and education regarding various programs
- Works to develop and maintain business partnerships, increase census and length of stay
- Generates referral growth through effective sales contacts, calls, and presentations
- Participates in various aspects of outreach, marketing, education, networking, and community relations
- Responsible for meeting set goals
- Responsible for overall development and referral growth of assigned territory
- Supports the development and execution of agency marketing and engagement plan
- Also responsible for continuing own personal development to enhance practice and the profession of Nursing
- Works with Palliative Care Nurse Practitioners and Physicians
- Performs other duties as assigned
- Acts as a marketing, sales liaison, and referral source to physicians, facility staff, hospital staff, patients, and families when appropriate, and other health care providers regarding end-of-life issues and palliative care
- Acts as a resource for referral partners to assist with assessing patients for appropriateness of admission to hospice programs
- Coordinates transition of hospital inpatients, facility patients, and home care patients to the appropriate hospice program
- Analyzes trends and patterns in referrals and admissions to identify needs and to develop marketing strategy
- Actively identifies barriers to service in the community, physician offices, facilities, and hospitals; takes an active role in solutions/resolutions by providing excellent customer service
- Acts as a liaison between hospice and referral sources by providing service information to physicians within hospital, long term care and assisted living settings as well as patients and families and other providers of health care
- Coordinates engagement strategies and activities for consistent community outreach, education, awareness, and involvement
- Organizes and performs work effectively and efficiently
- Maintains and adjusts schedule to enhance program performance
- Demonstrates positive interpersonal relations in dealing with all members of the team and works in conjunction with the Physician/Nurse Practitioner
- Maintains and promotes customer satisfaction
- Effectively demonstrates the mission, vision, and values of Hospice Company on a daily basis
- Ability to work long hours and manage stressful situations
- Essential Mental Abilities: Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
- Requires higher level of mental faculties accompanied by short and long-term memory
- Essential Sensory Requirements: Touch, sight, hearing, ability to organize thoughts, facts, and ideas
- Ability to translate written words
- Physicians, RN's, facility administrators, discharge planners, social workers, other health professionals, insurance specialists, public, community leaders, vendors
- All patient populations from infants through geriatric with life limiting illness
- Assist with obtaining referrals for patients in MD offices, hospitals, long term care, and assisted living settings to impact census, length of stay
- Admits patients for inpatient hospice at the hospital if appropriate and maintains appropriate documentation of facility and LCFL medication records
- Discussion of the plan of care and expected outcomes for the admission and coordinates the plan of care in an ongoing manner, including the approval of additional services and changes in the plan of care
- Alerts long term care facility staff when a referred patient or current patient has chosen to utilize skilled days, visits facility and attempts to obtain referral for palliative care if appropriate within 48 hrs
- Of admitting to the LTC facility
- Follows the patient at a minimum, monthly to coordinate hospice admission if patient still eligible
- Acts as a referral source to assess patients/families for appropriateness of admission and begin admission process by: Assisting physician, facility staff, and Palliative Care Team to determine whether patient meets the admission criteria for hospice program
- Making recommendations regarding admission to a hospice program
- Assisting patients and their families, through pre-admission conversations, to explore available care giving options and services and to understand hospice care as an end-of-life option
- Beginning admission process with patient and family including such things as initial nursing assessment, initial plan of care for patients in the hospital
- Assisting the patient and family to understand Hospice reimbursement policies
- Collaborates and consults with Palliative Care Team members as necessary to render optimal patient outcomes
- Participates in research to improve patient, staff and physician outcomes and knowledge
Registered Staff Nurse - Oncology/Pulmonology/Diabetes
New Hanover Regional Medical Center
11.2019 - 04.2021
- Independently directs, delegates and trains Patient Care Technicians to deliver safe and effective chronic care
- Physically assesses all patients, administers oral ID, 1M, IVP and IV medications as ordered
- Initiates, receives and implements physician orders based on physical findings, lab results, and patient information
- Manages emergency situations due to hypovolemic shock, hypoglycemia, seizures, hemorrhage, and respiratory and cardiac arrest
- Supervises LPNs and CNAs and serves as a preceptor/mentor to first-year nursing students and new graduates hired to our floor
- Supervise direct patient care, perform patient assessments, develop and administer dialysis plans, analyze patient data, administer medications, fluid therapy/blood products, and other treatments per physician orders
- Responsible for meeting the Standards of Practice for the Intermediate Care Unit and managing all assigned personnel, supplies, and equipment
- Participates in activities to plan, measure, assess, and improve the quality of patient care
- Accurately documents all elements of nursing assessment, treatments, medications, discharge instructions, and follow-up care
- Skillfully performs suture removals for patients
- Maintains patient charts and confidential files
- Assesses patients in active withdrawal and provides interventions to manage physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms
- Provides education to patients on detox and withdrawal, medications, addiction, recovery, coping skills and community resources
- Partners with a team of health care professionals to ensure the overall well-being of all patients
- Assists patients with multiple chronic diagnoses including chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and asthma
- Provides behavioral/emotional support and supervision for those with mental health care needs
- Treats patients with strokes, head traumas, and intracranial hematomas
- Provides patient diagnosis under strict time constraints
- Performs all tasks with a patient centered focus while seeking opportunities for improvement of processes and treatments
- Functions as charge nurse on assigned shifts
Charge Registered Nurse
Metropolitan Methodist Hospital - HCA CORP
10.2016 - 12.2018
- Leads training programs and conducts classes for prospective circulator's and surgical technicians
- Advocates for patients in Operating Room
- Facilitates teaching and development of newly employed Registered Circulating Nurses
- Engaged in Shared Governance Committee
- Coordinates reorganization of teams to emphasize leadership and team building
- Shares Circulator Call and Holiday rotations, to include Administrator On Call
- Oversees and manages 50+ clinical and support staff in patient care activities
- Maintains a high level of staff morale and professionalism
- Developed and initiated auditing tools and process improvement plans
- Received Management accolades for pre and post op patient customer service liaison program
- Perform onsite review of emergent/urgent and continued stay requests for appropriate care and setting following guidelines and policies, and approve services or forward requests to the appropriate Physician or Medical Director with recommendations for other determinations
- Completes medical necessity and level of care reviews for requested services using clinical judgment and refer to Medical Directors for review depending on case findings
- Collaborate with various staff within provider networks and discharge planning team electronically, telephonically, or onsite to coordinate member care
- Conduct discharge planning
- Educate providers on utilization and medical management processes
- Provide clinical knowledge and act as a clinical resource to non-clinical team staff
- Enter and maintain pertinent clinical information in various medical management systems
- Promotes the quality and cost effectiveness of medical care by applying clinical acumen and the appropriate application of policies and guidelines to emergent/urgent and continued stay reviews
Registered Nurse
Select Specialty
10.2014 - 10.2016
- Oversaw Medication Administration and Drug Therapy Management
- Aided with improvement of Resident Care Policies
- Life Support Health Education Training provided to staff
- Aided Emotional Support, Body Mechanics, Medical History, Medical Clinical Procedures for patients
- Performed Geriatric Treatments
- Ordered, obtained and interpreted appropriate lab test for direct Patient Care Assessments
- Cared and assisted in high acuity patients to include ventilated patients and multidrip patients
Charge Registered Nurse
Bluefield Regional Hospital. WV CHS
08.2008 - 10.2014
- Led training program and conducted classes for prospective circulator's and surgical technicians
- Oversaw training of 10 students annually
- Oversaw and managed 40+ clinical and support staff in patient care activities while maintaining a high level of staff morale and professionalism
- Effectively supervised 10 RNs, 3 LVNs, and several non-clinical staff
- Self-directed with astute judgment skills
- High level of personal accountability
- Effective counseling in health maintenance and disease management
- Processed monthly reports for department performance
- Performed lab tests and communicated results
- Liaised between patients and physicians to ensure patient comprehension of treatment plans
- Closely monitored acute conditions
- Worked directly with patient in pre-op area
- Started IVs and pre-op admission clinical documentation
Staff Registered Nurse
Mercer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
05.2007 - 08.2008
- Provided care to long term senior patients; assessed and diagnosed illness
- Developed and implemented treatment plans and monitored patients conditions
- Communicated with family members of patients
- Effectively supervised 2 LPNs
- Oversaw Medication Administration and Drug Therapy Management
- Aided with improvement of Resident Care Policies
- Aided Emotional Support, Body Mechanics, Medical History, Medical Clinical Procedures for patients
- Performed Geriatric Treatments
- Performed excellent wound care for patients
Education
Associate of Science - Nursing
Bluefield State College
Bluefield, WV05.2007
Skills
- Strong Clinical Judgment
- Patient Positioning
- Patient Evaluation/intervention
- Safe NG Tube Insertion and Removal
- Medication Administration
- Thorough Physical Assessments
- Oxygen Administration
- Evaluations
- Charting
- Assessments
- Wound Care
- Patient Education
- Building Rapport
- Working Effectively with Physicians
- Detail-oriented
- Observant
- Proactive
- Leadership
- Team Management
- Quality Improvement
- Regulatory Compliance
- Staff Development
- Interpersonal Skills
- Decision Making
- Critical Thinking
Patient Assessments
Direct Patient Care
Documentation and Charting
Patient Assessment
Patient education and counseling
Patient and family advocacy
Clinical judgment
Infection control measures
Intravenous therapy
Licensed RN
Critical Care
Nursing staff leadership
EMR Systems
Complex Problem-Solving
Chronic Disease Management
Staff Supervision
Patient Relations
Diabetes and nutrition education
HIPAA Education
Long-Term Care
Hospice and palliative care
Geriatric Nursing
Timeline
DON Interim/ Staff Development Coordinator/ Infection Control Preventionist
06.2023 - 10.2023
Registered Nurse Staff Development Coordinator/ Infection Control Preventionist
Liberty
05.2023 - Current
Registered Staff Nurse Clinical Liaison
Lower Cape Fear Lifecare Hospice
05.2022 - 11.2022
Registered Staff Nurse - Oncology/Pulmonology/Diabetes
New Hanover Regional Medical Center
11.2019 - 04.2021
Charge Registered Nurse
Metropolitan Methodist Hospital - HCA CORP
10.2016 - 12.2018
Registered Nurse
Select Specialty
10.2014 - 10.2016
Charge Registered Nurse
Bluefield Regional Hospital. WV CHS
08.2008 - 10.2014
Staff Registered Nurse
Mercer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
05.2007 - 08.2008
Associate of Science - Nursing
Bluefield State College