Supervisor - Respiratory Therapist
Atrium Health Levine Children's
Charlotte, NC

Overview

Successful candidates will hold an RN or RCP license from an accredited school, have three years of acute care experience in their specialty. Preference given to candidates with Neonatal, Pediatric, or Adult Critical Care experience. Candidates will be required to earn and/or maintain ACLS, PALS, and BLS certifications. BSN or BSRT requirement within first 3 years.  

Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital (LCH) has taken the community to another level of service to provide care for the growing population of children in our region.  At 247 beds, LCH is the largest children’s hospital between Atlanta and Washington DC.  It serves high acuity patients as the flagship children’s hospital within the innovative Atrium Health and offers a full complement of over 125 pediatric subspecialists in over 30 different pediatric specialties.  We have 4 pediatric hospitalist teams, a 10 bed PICU, a 10 bed Cardiac ICU (expanding to 24 bed PICU and 20 bed CVICU by the end of 2024), an 85-bed Level IV NICU, and an inpatient pediatric rehabilitation floor.  Levine Children’s Hospital is also Charlotte’s only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center.  LCH has been named a Best Children’s Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for 17 consecutive years and is nationally ranked in 10 pediatric specialties. Currently, LCH is ranked as the #1 children’s hospital in North Carolina and tied for #1 in the southeastern United States. Additionally, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center and Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital have earned Magnet re-designation from The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. Magnet designated health care organizations showcase excellence in nursing practice and patient outcomes.  

Primary Purpose

The ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) Clinical Supervisor is responsible for the operating ECMO equipment and assisting the manager with the daily operations to include but not limited to coordination of patient care/outcomes, allocation of human and fiscal resources, communications, patient throughput, program development and oversight, patient, physician and teammate rounding, selection, development, and retention of team members, clinical supervision and performance appraisal, performance improvement activities, service recovery and compliance with regulatory agency requirements.  The ECMO clinical supervisor maintains clinical and professional competency as appropriate to the population served and equipment operated.

Major Responsibilities 

• Supervisors ECMO daily operations and staff.
• Monitors pump functioning throughout patient therapy and maintains pump integrity; monitors circuit volume and administers products, medications and/or volumes as ordered; monitors anticoagulation, electrolyte acid-base balance and blood gas composition volumes and adjusts ECMO circuit to maintain physician orders. 
• Recommends appropriate changes to current patient management based on latest information or changing patient status. 
• Generates and compiles appropriate documentation and charges related to ECMO. 
• Operates point of care laboratory equipment; interprets and acts on results based upon physician orders. 
• Sets up and primes ECMO circuits; initiates and maintains extracorporeal life support according to protocols. Assists with coordination of cannulation, decannulation, and in-house transport of patients on ECMO. 
• Manages planned and emergent disruption of ECMO. Replaces circuit components under normal and emergent conditions. 
• Facilitates a multidisciplinary approach in the care of ECMO patients. 
• Assures to maintain competency with ECLS/ECMO procedures at least 24 hours quarterly and 96 hours annually of pump time. If these cannot be met with patient care, specialists will participate in drills to meet requirements. 
• Provides CRRT in neonatal and pediatric populations. Will assist with provision of CRRT in adult cardiac patients on ECMO as requested.  
• Utilizes appropriate resources to plan and provide services that are safe, effective, and financially responsible. 
• Coordinates and assists with interfacility transport for patients on ECMO. 
• Serves as validator during annual competencies. 
• Participates in committees, shared governance or other facility decision making activities. 
• Participates in and or assists in ECMO Air transport – Fixed and Rotor wings. 
• Participates on committees and shared governance activities, serving as a resource for ECMO Specialist colleagues.
• Coaches and counsels’ teammates and after consultation of the manager for administrative supervisor administers discipline up to and including written warnings.
• Assists the Manager with interview, selection, and supervision of personnel in the department.
• Assists the manager as needed with coordination of communication at regular intervals throughout shifts via team meetings/huddles to exchange information/ promote dialogue with teammates.
• Performs care, assists with treatments, therapies, procedures, and administers medications, as necessary.
• Assists the manager with achieving unit/department goals including financial performance by: 
  • assessing patient volume/ acuity and adjusting staffing resources as necessary to accommodate patient care needs and meet daily productivity metrics.
  • participating in patient placement/other meetings as assigned to facilitate patient throughput/patient flow, or other department functions.
  • participating with other department/hospital initiatives to meet or exceed established goal targets with emphasis on patient care, patient and employee safety, quality, and operational excellence. 
  • evaluating progress toward attainment of goals/expected outcomes.

Minimum Job Requirements

Graduate of an accredited Registered Nurse or Respiratory Therapy program with current licensure and certification as appropriate. 

BSN or BSRT required. Candidates for external hire or internal promotion without BSN or BSRT must be enrolled in bachelor's program within 1 year of hire/promotion and must complete program within 3 years of enrollment of the program. 

• ECMO State Board Endorsement required for ECMO Specialist that are RTs. 
• Required to maintain current Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, and Pediatric Life Support. 
• CES-A Certification (Certified ECMO Specialist) required. If the incumbent does not possess a CES-A certification, the certification must be obtained within 1 year. CCRN (Certified Critical Care Registered Nurse) preferred. 
• Required to maintain active and unencumbered licensure from their respective State Board. 

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions