Registered Nurse

Job description

At Snoqualmie Valley Health, we’re not just in the business of healthcare; we’re in the business of empowering our community to live boldly and live well. Our commitment to excellence and innovation calls for team members who will build trust, obsess over excellence, lead innovation, and deepen connections within our community. We are guided by our core values, and we’re looking for someone who can embody those principles as part of our dynamic and growing team.
Located in a trailblazing, adventure-loving town at the base of the Cascades, Snoqualmie Valley Health is an independent public hospital district serving a vibrant community that thrives on both adventure and connection. This is more than a job—it’s an opportunity to be part of something bigger.
JOB TITLE: Charge Registered Nurse - Outpatient Surgery
The Charge Registered Nurse (RN) provides clinical leadership, coordination, and oversight of daily nursing operations within the Outpatient Surgery Department. This role serves as a clinical resource and shift-level leader, coordinating patient care activities, staffing assignments, patient flow, and departmental resources to promote safe, efficient, and high-quality perioperative services.
The Charge RN maintains direct patient care responsibilities while providing guidance and support to nursing staff throughout the perioperative experience, including pre-operative preparation, intraoperative care, and post-operative/recovery care. This position promotes consistent nursing practices, supports clinical decision-making, facilitates communication among the surgical team, and ensures adherence to organizational policies, professional standards, patient safety practices, and regulatory requirements.
The Charge RN collaborates closely with surgeons, anesthesia providers, surgical technologists, perioperative nurses, department leadership, and other healthcare professionals to ensure coordinated care, efficient surgical operations, and a positive patient experience. This role serves as a liaison between frontline staff and department leadership, escalating clinical, staffing, operational, and patient safety concerns as appropriate.
The Charge RN demonstrates leadership through accountability, professionalism, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement while supporting a positive work environment and the delivery of exceptional patient care.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
Build Trust – We exhibit integrity, transparency, and compassion in every interaction.
• Serve as a clinical leader and resource for nursing staff, promoting a culture of trust, accountability, psychological safety, and professional respect.
• Provide compassionate, patient-centered nursing care and advocate for patient safety, dignity, privacy, and individual needs throughout the perioperative experience.
• Promote open communication and encourage staff to raise clinical concerns, safety issues, and operational challenges without hesitation.
• Facilitate effective communication among nursing staff, surgeons, anesthesia providers, surgical technologists, and other healthcare team members.
• Support staff in addressing patient and family concerns with empathy, professionalism, and timely follow-through.
• Ensure appropriate hand-off communication and continuity of care between pre-operative, intraoperative, and post-operative areas.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and complete documentation in the electronic health record and ensure staff adherence to documentation requirements.
• Escalate changes in patient condition, clinical concerns, staffing issues, and operational barriers to department leadership or the appropriate provider.
• Demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and sound judgment when managing sensitive situations, competing priorities, or challenging interactions.

Obsess Over Excellence – We have high standards and seek continuous improvement.
• Coordinate daily clinical operations and nursing activities to support safe, efficient, and effective patient care throughout the perioperative experience.
• Provide clinical oversight and support to nursing staff, promoting adherence to established policies, procedures, professional standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate nursing assignments and patient care responsibilities based on staff competency, patient acuity, procedural requirements, and operational needs.
• Monitor staffing levels and workload throughout the day, identifying resource needs and communicating staffing concerns or adjustments to department leadership.
• Serve as a clinical resource for nursing staff, providing guidance with patient assessments, clinical interventions, medications, treatments, and changes in patient condition within scope of practice.
• Support comprehensive pre-operative assessments, including review of medical history, medications, allergies, vital signs, and relevant risk factors.
• Ensure appropriate verification of patient identity, planned procedure, surgical site, informed consent, and required documentation before procedures.
• Support safe intraoperative practices, including surgical time-outs, patient positioning, surgical counts, specimen management, infection prevention, and aseptic technique.
• Oversee and support appropriate post-anesthesia recovery practices, patient monitoring, discharge readiness, and transitions of care.
• Promote medication safety, appropriate documentation, infection prevention, and compliance with established patient safety standards.
• Recognize and respond to patient emergencies, coordinating team response and escalation of care as appropriate.
• Monitor patient flow, surgical schedules, room turnover, and on-time starts to promote efficient departmental operations without compromising patient safety.
• Identify performance concerns, workflow challenges, and opportunities for improvement; communicate findings and recommendations to department leadership.
• Support orientation, onboarding, competency development, and ongoing education of nursing staff.
• Participate in quality improvement, performance improvement, patient safety, and evidence-based practice initiatives.
• Assist department leadership with maintaining staff competencies, identifying educational needs, and reinforcing established clinical standards.

Lead Innovation – We lead with creativity, agility and think bold in our approach.
• Provide proactive clinical and operational leadership, anticipating staffing, patient care, equipment, supply, and procedural needs.
• Adapt to changing surgical schedules, patient volumes, staffing needs, case complexity, and unexpected clinical circumstances while maintaining safe patient care.
• Evaluate daily workflow and identify opportunities to improve patient flow, resource utilization, communication, and operational efficiency.
• Support implementation of new technologies, equipment, evidence-based practices, and departmental process improvements.
• Collaborate with department leadership to develop and implement solutions to clinical and operational challenges.
• Identify potential barriers to efficient care delivery and communicate recommendations for resolution.
• Demonstrate sound clinical judgment and flexibility when coordinating responses to urgent patient care needs or changes in departmental priorities.
• Encourage staff engagement, accountability, and participation in process improvement initiatives.
• Promote consistent nursing practices and support standardization of workflows across pre-operative, intraoperative, and post-operative areas.
• Contribute to an environment that embraces learning, innovation, adaptability, and continuous improvement.

Deepen Connections – We build strong relationships with our patients, their families, and partners in the communities we serve.
• Establish and maintain positive, collaborative relationships with nursing staff, surgeons, anesthesia providers, surgical technologists, and other healthcare professionals.
• Promote a supportive team environment built on mutual respect, accountability, communication, and shared responsibility for patient outcomes.
• Serve as a liaison between frontline staff and department leadership, communicating staff feedback, operational concerns, and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide guidance, mentorship, and support to nursing staff, encouraging professional development, clinical confidence, and accountability.
• Assist with conflict resolution and address interpersonal or communication concerns professionally, escalating issues to department leadership when appropriate.
• Promote collaboration and coordination across pre-operative, intraoperative, and post-operative care areas.
• Support a positive patient and family experience by ensuring patients receive individualized, compassionate, and coordinated care.
• Collaborate with other departments and healthcare partners to facilitate continuity of care and efficient surgical operations.
• Support cross-training and flexibility among perioperative nursing staff to promote departmental coverage and operational continuity.
• Model the organization's values and reinforce a culture of teamwork, service excellence, and continuous learning.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Required Education:
• Graduate of an accredited nursing program.

Preferred Education:
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

Required Licensure:
• Current Registered Nurse (RN) license in Washington State.

Specialty Certification:
• Basic Life Support (BLS) required.
• Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) preferred, or ability to obtain within the required timeframe.
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) preferred, or ability to obtain within the required timeframe.
• CNOR, CPAN, CAPA, or other perioperative nursing certification preferred.

Required Experience:
• Minimum of three years of clinical nursing experience, preferably in perioperative, pre-operative, PACU/recovery, procedural, or acute care nursing.
• Outpatient or ambulatory surgery experience strongly preferred.
• Previous charge nurse, clinical leadership, preceptor, or demonstrated leadership experience preferred.
• Experience working in a multidisciplinary surgical environment preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate patient care activities and support clinical operations in a fast-paced healthcare environment.

Skills:
• Strong clinical assessment, critical thinking, prioritization, and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to guide, support, and motivate nursing staff.
• Ability to coordinate staffing assignments, patient care activities, and departmental resources based on patient acuity and operational needs.
• Strong knowledge of perioperative nursing principles, surgical procedures, patient safety, and infection prevention.
• Ability to recognize changes in patient condition and respond appropriately to urgent or emergent situations.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to provide clinical guidance, mentorship, and support to nursing staff while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Ability to maintain composure, professionalism, and sound judgment in high-pressure situations.
• Knowledge of pre-operative assessments, intraoperative nursing practices, post-anesthesia recovery, and discharge processes.
• Ability to anticipate patient care and procedural needs and proactively coordinate resources.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to patient safety, quality, and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to identify operational challenges, recommend solutions, and support process improvement initiatives.
• Proficiency with electronic health records and clinical documentation systems.
• Commitment to teamwork, accountability, professional development, and continuous learning.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
• Outpatient surgery department with exposure to pre-operative, operating room, procedural, and post-operative patient care areas.
• Fast-paced, collaborative clinical environment requiring frequent interaction with patients, families, physicians, anesthesia providers, nursing staff, and other healthcare professionals.
• May involve exposure to surgical procedures, medications, bodily fluids, sharps, cleaning agents, and other conditions typical of the perioperative healthcare environment.
• Requires adherence to infection prevention practices, aseptic technique, surgical attire, and applicable patient safety standards.
• Requires the ability to balance direct patient care responsibilities with clinical leadership, staff support, and coordination of daily departmental operations.
• Primarily weekday hours with early start times; flexibility may be required based on surgical volume, case complexity, staffing, and operational needs.
• May require occasional extended hours, weekends, or schedule adjustments.
• May require cross-training or temporary coverage in other perioperative or procedural areas.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
• Ability to work in a fast-paced clinical environment while managing multiple priorities.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods, including throughout lengthy surgical procedures.
• Ability to frequently bend, stoop, reach, twist, push, and pull while performing clinical and operational duties.
• Ability to lift, reposition, transfer, and assist patients using appropriate safety techniques and equipment.
• Ability to move, push, pull, and assist with movement of operating room equipment, stretchers, beds, and supplies.
• Ability to safely handle and manipulate surgical instruments, equipment, supplies, and other perioperative materials.
• Ability to maintain visual and cognitive attention while providing patient care and coordinating clinical operations.
• Ability to respond quickly and appropriately to patient emergencies and rapidly changing clinical conditions.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) and surgical attire for extended periods.
• Ability to maintain composure and effective communication while balancing direct patient care and leadership responsibilities.

OTHER DUTIES: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
BENEFITS: We believe in taking care of those who take care of our community. We’re proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package that puts your health and well-being first. With our flexible medical plan, you’ll have access to multiple in-network tiers, including top-quality care from Snoqualmie Valley Health, Eastside Health, and First Choice/First Health providers. The best part? Anyone covered under our plan can receive care at SVH at no cost! It's all about giving you the options and support you need to experience life’s great adventures.
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Pharmacy
• Life and AD&D
• Retirement Plan
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Travel Assistance & ID Theft Protection
• Pet Insurance
• Other Voluntary Benefits

Benefit Eligibility Requirements - Employees regularly scheduled at least 20 hours per week.
Employee Dependents - Your legal spouse or domestic partner; dependent children until age 26.
Waiting Period - 1st of the month from the date of hire.
PLEASE NOTE:
• The flu vaccine or approved exception (during flu season) is required for employment, with exemptions available for valid medical or religious reasons.
• Snoqualmie Valley Health is a drug-free workplace. We complete drug screenings as part of our onboarding process.