Duke University Hospital is consistently rated as one of the best in the United States and is known around the world for its outstanding care and groundbreaking research. Duke University Hospital has 1,048 licensed inpatient beds and offers comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including a regional emergency/trauma center; a major surgery suite containing 65 operating rooms; an endo-surgery center; a separate hospital outpatient surgical department with nine operating rooms and an extensive diagnostic and interventional radiology area.

For 2021-2022, U.S. News and World Report ranked Duke University Hospital nationally in 11 adult specialties: cancer, cardiology & heart surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, ear, nose & throat, gastroenterology & GI surgery, gynecology, neurology & neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pulmonology & lung surgery, and urology. Duke University Hospital is also ranked first in North Carolina and first in the Raleigh-Durham area.

In addition to its hospitals, Duke Health has an extensive, geographically dispersed network of outpatient facilities that include primary care offices, urgent care centers, multi-specialty clinics and outpatient surgery centers.

Job Title: Respiratory Care Practitioner

Shift: Nights 7p-7a

36 hours week 
Job Code: 4140

FLSA: N
Job Level: E1
Revised Date: 03/06/2018
Supervisory Responsibility: No

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Duke Hospital is looking for Respiratory Care Practitioners to join our team.  Duke employees are part of a premier organization dedicated to excellence in education, research, and patient care.  This is a full-time position. Duke Hospital is located in Durham, NC, centrally located between the beaches and mountains.  

Sign-On Bonus: $7500  

Relocation: Relocation allowance offered for out-of-state candidates and eligible in-state candidates living outside of a mileage radius (75 miles) of Duke University Hospital.  

Continuing Education Opportunities:

• Over 100 free CEU's offered onsite each year including ventilation and airway management, pulmonary disease management, patient/family education, and high-frequency ventilation symposium.  
• ECMO training and certification program are offered annually for selected candidates.  

General Description of the Job Class

Perform diagnostic and therapeutic clinical procedures as defined in the Respiratory Care Services scope of clinical practice. Work performed in accordance with physician orders. Defined duties are performed working strictly with adult populations or working only with neonatal, pediatric populations.   

Duties and Responsibilities of this Level

• Verify physician orders for appropriateness and accuracy.
• Understand pharmacological indications, dosages, and responses to adverse drug reactions.
• Consults with providers based on patient care assessments and in accordance with accepted protocols. Provides education to patients, families, physicians, nursing, and other members of the health care team.
• Monitors response to all therapy. Documents in the patient medical record. Communicates all pertinent clinical information during patient rounds and handoff.
• Perform diagnostic cardiopulmonary procedures; inclusive of nasotracheal and artificial airway suctioning and samples, arterial blood gas punctures, pulse oximetry, and EtCO2 monitoring, pulmonary function, bedside pulmonary mechanics, and EKG's.
• Recognizes life-threatening situations and initiates an appropriate response, perform CPR and bag-mask ventilation
• Safe transport of critical patients within the hospital.
• Assure correct set-up, safety, and function of all equipment/ supplies necessary in the provision of patient care.  Inclusive of all mechanical ventilators, NIV devices, and hi-flow oxygen devices.  
• Assure adherence to all infectious disease standards in the delivery of all patient care procedures.
• Participates in quality improvement activities.
• Maintains all necessary safety and life support certifications per required increment

Required Qualifications at this Level

Education

Completion of a 2-year AMA-approved respiratory care program (Associates Degree or the equivalent) and is registry eligible.  Successful completion of the registry exam (RRT) is required prior to employment.

Experience

None required beyond clinical affiliation of the respiratory program

Degrees, Licensure, and/or Certification

North Carolina State Licensure.  Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) and any other certifications applicable to the institution.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge necessary to make appropriate clinical decisions and interactions relative to the specific age of a patient.
• Skills validation/certifications of competencies for the duties and responsibilities of this level.
• Must maintain annual skill requirements
• Must maintain annual safety/compliance requirements
• Must maintain North Carolina annual license requirements for CEU's Customer service and communication expertise.
• Work involves contact with patients of all ages, family members, physicians, nursing, and all other members of the health care team.
• Work is performed in all areas of Duke Hospital
• Work may require lifting or pushing in excess of 30 pounds.
• Work requires walking, climbing, and bending.

Distinguishing Characteristics of this Level

N/A

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.