Advanced Practice Nurse - Neurosurgery Education & Outreach Network

The Neurosurgical Education & Outreach Network (NEON) brings together expert nurses from Ontario’s neuroscience centers. These nurses work collaboratively to provide education and clinical support to patients, families, and staff in neuroscience centres and referring hospitals across the province, with the objective of improving quality of care and experience. The NEON APN works collaboratively with staff and leaders in the Tory Trauma Program, at Sunnybrook, and across the province to advance quality improvement initiatives, education, research, and program planning and implementation.

The NEON APN will:

• Identify areas for improvement in the care of neurosurgical and neurocritical care patients at Sunnybrook, and propose, implement, and evaluate actions to address needs
• Engage in the review of safety and quality events in neurosurgical and neurocritical care patients at Sunnybrook
• Participate in clinical and quality rounds, as needed
• Collaborate with internal and external teams to improve the quality and continuity of care for patients repatriating to non-neurosurgical centres
• Function as an ongoing support/liaison for patients, families, and teams at non-neurosurgical centres caring for repatriated neurosurgical patients, including discharge planning to ensure access to specialized community programs and services.
• Travel to non-neurosurgical centers to facilitate care transitions, provide education, and build capacity, as needed
• Represent Sunnybrook at external meetings
• Lead and participate in internal and external committees, working groups, and research and quality initiatives at the regional and system level, including collaborating with NEON Outreach Nurses at University Health Network (UHN) and Unity Health Toronto (UHT)

Education

• Develop, implement, and evaluate education related to comprehensive, evidence-informed care & management of neurosurgical and neurocritical care patients, in collaboration with Sunnybrook staff and NEON partners
• Develop, implement, and evaluate educational resources for patients and families

Consultation

• Share specialized knowledge and expertise and provide consultative support to patients, families, Sunnybrook staff, other health-care organizations and policy makers, in collaboration with Sunnybrook staff and NEON partners

Leadership

• Lead and promote quality patient and family centred care by engaging with partners in the development, revision, implementation & evaluation of order sets, protocols & policies guiding the safe care & management of patients with neurocritical and neurosurgical illness
• Advance nursing practice by supporting orientation of new staff and providing mentorship to undergraduate/graduate students and new leadership 

Research & Quality Improvement

• Maintain currency with research findings to translate relevant findings to practice
• Lead and support quality improvement projects for patients with neurosurgical and neurocritical care conditions

Qualifications/Skills

• Current College of Nurses of Ontario Certificate of Competence;
• Neurosurgical nursing experience required;
• Critical care nursing experience required;
• Master’s degree (completed/in progress);
• Program planning, implementation, and evaluation skills preferred;
• Knowledge related to quality improvement, change management, human factors design, patient safety, risk management, and evaluation methods preferred;
• Knowledge of adult learning principles
• Demonstrated professional leadership and collaboration skills;
• Demonstrated ability to work across interprofessional teams;
• Recent demonstration of leadership in quality and research initiatives;
• Strong track record of education and knowledge translation activities in 1:1, small group, and large group formats
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;