Residence Requirements: RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There is one vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center.

Examples of Duties:

A Clinical Assistant to Vice President of Surgical and Cardiac Services functions as a Clinical Assistant to the Vice President of Surgical Services at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation to provide total quality management for patient care and processes of the surgical and cardiac services; 

Oversees the delivery of patient care in Surgical and Cardiac Services including PACU, ASU, GI, Urology, Prep & Pack, Cardiac Cath Lab, EP, Non-Invasive Cardiology and EKG departments;

Establishes goals and objectives that are consistent with the Medical Center’s strategic plan;

Directs the overall professional practice of nursing, including but not limited to assessment, care planning, health teaching, discharge planning and quality improvement activities;

Identifies, recommends and implements changes for improvement in patient and equipment flow, cost effective initiatives and key metric indicators;

Tracks quality improvement outcomes using various computerized programs; analyzes data, evaluates effectiveness of care provided and makes recommendations to change standards of care or best practices;

Ensures compliance with standards and policies of the Department of Nursing, hospital administration and accrediting agencies;

Ensures appropriate follow-up of identified educational needs and/or job performance issues;

Provides input into the development of productivity standards, flow of patients, supplies, documentation and department communications;

Monitors daily, weekly and monthly case volume and activity flow;

Develops cross training of staff within the cardiac services;

Reports on customer service;

Participates in intra- and inter disciplinary health care teams and various committees.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

 Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, Health Services or Human Services and five (5) years of clinical registered nurse or cardiac related experience, two (2) years of which included surgical or cardiac management.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Possession of a license and current registration to practice as a Registered Nurse in the State of New York; and

Possession of a certification in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) within one (1) year of appointment.

Notes:

NOTES: 1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements. 2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Current health issues, problems and trends

These questions test for knowledge of current issues in health care. Questions may cover such topics as social, political, and economic factors which impact on resource allocation in health-care delivery; disease prevention and control; patient confidentiality; quality assurance; and utilization review.

2. Nursing principles and practices: general nursing

These questions test for knowledge of general nursing principles and practices. Questions may cover such topics as common treatment modalities; causes of disease; medication procedures; development and implementation of patient care plans; nursing judgment; and appropriate action in emergency situations.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Principles and practices of staff development and training

These questions test for the knowledge and abilities used to develop and deliver training. They address topics such as the assessment of training needs; instructional design; training methods and techniques; the use of training aids, materials, and technology; motivation; learning theory; classroom management; the evaluation of learning outcomes; and the usage of training-related data.

5. Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.