RN First Assist Surgery

Founded in 1926, Dignity Health - Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center is a 334-bed, acute care, nonprofit hospital. Serving over 70,000 patients annually, the hospital offers a full complement of services including a Level III NICU, heart care, wound care and surgical services. Additionally, Glendale Memorial Hospital has been recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. It is a Joint Commission-certified Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center and a SRC Center of Excellence for Robotic Surgery and Colorectal Surgery.

One Community. One Mission. One California 

​​We are not currently accepting new graduate or new to speciality applications.   Our next posting period will be July 1, 2026 for an October 16, 2026 start date.  Positions can be found under National Resident RN (<12 months experience as an RN) or RN Transition/Fellowship (>12 months experience as an RN

As our Registered Nurse (RN), you will be a pivotal healthcare professional, delivering compassionate, high-quality care that truly impacts our patients' well-being and recovery.

Every day, you will leverage your expertise to provide individualized, comprehensive care, making critical assessments, performing skilled procedures, and meticulously implementing patient care plans. You'll collaborate seamlessly within an interdisciplinary team, contributing to a dynamic environment focused on optimal patient outcomes.

To thrive in this vital role, you will possess keen assessment skills, acute critical thinking, and a patient-first mindset, driven by a profound enthusiasm to help others. Your sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in a fast-paced environment will not only support patient recovery but also fuel your own career advancement.

Provides a safe therapeutic core by collaboration with the surgeons and health care team in performing a safe operation with optimal outcomes for the patient. The RNFA practices preoperative nursing and must have acquired the necessary knowledge, skills and judgment specific to clinical practice

• Collects and interprets complex assessment data, recognizes subtle changes in the patient
• Formulates an individualized plan of care for the patient with complex needs to achieve desired outcomes
• Shares data with team and supports team with surgeon. Gets procedure questions asked and helps to set up for correct procedures.
• Makes clinical decisions based on experience, patient population data, and intuition, promotes the development of clinical decision making of all team members.
• Advocates patient rights from the patient/family perspective: provides counsel and acts as a resource to resolve issues
• Provides validation of clinical decision for other staff members, seeks validation from others for complex patients or unfamiliar situations
• Acts as a team leader in coordinating the care of the patient, and the team process
• Collaborates with the health care team and other disciplines to meet the desired outcomes
• Teamwork-Communicates effectively and works cooperatively with others. Has respect for and understanding of other clinical disciplines. Uses an integrated approach toward patient outcomes
  Demonstrates effective communication skills and seeks out opportunities to improve communication among health care team members/patients/families
• Delegates patient care activities to other health care team members and redirects unit activities ass patient acuity and census changes
• Actively participates as a member of the CVOR team and CVOR committees
• Works to implement practice initiatives in a positive and productive manner
• Able to perform in the Charge Nurse role by coordinating the staff and surgery schedule and handling day to day issues with positive outcomes

• Able to fill in as needed on the staffing schedule. Helps with lunches and breaks

• Assists staff to assess learning needs and helps to train as needed. Acts as preceptor when called upon

• Collaborates with the team in keeping costs under control and controls wastage in the room with regards to supplies

Quality/Best Practice-Utilizes standards, guidelines, and pathways for care delivery. Incorporates data and information to continuously improve care and practice to enhance outcomes

The RNFA acts as a team leader or participant in the quality improvement process. Actively identify areas and explores alternatives to care or practice. Recommends revisions to standards or cost initiatives as needed.

• Evaluates staff on practice delivery and recommends additional education if needed.

• Participates as a team member or leader with any of the CVOR committees, or hospital committees

• Acts as a mentor or preceptor to new members of the team

• Acts as a resource for the members of the team

• Actively participates in readying for the JCAHO and STATE survey visits by being able to verbalize the QI process and knowing the standards

• • Able to research new practices and understands benchmarking of best practice issues
• Professional Development-Ensures improvements in practice settings by assuming responsibility for self-development in life-long learning. Provides direction and guidance to others regarding practice, serves as a resource preceptor, and mentor. Leadership skills demonstrated in decision making and problem solving
  
  
  Consistently demonstrates role model and leadership behaviors, acts as a clinical resource and serves as a mentor to the team.Seeks opportunities, planned and or situational based to teach, coach, and mentor others, on identified learning needs
  • • Documents practice in role 75% of time - Maintains record for cases and hours - Turns in copy of records biweekly to PCD

Required

• Other Minimal education as required for RN licensure. and 5 Years of Perioperative Nursing practice as both a scrub and circulating nurse., upon hire or
• If less years of experience, 3 recommendations from practicing Surgeons and demonstrated clinical practice and
• Successful completion of an RFNA program that meets Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) recommended education standards for RN First Assistant programs., upon hire and
• Registered Nurse: CA, upon hire and
• Basic Life Support - CPR, upon hire and
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support, upon hire

Preferred

• May have endovein harvesting, radial artery harvesting, or saphenous vein harvesting experience