Telehealth Nurse

SUMMARY
The Telehealth Nurse is responsible for providing first line clinical support including triage, consultation, medical guidance, prescription and referral letters to all vessels, based on their nursing scope, VIKAND clinical pathways, and under the direction of the Lead Telehealth Physician. The Telehealth Nurse reports directly to the Lead Telehealth Physician.

The Telehealth Nurse will be required to work on a rostered shift basis, including nights and weekends, to support 24/7 telemedicine operations. The Telehealth Nurse is a key member of the clinical support team; they must be able to work independently while demonstrating impeccable communication skills and collaborating effectively with a multidisciplinary team to ensure the highest level of clinical care is provided to all crew members.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

General:
• Under the direction of the Lead Telehealth Physician, the Telehealth Nurse is responsible for all clinical and administrative duties assigned.
• Demonstrates full commitment to Vikand’s vision and goal of creating a safer and healthier onboard environment through its early intervention approach using the dedicated communication platform/s.
• Responsible for providing initial clinical triage, assessment, prioritization and escalation of medical cases to ensure appropriate medical care for onboard crew.
• Provide excellent customer service and professional communication.
• Responsible for following all procedures, clinical pathways and guidelines of OneHealth as directed by the Lead Telehealth Physician and other medical leadership.

Clinical Responsibilities:
• Utilizes communication platforms to provide high-quality patient care and medical services to crew onboard, including urgent and non-urgent medical consultations, chronic illnesses and follow up consultations in accordance with flag state regulations and Vikand procedures.
• Conducts structured nursing assessments to determine treatment pathway, clinical urgency, risk level and next steps.
• Demonstrates sound clinical judgement, strong analytical skills and effective problem-solving skills.
• Responsible for triage and effective prioritization of all clinical cases.
• Able to conduct a structured process of gathering and reviewing medical history, allergies, current medications and the presenting complaint.
• Responsible for the initial nursing evaluation, concise documentation and clear communication.

Provide first line clinical care with clear guidelines under the direction of the Lead Telehealth Physician within scope of practice.
• Provides guidance to crew members when discussing ongoing treatment plans and general health and wellbeing support.
• Maintains timely and effective communication and escalation of cases to the on-call telemedicine physician.
• Supports implementation of physician-directed treatment plans and conducts follow up monitoring as directed.
• Supports administrative functions for the duration of the treatment plans including but not limited to, creating and sending referral letters, prescriptions letters and follow up communications.
• Maintains accurate and timely medical records for each patient encounter in the electronic medical record.
• Proactively supports assigned vessels in Chronic Disease Management and Crew Wellness initiatives in collaboration with the Telehealth team.
• Provides guidance and direction in conjunction with the on-duty physician on communicable disease symptoms, prevention, and outbreak management in accordance with flag state regulations and Vikand procedures.

NB:
The Telehealth Nurse may prescribe selected over the counter (OTC) medications within established clinical guidelines and approved standing orders and may issue referral letters provided the patient meets defined clinical parameters. All prescription medications, advanced treatments, and decisions regarding referral outside set criteria, medical evacuation, disembarkation or repatriation remain the responsibility of the Telemedicine Physician.

Mental Health & Psychosocial Triage
• Responsible for intake of all mental health and psychosocial hotline calls as the first point of clinical contact.
• Performs initial mental health triage, including assessment of distress level, psychosocial concerns, and immediate safety risks, in accordance with Vikand mental health procedures.
• Identifies red flags such as acute emotional distress, anxiety, depression, burnout, or risk of self-harm, and initiates timely escalation as appropriate.
• Provides immediate emotional support, reassurance, grounding techniques, and crisis containment within nursing scope while ensuring patient safety and confidentiality.
• Initiates emergency escalation pathways immediately in cases of imminent risk to self or others, in accordance with Vikand emergency mental health protocols.
• Coordinates referral to appropriate internal or external consultants as per the Mental Health Hotline Procedures. (Telemedicine and Case Management)

NB: The Telehealth Nurse does not provide psychiatric diagnoses or prescribe psychotropic medications. All high- risk or complex mental health cases are escalated in accordance with Vikand procedures.

Administrative Duties:
• Participates in all required Vikand training programs, including those specific to OneHealth and Telemedicine triage nursing, including reskilling and upskilling initiatives.
• Adheres strictly to Vikand SOP’s and clinical pathways.
• Participates in Quality Assurance programs and promptly reports deviations from clinical service standards.
• Demonstrates a proactive, solution orientated approach to problem solving, reporting operational or quality issues and contributes to continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with the Telehealth and Operational teams to contribute to best practices.
• Provides input on improvements to workflows, staffing models, and platform functionality.

Communicates and collaborates with the assigned Liaison Nurse regarding any patient or vessel specific issues, needs, requests or concerns.
• Maintains complete, accurate and timely documentation in the designated medical and any other paperwork required for the management of clinical cases.
• Maintains positive, professional, and supportive interactions with patients, individual crew members and vessel leadership teams
• Ensures compliance with HIPAA and GDPR requirements and maintains confidentiality for all patient encounters.
• Ensure all consultations are conducted in accordance with Vikand procedures.
• Ensures timely and accurate reporting of notifiable diseases as required by flag state and port health authorities
• Maintains high performance standards and professional competence.
• Promotes a positive, collaborative, and respectful work environment.
• Actively participates in team activities and service improvement initiatives.
• Contributes suggestions to enhance training programs and service delivery.
• Support any other areas of business as allocated by Vikand leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS
• Nursing degree
• Philippine Board-Certified Registered Nurse or equivalent
• Current ACLS certification required
• Minimum three (3) years postgraduate nursing experience required
• Minimum two (2) years clinical experience supporting maritime, offshore, or shipboard environments required.
• Strong clinical and nursing triage knowledge required
• 3 years’ experience in Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, or Acute Care preferred.
• Telemedicine experience preferred
• Understanding of the International Convention of Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW)
• Familiarity with the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC)
• Familiarity with maritime regulatory bodies (e.g. CDC, Health Canada, ANVISA)
• Knowledge of HIPAA and GDPR requirements, able to recognize, understand and appropriately handle sensitive information in a confidential manner
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Strong interpersonal, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Competence in virtual consultation and telemedicine platforms
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision must have initiative to work efficiently without direction
• Compassionate, patient focused, and team orientated
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Open to constructive feedback
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Professional appearance and attitude.