Partners In Health (PIH) is recruiting for State Enrolled Community Health Nurse (SECHN) 2.

 

Sierra Leone has long struggled with some of the world’s worst health outcomes—including a maternal mortality epidemic in which a woman’s lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is 1 in 20. Extreme poverty prevents most families from accessing health care. And often the care they need isn’t available, given the country’s severe shortage of trained clinicians, health infrastructure, and medical supplies. West Africa’s historic Ebola outbreak intensified all of these problems, and further eroded Sierra Leone’s already weak health system. So when the government requested PIH’s help to end the outbreak, we agreed—and committed to staying long past Ebola, to build and strengthen a health system founded on every Sierra Leonean’s right to health. Today, in partnership with the government, PIH supports six health facilities across three districts in an effort to build a health system that protects every Sierra Leonean’s right to health, especially those most vulnerable to sickness and injustice.

 

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Job title: State Enrolled Community Health Nurse (SECHN) 2
Work Location: Kono District
Department: Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU)
Reports to: Director of Nursing
Line Management: No

Organisation Profile
Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. PIH partners with local governments to build local capacity and works closely with impoverished communities to deliver high-quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research, and advocate for global policy change. Our delivered services in the field are based in our partnership with the Governments and Ministries of Health and the support to education, training and mentorship to Health care workers and students is one of our pillars for the Health care system strengthening.

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world.

Our Work In Sierra Leone:
Partners In Health (PIH) began supporting the government of Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola epidemic in October 2014. Recognizing the large need for continued investments in the health system after Ebola, PIH is committed to long-term health system strengthening in support of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), guided by the same principles as our emergency response and our work around the world: public sector accompaniment, integrated and comprehensive services, social justice, nimbleness and flexibility, partnership, community ownership, and evidence-based interventions. In the aftermath of the epidemic, PIH is committed to supporting the delivery of comprehensive health services in Sierra Leone, from the community level to the health centre and to referral hospitals.

Position Overview
The State Enrolled Community Health Nurse (SECHN) is a critical member of the clinical staff at PIH. SECHNs work collaboratively alongside physicians, SCMs, CHOs, MCH Aides, TBAs and support staff to provide high quality care to patients and their families.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
• Respond to medical/health problems related to neonatal health in the SCBU (including primary health) or any of the medical departments in collaboration with MoHS and DHMT staff if needed, or at any of the PIH-affiliated facilities.
• Provide care to the premature and ill neonates, including basic needs (ex. feeding, comforting)
• Obtain patients’ vital signs, recognizing and responding to abnormal vital signs appropriately.
• Ensure that all emergency cases are prioritized and seen appropriately regardless of the time of the day.
• Deliver high standards of neonatal care in collaboration with the rest of the clinical team.
• Maintain confidentiality and impartiality and involve families in the plan of care.
• Demonstrate respectful communication with colleagues, patients, and patients’ families.
• Provide clear information to the patients’ families, and educate them about the care of the neonates.
• Ensure stewardship by ensuring appropriate use of medical supplies and equipment within department.
• Be willing to work long and unpredictable hours dictated by the needs of the patients.
• Engage and participate in clinical education or in-service training as determined by the clinician in-charge or the Director of Nursing.
• Participate in different programs of research and related studies that could imply improvement in the delivery of care to patients.
• Perform other duties related to the role, department or project as may be required by the clinician in charge or Director of Nursing.

Safe Guarding
Partners In Health (PIH) is committed to ensuring that those who benefit from our work, including patients, families and community members, are treated with respect and dignity. We recognize that our work is rooted in vulnerable communities and, as a social justice organization, we are responsible for enforcing standards for the treatment of those we serve against sexual abuse and exploitation; and consequences for those who fail to uphold these standards, which rest at the core of our mission—providing a preferential option for the poor.

Qualifications

• Current and valid clinical license, (SECHN Certificate and License).
• Clinical experience in pediatrics/neonatal care /or emergency nursing care advantageous.
• ETAT certification is preferred.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills, must be able to take initiative and problem-solve, be a creative thinker, and must be flexible.
• Ability to work well with a team, be dependable, and hard-working.
• Ability to be adaptable and function in a busy work environment.
• Commitment to social justice and human rights.
• Must NOT hold dual employment from private or national consolidated funds.

Method of application
Application with detailed curriculum vitae (maximum 3 pages) including names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers of two (2) referees, photocopies of all certificates and attestations should be addressed to the Human Resources Department: 27 Sahr Lebbie Street Kono or by email to:

pihslrecruitment@pih.org

not later 5:00pm on Friday 5th March , 2021. Please clearly indicate in the subject line of your application email “Application for SECHN-Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU)”

PIH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate applicants on the basis of sex, religion, tribe or region. Female applicants are encouraged to apply and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Please kindly note that we do not accept hard copies application due to COVID-19