Apheresis is a specialty discipline involving the removal and return of blood from a donor.  It is considered a high risk procedure. Products collected or therapy performed must be safe for the donor and/or recipient. Specific parameters, guidelines and criterion must be met to insure appropriate personnel coverage is maintained.

The Apheresis Program at Moffitt Cancer Center is growing.  The program supports the Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) program, Immuno-Cellular Therapies and Clinical Trials.  Some functions performed in the clinic include Leukopheresis (MNC/HCP/P Collections), and Extracorporaeal Phototherapy Procedures. 

This unit contains 9 treatment spaces, where cell collection and photopheresis procedures are performed.  We currently care for 10-20 daily outpatient patients (with occasional inpatient patients) between the hours of 7:00am and 7:00pm, Monday through Friday.   

The weekly shifts for this position will be four 10 hour shifts with the possibility of schedule adjustments.  

Position Highlights:

• This is a Full Time Day shift position. 
• The Apheresis RN will be working in the Apheresis Department, which is part of the BMT-CI program which will include collection of peripheral blood stem cells, collection of mononuclear cells, and photopheresis therapy.

• The Apheresis RN must be able to work independently and will be responsible for all facets of apheresis operation and adhere to the applicable regulation and standards (e.g. cGMP, cGTP, AABB, FACT). This role may work closely with the Department Supervisor, and Manager.

• The Apheresis RN requires an ongoing commitment to upgrading of job skills and must be able to work closely with others and possess solid interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to interact with patients, employees and management.

• The Apheresis RN must be capable of working in a fast-paced environment with a rapidly changing work unit while working independently on off-shifts and producing quality products under time constraints. 

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will have the following:

• Hemapheresis Practitioner certification – HP(ASCP)
• Prior dialysis and/or apheresis experience as a Registered Nurse
• Prior experience in critical care, intensive care and/or triaging as a Registered Nurse

Responsibilities:

 Patient Care - This role is responsible for observing and adhering to proper preparation and protocol requirements in order to ensure a positive patient care experience for the patient and family members, including providing comfort measures, language interpretation and symptom relief when necessary.  In order to achieve this, this position is responsible for organizing and prioritizing multiple technical tasks with maximum efficiency in order to meet established turnaround times that support patient care goals.  In addition, this position is also responsible for organizing multiple supplies related to cell and blood sample collection and operating various equipment related to: patient vital sign monitoring, vein location, O2 supply and IV pumps.

 Instrumentation - This role will perform mononuclear cell collections using Spectra Optia cell separation instrumentation and photopheresis therapy procedures using Therakos Cellex instrumentation while detecting, troubleshooting, and correcting instrument alarms, reagent and system failures.

 Quality Control - Maintain complete and appropriate documents of procedures and resultant data, both manually and on computer, including documenting QC/QA activities as defined in policies, procedures, within the cGMP/cGTP, OSHA and FACT guidelines and all regulatory standards within the Cell Therapy Core Facility.

Process Improvement - Through the collection of data for process control and/or quality indicators, participate in the validation/qualification of new instruments and procedures while examining existing processes and problems looking for ways to improve them with appropriate follow up and documentation.

Unit Operations - This position is responsible for training and educating new technologists, physicians, students, staff and visitors as assigned.  As part of the team, this position must also adhere to staffing requirements and participate in on-call rotation as needed.

Credentials and Qualifications:

• BSN from an ACEN or CCNE accredited institution with at least two years of relevant experience or ASN from an ACEN or CCNE accredited institution with 2 years of relevant experience 
• FL RN License
• BLS Certification