Be an Early Applicant
We Make Lives Better
The Role
Provide advanced preoperative nursing care, mentor and precept staff, coordinate with anesthesia and OR teams, lead quality improvement and shared governance activities, ensure surgical readiness and documentation compliance, and support patient/family education and throughput.
Summary Generated by Built In
The PreOp RN III is a proficient-level clinician who provides advanced pre-surgical care and serves as a mentor and resource for nursing and interprofessional staff. In addition to performing direct patient care, this RN leads initiatives that improve care delivery, supports education, and actively contributes to unit-based and organizational improvement strategies. The RN III promotes excellence in surgical readiness and patient experience at UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty & Research Hospital. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, leading unit and shared governance activities, serving as charge nurse as needed, assessing the unit's needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, serving as a clinical resource for both unit and hospital staff, and coordinating unit and hospital-wide education in partnership with management.
Responsibilities
Benefits Overview
- Provides expert nursing care to patients in the preoperative phase, ensuring surgical readiness and patient safety.
- Leads assessments, documentation, and medication reconciliation for complex patients requiring additional preparation.
- Mentors and coaches nursing staff in IV insertion, pre-op education, consent validation, and EMR utilization.
- Assists in onboarding, training, and preceptorship of new staff, students, and float nurses in PreOp workflows.
- Coordinates with anesthesia, OR teams, and case scheduling to resolve readiness issues and minimize delays.
- Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to ensure individualized preoperative care plans are developed and communicated.
- Conducts or leads chart reviews and documentation audits to ensure compliance with safety and quality standards.
- Participates in shared governance councils and PreOp-focused workgroups; drives evidence-based changes.
- Leads or supports departmental quality improvement initiatives tied to readiness metrics and patient flow.
- Guides patient and family education regarding surgical expectations, NPO compliance, and post-op instructions.
- Supports checklist compliance and proactively addresses any incomplete or missing elements before surgery.
- Provides input into department supply needs and assists with readiness of specialty equipment or surgical tools.
- Participates in huddles and shift briefings, sharing insights and recommendations for improving team efficiency.
- Assists in maintaining staff morale and engagement by role-modeling professionalism and collaborative communication.
- Promotes cultural competence and inclusive practices within PreOp patient education and care delivery.
- Supports nurse-sensitive indicators, such as timely case starts, handoff communication, and throughput goals.
- Acts as relief charge nurse when needed and contributes to workload balancing across preoperative bays.
- Performs other job-related duties to enhance patient care, clinical outcomes, or unit operations.
- Expert knowledge of PreOp protocols, including patient education, consent verification, and IV initiation.
- Strong organizational, prioritization, and problem-solving skills in high-volume settings.
- Uses EMR to support documentation, teaching, and care coordination.
- Uses therapeutic communication to collaborate with patients, families, and surgical teams.
- Mentors and coaches staff on clinical and professional practice.
- Strong time management and ability to lead shift-based initiatives.
- Uses critical thinking and clinical judgment to intervene and prevent patient risk.
- Acts as a change agent, supporting evidence-based practice and workflow innovation.
- Familiar with shared governance principles and unit-based performance improvement.
- Function independently and exercise judgment in interactions with physicians, interprofessional care team, patients, and their families.
- Critical thinking skills and clinical judgment to work autonomously as defined by the Nurse Practice Act
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.
- Ability to serve as a preceptor and a mentor by fostering a teaching environment. Position eligible for preceptor premium pay with completion of preceptor education and leader approval.
Education:
- Bachelor's of Science in Nursing required
Licensure/Certification:
- Current Texas Board of Nursing (or Compact State) RN license; Or a Temporary Texas RN License (Permanent TX license within 90 days upon hire).
- American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) certification, within 7 days of hire.
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) is a nationally recognized, top-tier public research university that unites the power of higher education, biomedical discovery and healthcare within one visionary institution. As the third-largest research university in Texas and a Carnegie R1-designated institution, UT San Antonio is a model of access and excellence — advancing knowledge, social mobility and public health across South Texas and beyond. UT San Antonio serves approximately 42,000 students in 320 academic programs spanning science, engineering, medicine, health, liberal arts, AI, cybersecurity, business, education and more. With 17,000 faculty and staff, UT San Antonio has been recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Employers for Company Culture.
Benefits Overview
UT Health San Antonio offers an excellent benefits package for its employees. Employees who work at least 20 hours a week, with an appointment of at least 4.5 months, are eligible for benefits.
Medical - UT SELECT Medical insurance is offered free for employees and administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Family members can be added to the plan through payroll deduction. Employees and their dependents can also receive discounted copays and coinsurance when using UT Health Physicians, a network of 800 premier physicians including more than 100 specialists. Employees receive $50,000 of group term life insurance and $50,000 of basic accidental death and dismemberment insurance for free, with options to purchase additional employee and dependent coverage for both at group rates.
Dental - Three dental insurance plan options are available for employees and their families through Delta Dental Insurance Company, two PPOs and one dental HMO plan. Both PPO plans allow employees to choose any licensed dentist.
Vision - Fully insured Vision Care benefits are offered by Superior Vision Services. Two vision plan options that offer either standard or enhanced vision benefits.
Disability - Employees can enroll in the Disability Insurance which provides income if a non-work related illness or injury prevents you from working.
FSAs - Employees can enroll in flexible spending accounts (FSAs) to set aside money from earnings before taxes for qualifying dependent day care expenses or out-of-pocket health care expenses.
Retirement - Employees are eligible for either the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) or the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). TRS is a defined benefit retirement plan which UT Health matches employee contributions. ORP is for eligible faculty staff employees. Voluntary retirement programs are also available to invest before- or after-tax dollars with the choice of five quality retirement plan providers.
Time Off - A generous leave program offers multiple paid leave options:
- Front-loaded Paid Time Off: 128 to 208 hours (16 to 26 days) of Paid Time Off based on years of service, given at the start of each fiscal year. PTO may be prorated in year one based on date of hire.
- Extended Illness Bank: 8 hours (1 day) accrued per month which can be used for illness or injury after one day of Paid Time Off is taken.
- Paid Family Leave: Up to 240 hours (6 weeks) to care for a spouse, child, or parent after 6 months of consecutive employment.
- Holidays: 12 set paid holidays each year.
Discounts - Employees enjoy a range of discounts on services, tickets, and gym membership.
EEO Statement
UT Health San Antonio is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. It is our policy to promote and ensure equal employment opportunity for all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
- Current Texas Board of Nursing RN license or Compact State RN license (or Temporary Texas RN with permanent TX license within 90 days)
- American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) certification (within 7 days of hire)
- Expert knowledge of PreOp protocols including patient education, consent verification, and IV initiation
- Proficiency using EMR for documentation, teaching, and care coordination
- Demonstrated IV insertion skills and ability to manage complex preoperative patients
- Experience mentoring, precepting, and coaching nursing staff
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications
- Strong organizational, prioritization, critical thinking, and clinical judgment in high-volume settings
Similar Jobs
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.
Success! Refresh the page to see how your skills align with this role.
The Company
What We Do
UT Health San Antonio™, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, is the leader in south/central Texas funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced more than 33,000 alumni. The $806.6 million operating budget supports four campuses in San Antonio and Laredo, and is the primary driver of its community’s $37 billion biomedical and health care industry. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit uthealthsa.org.
