IMNCI Nurse (Re Announced)

Medair is an international humanitarian organization established in 1988. Medair has been operating in Afghanistan since 1996 with programs mainly in the Health, Water & Sanitation, and Livelihoods sectors with significant reconstruction activities in remote areas. Current projects are Water & Sanitation, Food Security, & Disaster Risk Reduction.

An Integrated Emergency Response: Medair aims to respond to high levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and morbidity in Tirinkot district.  The project intends to improve and extend WASH services including water supply infrastructure and hygiene practices to improve outcomes for vulnerable families.

An Integrated Emergency Response: Medair aims to respond to high levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and morbidity in Uruzgan, which has been significantly affected by drought and conflict conditions. Building upon Medair’s decades of experience in the Central Highlands and Kandahar, the project intends to improve and extend the utilization of lifesaving preventive and curative nutrition and health services by mothers, PLWs, and children U5; to increase access to clean water, to reduce vulnerability to water-related and other preventable diseases, and to improve and increase food security for the most vulnerable families through food voucher distributions.

Overall purpose:

To be a member of a Health & Nutrition team providing integrated health & nutrition services to targeted communities. The IMNCI Nurse will provide management of communicable disease among children under 5 years in accordance with standard IMNCI guidelines. This includes triage for severe illness, screening for COVID-19 and supporting caregivers and community health and nutrition workers to identify and respond appropriately to danger signs. The IMNCI Nurse will work under clinical guidance of a female medical doctor and/or health manager and refer patients requiring further investigation or higher-level clinical care. The IMNCI Nurse will check vaccinations of U5 children, refer to existing EPI services and follow up as required to increase the vaccination coverage.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical

• Provide triage for severe illnes
• Provide education for caregivers and community health and nutrition workers to identify and respond to danger signs
• Provide outpatient consultation and treatment of most common causes of morbidity and mortality including communicable diseases such as diarrheal and acute respiratory infections for under 5 children
• Conduct history taking and perform physical examination of U5 sick children. Provide assessment and treatment services based on the IMNCI guidelines.
• Refer children under 5 requiring further investigations and management to appropriate health facility
• Support nutrition staff in BHC to examine children with SAM and MAM for co-existing illnesses and provide appropriate nutritional and medical treatment or referral according to IMNCI guidelines
• Provide health and hygiene education to caregivers in individual and group sessions at mobile clinic
• Vaccination screening of all children under 5 and ensure that they get EPI services,
• Identify pregnant and lactating women and caregivers that require Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and other nutrition or health counselling and provide this support to them
• Identify and refer beneficiaries who may benefit from PSS services within the facility
• Support medical staff in provision of first aid, management of minor injuries or trauma stabilisation and referral
• Carry out screening for COVID-19 and any other communicable disease.
• Ability to work in both locations of the Spin Boldak district even in other districts and provinces.

Quality Management

• Ensure adherence to the provided internal and external protocols and guidelines
• Ensure accurate record keeping of all health-related activities, filling in forms, cards, registration books and records keeping
• Compile daily and weekly reports as required and requested by Health Manager
• Conduct on the Job training to Health Assistant and NEWs based on need.

Logistics

• Ensure safe storage of all supplies, medicines and medical material and equipment
• Ensure accurate record keeping of stock movements
• Prepare timely stock requests and submit to logs with oversight of Nutrition Supervisor and/or Health Manager

MAIN ACTIVITIES

• To work as part of a Basic Health Centre (BHC) covering multiple sites
• Assess all children under 5 according to IMNCI guidelines and National Standard Treatment Guidelines for Primary Level (2013)
• Prescribe the appropriate medication for the patient, within scope of practice
• Consult medial doctor on team in case of patient with severe illness, and/or for referrals
• Provide nursing care for patients requiring first aid, and support medical staff in management of minor injuries or trauma stabilization and referral
• Counsel the caregiver on diagnosis, prevention, and treatment provided, including correct use of prescribed medications.  
• Provide IYCF, health and hygiene education as appropriate, including for COVID-19 prevention and health seeking
• Refer to nutrition, IYCF counselling and PSS services if indicated
• Facilitate the referral for complicated patients with official document to appropriate referral facility
• Record all necessary information in the existing reporting tools (registration book, vaccination cards of service beneficiary etc.)
• Prepared the reports (Daily, Weekly, and monthly) according to the standard reporting tools.
• Ensure safe storage and handling of the medicine stock and equipment
• Perform any other clinical duties requested by doctor, Health Manager or Team Leader

Education: Minimum 2 years diploma in Nursing Required, bachelor’s or master’s degree preferred.

Relevant experience:

• Mimimum 3 years of experience in Nursing/Nutrition is required.
• MIYCN training
• IYCF counselling experience
• Experience in working in the remote areas with mobile team setup
• At least 3 years’ experience in the field of Nursing/Midwifery programs
• Knowledge of intervention area is a plus
• Ability to manage working environment according to local culture

Languages: Good Pashto -oral and written skills and Good English -oral and written skills is required.

Computer: Working knowledge in MS word and excel.

Other skills:

• Ability to work in a team and coordinate tasks and responsibilities
• Ability to organize people in an orderly way and prioritize tasks
• Good listening and counselling skills, patient, and kind attitude
• Highly motivated to provide high quality services to beneficiaries of poor communities in a challenging setting
• Good problem-solving skills with a solution-oriented attitude
• Flexible and willing to perform other tasks as required
• Respectful and kind with other staff, beneficiaries, and communities
• Willingness to learn and develop further
• Honest in dealing with beneficiaries and Medair staff

Interested applicants should apply and forward their applications through the online JOB APPLICATION FORM which can be found under the submission email. The link should be copied, pasted, and opened on a new page.

Note 1: Please indicate the position title and vacancy number in your application letter. Applications received after the closing date or without the exact position title and vacancy number will not be given consideration. After submitting the online application, if some applicants do not immediately receive an automatic email from Medair, they shouldn't worry about their submission. When you open the link. please use the dropdown menu and choose the title of the position.

Note 2: (Female Applicants Only), She and her Mahram must be living in the mentioned work location and be able to work in both Districts.