DIRECTOR OF NURSING SERVICES

The Director of Nursing Services primary purpose is to provide direct and indirect provision of professional nursing and patient care to the patients served.  The Director of Nursing Services manages 24-hour operations OF NURSING and other clinical departments in the areas of responsibility. He/she assumes authority, responsibility, and accountability for nursing activities and patient care to include; directing and developing staff;  collaborating with providers and other multidisciplinary staff; providing support for staff, patients and family; assuring quality of care by developing and interpreting company policies, clinical policies and nursing service's philosophies and standards of care; enforcing adherence to state board OF NURSING and state nurse practice act requirements and to other governing agency regulations; measuring health outcomes against standards, and making or recommending adjustments to practices to assure the highest standard OF NURSING and clinical care. As a nursing and clinical care leader, the Director of Nursing Services must create a collaborative team environment through active and participative leadership.  He/she evaluates and sets the goals and standards for nursing and other clinical departments in collaboration w/ the Chief Nursing/Clinical Officer and other stakeholders.

Reporting Structure: Reports to the Chief Nursing/Clinical Officer, who holds the employee responsible for the achievement of desired goals and objectives.

Education Qualifications and Credentials:

Minimum of an Associate Degree in Nursing required.   Bachelor of Science in Nursing preferred.

Minimum of two-years' supervisory experience required. Minimum of 2 years' experience in emergency nursing required.

Must be graduate of an accredited registered nursing program with current state licensure.

Essential Job Functions:

The employee must be able to perform each essential function effectively to be successful in this position.

• Serves as a resource person, consistently displaying and modeling CapRock Health System's vision and core values, and can perform emergency nursing functions, training staff and evaluating performance OF NURSING tasks. 
• Facilitates a culture of Safety and High Reliability by monitoring daily the operations, incidents and complaints to identify opportunity for improvement.  Implements appropriate reviews and develops/completes action plans.  Promotes staff engagement in High Reliability Organization (HRO) practices.
• Assures nursing and clinical support staff possess adequate knowledge and skills to provide compassionate, quality care and to be successful in their role.  Provides applicable educational opportunities as per industry standards, regulatory requirements, individual staff needs and/or in response to improvement opportunities identified. Assures staff is competent in skills to provide high quality care and coaches/directs staff to achieve desired outcomes. Assists with identifying educational needs for staff and establishes in-service/development programs.
• Assures adequate nursing and clinical staff coverage for needs of facility; oversees schedules to assure appropriate skills to meet patient needs and regulatory/budgetary requirements. Monitors staffing adequacy as per patient acuity and census. 
• Participates in the recruitment and selection OF NURSING and clinical personnel; conducts interviews, hires and on-boards staff. 
• Evaluates the work performance OF NURSING and clinical personnel and implements coaching/discipline according to operational policies; completes annual performance evaluations and ongoing assessment of staff competencies.
• Ensures departmental activities and records adhere to regulatory requirements; evaluates the nursing and clinical care given and makes recommendations to develop action plans for improvements; assists with development and implementation of service standards and patient satisfaction.
• Manages and ensures compliance with company policies and procedures to include but not limited to; Health and Safety Codes, Infection Control, and applicable state and federal rules and regulations for hospitals, DEA, State Board of Pharmacy, CLIA/COLA, OSHA, etc.  Monitors applicable rules and regulations for updates and develops, maintains, and implements policies and procedures that conform to current standards OF NURSING, applicable clinical policies and in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. Communicates and interprets policies and procedures to staff, and monitors staff practices and implementation. Actively participates in policy/procedure development and provides input beyond discipline to assure optimal patient care.
• Provides a safe environment by monitoring outcomes and operations to assure patient, staff, provider and visitor safety.  Actively participates assuring Infection Control practices; monitoring outcomes and providing input for improvement when opportunities are identified.
• Maintains documentation of patient care by auditing patient and department records.  Trains staff in utilization of Electronic Health Record to maximize efficiencies, assure optimal documentation, and reviews reports for improvement opportunities.  Maintains all necessary documents in an orderly fashion in preparation for regulatory surveys. 
• Assists with medical equipment selection and procurement. Ensures operation of medical equipment by verifying emergency equipment availability; assures equipment is kept in optimal working condition prior to use, that staff are adequately trained for use, and that appropriate QA is completed as per regulatory standards and company policy.  Assures routine maintenance, cleaning and assessments are performed on medical equipment in conjunction with the Director of Operations. 
• Assures appropriate levels of stock and replenishes supplies as required.  Meets inventory and supply chain objectives to assure adequate use of resources. Maintains pre-set inventory standards for solutions, supplies, medicines and equipment.
• Oversees laboratory functions in collaboration with facility leadership and laboratory consultant(s).  Assures staff are adequately trained and knowledgeable to meet CLIA guidelines and other regulatory standards.  Conducts laboratory functions within the regulatory standards and with high reliability to assure safe patient care.  Monitors and assures appropriate resource management, utilization, reporting, quality assurance and oversees laboratory supplies/equipment maintenance in collaboration with facility CLIA Director. 
• Assists leadership and works with Pharmacist to; supervise narcotic procurement and inventory as per regulatory standards and pharmacy/company polices; supervise medication procurement and inventory; supervise, in collaboration with other hospital leaders, the medication administration/documentation process; assures compliance with all regulatory standards.
• Assists the Chief Nursing/Clinical Officer in formulating fiscal and operational practices including preparation of the annual nursing and clinical budgets.
• Collaborates with physicians, consultants, community agencies, and institutions to improve the quality of services and to resolve identified problems. Contributes to team efforts and uses appropriate conflict management skills proactively to resolve intradepartmental and interdepartmental grievances/concerns.
• Participates in community events and other venues to promote CapRock and to enhance patient care.  Ensure nursing participation with the Regional Advisory Council.
• Proactively develops positive employee relations and staff engagement by implementing appropriate communication methods to assure staff are knowledgeable about organizational goals, regulatory standards, and facility/organizational performance.  Schedules routine unit meetings for the purpose of communicating new policies, procedures, equipment, and unit and organizational concerns. Collaborates with other discipline's staff meetings to assure optimal operations and patient care. Rounds to ensure that nursing service personnel are performing their work assignments in accordance with acceptable nursing standards.
• Is an active member of the Quality and Patient Safety Committee and coordinates and/or develops on-going quality/patient safety indicators/activities to monitor compliance with standards and regulatory requirements in nursing and patient care; actively investigating and implementing improvement processes.
• Assists with preparing staff for inspection surveys, instructing staff on matters of conduct and disclosure, being interviewed by inspectors, immediate corrections of problems noted by surveyors, etc. Participates in the preparation of the Plan of Correction response to an inspection survey and implements any follow-up/monitoring required.
• Promotes customer service and hospitality and responds to and adequately resolves complaints or concerns from patients/families and others. Interacts courteously with patients, family members, employees, medical staff, visitors, vendors, business associates, and representatives of government agencies.
• Develops/monitors processes to ensure reportable events are immediately identified and reported to appropriate administration to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Uses discretion to maintain confidentiality concerning patients, employees and medical staff to protect the privacy and rights of all involved.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Performs other duties as directed/assigned; researches and analyses information; prepares statistical and narrative reports as needed.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

• Familiar with a variety OF NURSING concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on extensive experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. 
• Obtains/Maintains a knowledge of current federal and state laws and regulations and accrediting bodies including but not limited to; HIPAA, EMTALA, TDSHS, Board of Nurse Examiners, CLIA/COLA, CIHQ, OSHA, that apply to hospitals, laboratory, nursing, and other clinical departments in areas of responsibility. 
• Possesses ability to facilitate, build consensus and negotiate.   Ability to demonstrate sensitivity for and understanding of clinical disciplines and issues. 
• Possesses strong organizational and time management skills and the ability to prioritize responsibilities. Is self-motivated and able to problem solve and follow through to achieve outcomes.  Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Demonstrates the ability to effectively communicate with all staff at various levels in the organization, both oral and written.
• Possesses ability to read, analyze, and interpret journals, financial reports, and legal documents, ability to apply mathematical concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to use basic Microsoft Office applications and applicable computer-based business programs.

• Work with high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Can adapt to changing environments, be innovative, and be dependable.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands below are typical of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be available for individuals with disabilities.

• Employee is regularly required to hear and speak; is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, use hands to finger, reach with hands and arms, lift and move more than 10 lbs.;
• Employee is occasionally required to lift and move objects up to 25 lbs., climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. 
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Required to constantly make decisions and concentrate.
• Ability to work with and around potentially hazardous materials and disease.