Director of Nursing

Purpose of Position

The Director of Nursing (DON) is responsible for the oversight of nursing operations. The DON supports the Director of Operations and Chief Medical Officer to achieve quality outcomes and the delivery of patient-centered care. The DON develops nursing departmental goals and objectives, directs nursing activities, supports and upholds a professional nursing model. The DON directly supervises nurse managers in their nursing role and is responsible for establishing high quality nursing standards through visionary leadership, strategic planning and innovation. The Director of Nursing will work in collaboration with other health team members and is responsible for assisting in the promotion of the health and well-being of a panel of patients.

Essential Functions

• Provides and ensures nursing care is adequately provided for clinical services by nursing staff.
• Maintains clinical expertise and competency as well as demonstrates thorough knowledge of procedures to deliver quality primary health care.
• Documents delivery of health care and nursing processes in accordance with center policy and procedures in at timely, accurate, and consistent manner.
• Leads nursing staff in the education of patients and family members and significant others about the patients’ diagnosis and their plans of care. Acts as a resource for facilitating communication when necessary.
• Coordinates the delivery of patient care provided by the health care team.
• Interacts with health center personnel and assists providers to ensure optimal patient care and to obtain optimum patient flow and increased patient satisfaction.
• Identifies and responds promptly to changes in patient’s condition and/or clinic event.
• Coordinates and delegates the timely processing of prescribed medications, and other identified needs of the patient.
• Provides oversight for the nursing department.
• Leads, supervises, advises, counsels, disciplines and evaluates all nurses in conjunction with the CMO and Director of Operations.
• Assumes responsibility of and accountability for delegating, directing and supervising patient care activities.
• Works with the CMO in the development of standard treatment protocols for disease conditions most prevalent in the Center’s patient populations.
• Works with CMO to review standard treatment protocols at least once a year and revise them as needed to meet the medical needs of patients.
• Participates in Compliance and Performance improvement activities for continuous quality improvement and risk management purposes.
• Collaborates with the training department to enhance workflow processes and provides workflow designs.
• Serves as a resource and as a positive, proactive leader for the nursing department.
• Accepts responsibility for remaining current with nursing and health care trends and information that impact nursing practice.
• Participates in collaboration with the health care team in identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing patient and family needs to develop a plan of care.
• Participates in the evaluation and implementation of products, procedures, and patient care standards.
• Participates in the evaluation of health care and in monitoring health outcomes of patients.
• Collaborates with Patient Centered Medical Home and Meaningful Use initiatives.
• Maintains Center’s pharmacy license as appropriate.
• Provides approval for pharmacy orders placed by Practice Managers prior to order placement.
• Acts as the primary contact for Texas Board of Nursing correspondence
• Acts as the liaison for physician, physician assistant, nursing, and medical assisting school contracts
• Collaborates with Quality Improvement department regarding nursing documentation audits and implements system changes for the nursing staff as necessary.
• Travels when necessary to fulfill the center’s needs and attends meeting as necessary to represent Carevide.
• Participates in the preparation of grant applications for Carevide and assumes primary responsible for implementing the medical health care plan.
• Assists in the provision of technical assistance and health education in the community as requested.
• Assists in the development of new clinical sites and corresponding clinical programs.
• Reports to the CMO on Quality Improvement Committee activities for inclusion in the CMO’s report to the Compliance and Performance Improvement Committee.
• Serves on Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Quality Improvement, Infection Control and CPI committee.
• Actively participates in quarterly Practice Manager and Provider meetings.
• Works with CMO in maintaining and purchasing reference materials for nursing staff and providers.
• Collaborates with Pharmacist with medication needs.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Required

• Knowledge of advanced principles of health promotion, prevention and motivation
• Knowledge of protocols and has the ability to quickly gain specific knowledge of the organization’s current operational protocols
• Knowledge of medical terminology and appropriate abbreviations
• Thorough knowledge of the Texas Nursing Practice Act
• Ability to read and comprehend medical instructions, short correspondence, and memos
• Ability to document, with clarity, all information relevant to a patient’s needs
• Ability to effectively present information in small group situations to patients, Center staff, and the general public
• Ability to prepare statistical and administrative reports
• Ability to work cooperatively with community agency personnel to coordinate services for patients
• Ability to use office equipment including but not limited to computers, fax machines, telephones and copiers
• Ability to prioritize and allocate resources
• Ability to use Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel at a high level.
• Ability to type at least 50 words per minute.

Credentials and Experience

Required

· Current unrestricted license to practice as a registered nurse (RN) in the State of Texas

· Current BLS/CPR for Healthcare Professionals Certification

· Five (5) years of practice experience as an RN giving direct patient care

· Five (5) years of experience in a supervisory or management role

Preferred

· BSN

Special Requirements

The employee must be able to lift and/or move more than 50 pounds. Requires full range of body motion including handling and lifting patients, manual and finger dexterity and eye/hand coordination. Requires sitting, standing, and walking for extensive periods of time. Requires working under stressful conditions and working irregular hours. Requires frequent exposure to communicable diseases, body fluids, toxic substances, medicinal preparations and other conditions common to a clinic environment. The employee frequently is required to reach with hands and arms. Specific vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus are required. The ability to work with a moderate noise level in the work environment is required.