JOB SUMMARY: Manages and supervises the activities in and personnel assigned to the Acute Care Department. Assures exceptional customer service and quality nursing care of patients and coordinates the clinical activities with inpatient units, ancillary services, and medical staff to Ensure adequate and competent patient care. Provides professional nursing care following established standards and practice guidelines. Upholds the standards of high reliability organizations to provide safe, effective, and efficient care.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

A. Education: Graduate of an accredited school of Professional Nursing. BSN preferred.

B. Personal Job-Related Skills: Supervisory ability with effective oral and written communication skills.

C. Licensure, Registry or Certification: Registered Nurse currently licensed in the State of Texas, current BLS certification. PALS and ACLS required within six (6) months of hire.

D. Experience: Three years of professional nursing experience in a clinical setting, one year in a nursing managerial or supervisory role preferred.

E. Physical and Mental Requirements: Duties of the position require extended periods of walking and standing. Pushing, pulling, reaching, and bending when involved in patient care. Lifting up to 50 pounds and occasional heavy lifting in supporting or moving patients that may suddenly become weak or helpless. Vision and hearing for effective communication is required. The noise level is moderate. Duties may include exposure to patient elements. The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that may be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job without compromising standards of patient care.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties assigned to this job classification. Changes and/or additions may be made as needed.

A. Clinical Practice and Patient Care

The nurse manager is accountable for excellence in the clinical practice of nursing and the delivery of patient care on Acute Care:

1. Demonstrates independent decision-making ability and implements strategies, programs, and patient care consistent with Eastland Memorial Hospital's policies, goals, and objectives.

2. Develops and sustains an environment on the unit that supports excellence in clinical nursing practice and patient care through planning and implementation of programs that support positive patient care outcomes.

3. Translates institutional values, goals, and objectives to staff and others.

4. Develops unit goals and objectives to support the institutional values, goals and objectives with input from nursing staff, physicians, administrative colleagues, and nursing administration.

5. Delegates authority and accountability to nursing staff for appropriate clinical nursing practice and patient care decisions that are consistent with professional standards, rules, regulations of governmental authorities and policies of Eastland Memorial Hospital.

6. Maintains a safe and caring environment for patients that is conducive to positive health teaching and health maintenance.

7. Develops mechanisms to assess the response to nursing care from patients and families.

8. Validates that care provided to patients is consistent with identified medical regimens and is responsive to patient and family expectations of care.

9. Evaluates the effectiveness of unit-based clinical programs.

10. Facilitates and supports nursing and health care research and ensures that current research findings are incorporated into clinical practice and care delivery.

11. Establishes unit-based quality assurance programs and supports Eastland Memorial's Performance Improvement Program.

B. Management

The nurse manager is accountable for managing human, fiscal, and other resources needed to manage clinical nursing practice and patient care:

1. Ensures effective and appropriate utilization of all available resources to ensure quality, effective patient care.

2. Empowers the direct caregiver to provide quality, effective patient care consistent with relevant scopes of practice, rules and regulations of governmental authorities, and institutional policies.

3. Is responsible for the unit's complement of staff, ensuring the appropriate skill mix to support unit acuity levels and all relevant personnel functions as appropriate (i.e. recruitment, hiring, firing, evaluating, counseling, and educating), with primary emphasis placed on staff retention.

4. Demonstrates strong interpersonal skills and a coaching and mentoring approach to staff.

5. Prepares, monitors, and maintains annual operating and capital budgets

6. Is proficient in the use of the institution's information system and understands the institution's related policies and programs, including databases that support clinical nursing practice and patient care.

7. Ensures staff proficiency in using appropriate information and staff support for clinical information as a resource.

C. Human Resource Development

The nurse manager is accountable for facilitating development of licensed and nonlicensed nursing and health care personnel:

1. Develops programs and provides support for licensed nursing personnel, novice to expert, to learn skills to perform their roles and for continued professional development in nursing.

2. Ensures that nonlicensed nursing personnel have achieved competency to carry out their delegated roles and responsibilities related to clinical nursing practice and patient care.

D. Standards Compliance

The nurse manager is accountable for ensuring institutional compliance with professional, regulatory and government standards of care:

1. Assumes accountability for remaining current regarding standards of care established by the profession, regulatory bodies, and government, and is able to determine, translate, and implement relevant implications for a specific unit of responsibility.

2. Uses flexibility and creativity at the unit level to promote unit compliance with standards.

3. Responds to standard changes as they occur under the auspices of the department of nursing and with guidance from the Chief Nursing Officer.

E. Strategic Planning

The nurse manager is accountable for strategic planning as it relates to the unit, department and organization as a whole:

1. Ensures that nursing staff input from the unit is secured and considered by the Director of Patient Care in institution wide strategic planning activities.

2. Participates in the strategic planning activities of the department of nursing and is accountable for developing a strategic plan for the unit that supports the department's and organization's strategic plan.

3. Translates the units strategic plan to staff, ensuring support of the plan, and modifying the plan in response to changing internal and external factors.

F. Collaborative Relationships

The nurse manager is accountable for facilitating cooperative and collaborative relationships among disciplines/departments to ensure effective quality patient care delivery:

1. Ensures that care regimens are coordinated interdependently with all members of the health care team.

2. Plays a pivotal role in promoting collegial relationships based on mutual respect and support.

3. Encourages and participates at the unit level in joint planning and program development with all health care team members to improve patient care and meet changing patient care needs.

4. Participates in interdisciplinary committees within the institution that focus on patient care issues.

Other Significant Responsibilities

1. Maintains confidentiality of information at all times

2. Follows exposure control practices for the designated OSHA classification when involved in direct patient contact or when handling potentially infectious materials.

3. Fosters an environment of open communication, trust, cooperation, and risk taking that eliminates fear in the workplace.

4. Maintains current knowledge of information contained in the employee hand-book and policy and procedure manuals.

5. Consistently demonstrates dependability and punctuality.

6. Demonstrates knowledge and support of the Emergency Preparedness Plan and Safety Policy.

7. Demonstrates recognition of emergency codes and consistently implements appropriate emergency procedures and lifesaving interventions.