Clinical Nursing Leader

Job Profile Summary

​This role focuses on providing professional and nonprofessional nursing care services in accordance with physician orders.  In addition, this role focuses on performing the following Clinical Nurse duties: Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates the care needs of a designated group of patients or provides nursing care and identified clinical support tasks within the scope of practice for achievement of the patient’s plan of care as directed.  Provides professional nursing care to patients. Requires a nursing license.   A professional individual contributor role that may direct the work of other lower level professionals or manage processes and programs.  The majority of time is spent overseeing the design, implementation or delivery of processes, programs and policies using specialized knowledge and skills typically acquired through advanced education.   A senior level role that requires advanced knowledge of job area typically obtained through advanced education and work experience.  Typically responsible for: managing projects / processes, working independently with limited supervision, coaching and reviewing the work of lower level professionals, resolving difficult and sometimes complex problems.

Job Overview

This position plans, organizes and oversees daily clinical and administrative operations of designated unit/program or service.  Prepares staff schedules, requests and allocates resources and facilitates coordination of care/services to meet patient care and operational requirements.  This position ensures that patient care is aligned with the goals, mission and vision of hospital.  Supervises and evaluates nursing and support personnel and participates in selection of new hires.  Leads and/or participates in hospital, departmental and multidisciplinary teams, committees, councils and special projects.This individual is a critical member of the nursing leadership team promoting high standards of nursing practice. The will demonstrate and support a Magnet culture.  This leader adheres to and holds others accountable to the Board of Registration in Nursing rules and regulations, ANA scope and standards of nursing, the ANA code of ethics for nursing, hospital policies and procedures and other regulatory stipulations.  

Job Description

Minimum Qualifications:

Duties and Responsibilities: The duties and responsibilities listedbelow are intended to describe the general nature of work and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list.  Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned.

1. Contributes to an environment that facilitates the development of clinical expertise of staff via role modeling, teaching, and coaching/mentoring.

2. Uses knowledge and expertise to identify potential problems and/or resources for patients and families.

3. Ensures all staff maintain competency-based practice based upon patient population.

4. Utilizes an ongoing process of questioning and evaluating practice and providing informed practice.  Createspractice changes through research utilization and experiential learning.

5. Anticipates and identifies opportunities to apply evidence based practice.

6. Develops and implements a process improvement plan for area(s) of responsibility.

7. Maintains and develops clinical knowledge, judgment and skills.

8. Proposes topics to explore and participates in nursing research.

9. Supervises unit/department personnel by evaluating work performance, providing guidance and timely feedback based on outcome measures.

10. Maintains a working knowledge of clinical and patient satisfaction initiatives, key performance indicators, standards of nursing practice and outcomes of patient care.

11. Practices a constellation of nursing activities that are responsive to the uniqueness of the person that creates a compassionate and therapeutic environment, with the aim of promoting comfort and preventing unnecessary suffering.  Includes but not limited to vigilance, engagement and responsiveness of caregivers, including family and healthcare personnel.

12. Identifies need to coordinate patient care conferences to help ensure best caring practices and outcomes for patients and families.

13. Participates in interdisciplinary rounds to address, patient/family needs, and discharge planning.

14. Fosters patient, family, and professional relationships that are reciprocal and synergistic, characterized by mutual respect and professional growth.

15. Sensitivity to recognize, appreciate, and incorporate differences and preferences into the provision of care.  Differences include but are not limited to cultural differences and preferences, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, age and values.

16. Identifies issues arising from individual differences and develops awareness of these issues in nursing staff, medical staff, and other healthcare providers.

17. Role models, teaches and/or provides age specific and developmentally appropriate patient care inaccordance with established guidelines and scope of practice. 

18. Identifies and encourages resolution of conflicts between others without making any party feel diminished.

19. Respects, appreciates and supports the diversity of ideas, thoughts, and competencies among staff, peers, colleagues and customers.

20. Advocates and represents the concerns of the patient/family/community; serving as a moral agent in identifying and helping to resolve ethical and clinical concerns within the clinical setting.

21. Advocates on behalf of the nursing staff to represent the concerns of patients/families/staff.

22. Works in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team to balance interventions with values that emphasize quality of life, consumer choice, risk benefit decisions, access to care, and integrity of human life. 

23. Supports an ethical foundation for professional practice and patient care. 

24.  Supports proactive identification and addressing of ethical issues through a systematic process utilizing the ethics advisory committee as needed.

25. Promotes healthcare at the local, state, national, and/or international level.

26. Takes professional risks by demonstrating commitment to issues and values he/she truly believe in.

27. Supports staff in the delivery of appropriate patient/family education.  

28. Evaluates the effectiveness of patient/family education and identifies opportunities for improvement.

29. Monitors the learning needs of staff and communicates opportunities to enhance knowledge and skills.

30. Serves as an expert and role model or mentor for professional practice.

31. Identifies avenues to pursue own professional growth.

32. Provides constructive feedback, support and resources to enable the nursing staff to develop skills and abilities.

33. Demonstrates awareness of self and other’s communication style and adjusts to meet the needs of the situation.

34. Inspires and motivates oneself and staff to pursue advanced education and/or certification.

35. Encourages others to become an active member of professional organizations. 

36. Supports staff’s professional and personal growth.

37. Encourages staff to seek clinical advancement via the Professional Recognition Program.

38. Engages self and others in self-development appraisal on a regular basis identifying areas of strength as well as areas for personal/professional development.

39. Promotes and encouragesothers (patients/families/healthcare providers/community) to achieveoptimal and realistic patient goals.  Collaboration involved interdisciplinary work with colleagues and the ability to negotiate and resolve conflict.

40. Role models, teaches, and/or mentors professional leadership and accountability for nursing’s role within the health care team.

41. Leads and/or participates in departmental and hospital programs, committees, and/or special projects to achieve desired outcomes.

42. Improves the quality of care through shared governance principles. 

43. Communicates important information via shift to shifthuddles.

44.Recognizes, responds, and provides follow-up on issues, concerns, and suggestions on behalf of the patient population and staff.

45. Providestimely follow-up on critical incidents/sentinel events.

46. Assumes accountability for daily operations at the unit level.

47. On a daily basis allocates resources and coordinates services to optimize patient care and services.

48. Provides input in developing and monitoring operating and capital budget; implements strategies to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

49. Recognizes the potential impact of change on all people involved.

50. Keeps current on regulatory issues and trends and employs strategies to meet standards in a proactive manner.

Physical Requirements: 

1. Prolonged, extensive, or considerable standing and walking.

2. Lifts, positions, pushes and / or transfers patients.

3. Considerable reaching, stooping, bending, kneeling, crouching.

4. Regularly exposed to the risk of blood borne diseases.

5. Contact with patients under wide variety of circumstances.

6. Subject to varying and unpredictable situations.

7. Handles emergency and crisis situations.

Skills & Abilities:

1. Clinical reasoning, which includes clinical decision-making, critical thinking, and a global grasp of the situation, coupled with nursing skills acquired through a process of integrating formal and experiential knowledge.

2. Ability to facilitate patient, family and staff learning across the care continuum.  Contributes to a learning environment characterized by safe discourse, mentoring and team development.

3. Demonstrated leadership abilities; able to work under stressful situations; possesses good oral and written communication skills and is able to effectively work in a changing environment.

4. Ability to effectively communicate with patients, families, physicians, and healthcare team

5. Excels at demonstrating the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care to patients in the relevant area of nursing practice

6. Ability to be flexible, organized and function well under stressful situations.