Director of Nursing, Preoperative and Postoperative Care Units and Clinical Support Services

Overview

To be part of our organization, every employee should understand and share in the YNHHS Vision, support our Mission, and live our Values. These values, integrity, patient-centered, respect, accountability, and compassion, must guide what we do, as individuals and professionals, every day.

The Director of Nursing, Preoperative and Postoperative Care Units and Clinical Support Services is responsible for the operational, clinical, and nursing leadership of preoperative and postoperative care areas and assigned clinical support services across Yale New Haven Hospital campuses. This integral leadership role supports the delivery of safe, efficient, high-quality, patient- and family-centered care throughout the perioperative continuum, with
accountability for patient flow, staff performance, regulatory readiness, operational effectiveness, and clinical outcomes.

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Perioperative Services, the Director partners closely with nursing, anesthesia, physician, advanced practice provider, administrative, and support services leaders to advance organizational goals, improve operational performance, and ensure consistent standards of care across preoperative, postoperative, and clinical support service departments. The incumbent provides oversight for key operational and clinical functions including patient throughput, capacity management, regulatory compliance, room and environmental readiness, support staff performance, resource utilization, quality and safety initiatives, and patient experience.

The Director plays a critical leadership role in driving strategic and operational initiatives, leading complex projects, addressing barriers to patient progression through data -driven problem solving, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, professional nursing practice, and continuous improvement. This position is responsible for ensuring safe, efficient, high-quality care delivery while promoting exceptional patient, provider, and staff experiences across the preoperative, postoperative, and clinical support services environment.
EEO/AA/Disability/Veteran.

Responsibilities

1. Operations
1.1. Provides operational oversight for Preoperative and Postoperative Care Units across all campuses.
1.2. Provides operational oversight for support staff including Operating Room Assistants , Operating Room Associates, Anesthesia Technicians and other groups as assigned.
1.3. Leads initiatives to improve patient throughput, reduce delays, optimize patient movement across the perioperative continuum, and enhance operational efficiency.
1.4. Collaborates with surgeons, anesthesia providers, nursing leadership, and support departments to ensure timely patient progression and optimal capacity management.
1.5. Collaborates closely with hospital Bed Management, Capacity Management, Patient Flow, Nursing Operations, and inpatient leadership to facilitate timely patient placement and optimize hospital-wide capacity.
1.6. Monitors and addresses barriers to patient flow including admission holds, discharge delays, bed availability, and procedural scheduling impacts to ensure efficient perioperative operations.
1.7. Leads daily operational huddles and throughput discussions with multidisciplinary teams to proactively manage capacity constraints and prioritize patient movement.

2. People Leadership
2.1. Provides leadership, direction, and accountability for assigned nursing, clinical support, and ancillary teams across Preoperative and Postoperative Care Units and Clinical Support Services.
2.2. Leads recruitment, retention, onboarding, orientation, performance management, succession planning, and professional development efforts for assigned areas of responsibility.
2.3. Ensures appropriate staffing, skill mix, competency, and resource alignment to support safe, efficient, high-quality patient care and operational performance.
2.4. Promotes a culture of staff engagement, psychological safety, accountability, collaboration, service excellence, and professional nursing practice.
2.5. Develops leaders and team members through coaching, mentoring, feedback, recognition, and clear performance expectations.

3. Quality and Safety
3.1. Provides leadership for quality, safety, and performance improvement initiatives within Preoperative and Postoperative Care Units and with the Support Services Teams.
3.2. Ensures compliance with hospital, state, federal, Joint Commission, CMS, and other regulatory and accreditation standards applicable to perioperative services.
3.3. Monitors and improves patient safety indicators, quality metrics, and clinical outcomes.
3.4. Develops and implements strategies to improve patient throughput while maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety.
3.5. Collaborates with clinical and operational leaders to develop corrective action plans, ensure regulatory readiness, and sustain performance improvements.
3.6. Utilizes data and benchmarks to drive continuous improvement in patient outcomes, operational performance, and patient experience.

4. Patient Experience
4.1. Establishes and promotes a patient-centered culture focused on exceptional service and compassionate care.
4.2. Develops and implements strategies to improve patient and family satisfaction throughout the perioperative experience.
4.3. Reviews patient experience metrics, feedback, complaints, and compliments to identify opportunities for improvement.
4.4. Partners with clinical teams to ensure effective communication, patient education, and care coordination.
4.5. Ensures service recovery processes are implemented consistently and effectively.
5. Support Services and Environmental Readiness

5.1. Ensures Operating Room Assistants/Associates and Anesthesia Technicians maintain readiness of procedural and patient care environments to support safe, efficient operations.
5.2. Oversees processes for room turnover, room preparation, equipment readiness, supply availability, and environmental standards.
5.3. Establishes performance expectations and accountability measures for room readiness and support service functions.
5.4. Ensures compliance with infection prevention standards, environmental safety requirements, and regulatory guidelines pertaining to perioperative environments.
5.5. Oversees support service compliance with Joint Commission, CMS, OSHA, AORN, and organizational standards related to equipment management, environment of care, sterilization support processes, and patient safety.
5.6. Collaborates with perioperative leaders to identify and implement improvements in room turnover times, workflow efficiency, and operational effectiveness.
5.7. Ensures ongoing competency assessment, education, orientation, and performance management for Operating Room Assistants, Operating Room Associates, Anesthesia Technicians, and other assigned support services roles related to regulatory requirements and operational expectations.

6. Outcomes Management
6.1. Ensures regulatory compliance across all areas of responsibility.
6.2. Establishes, monitors, and reports on key performance indicators related to quality, safety, patient experience, throughput, operational efficiency, room readiness, staff engagement, regulatory
compliance, and financial performance.
6.3. Uses data analytics and benchmarking to drive continuous improvement and achievement of organizational goals.
6.4. Accountable for departmental performance outcomes and action plans related to quality, safety, patient experience, staff engagement, fiscal stewardship, regulatory readiness, and operational effectiveness.

Qualifications

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree in Nursing required. Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.

EXPERIENCE

Seven to ten years of progressively responsible nursing leadership experience in a complex healthcare environment , including a minimum of three to five years in a perioperative, preoperative, postoperative, procedural, or surgical services setting. Demonstrated experience leading clinical operations, managing multidisciplinary teams, overseeing quality and safety initiatives, supporting regulatory readiness, and driving organizational performance improvement efforts . Experience in project management, process improvement, strategic planning, change management, patient flow optimization, and operational problem-solving within a complex academic healthcare environment strongly preferred.

LICENSURE

CT RN Licensure CNOR Preferred NEA-BC or CNML Required within 2 years of hire

SPECIAL SKILLS

Demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to effectively lead nursing and support services teams, influence stakeholders, and drive results in a complex academic healthcare environment. Strong clinical, operational, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities with experience utilizing structured improvement methodologies and data-driven decision making. Excellent communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, change management, organizational, and strategic planning skills. Ability to lead multiple priorities simultaneously while fostering accountability, professional nursing practice, innovation, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

In response to departmental goals and/or needs, is responsible for carrying out and supporting change throughout Peri-Operative Services. And other identified areas as assigned. Is responsible for directing the nursing and clinical support staff in the department on a 24 hour a day basis. Accountable for nursing practice in perioperative services.

In personal and job-related decisions and actions, consistently demonstrates the values of integrity (doing the right thing), patient-centered (putting patients and families first), respect (valuing all people and embracing all differences), accountability (being responsible and taking action), and compassion (being empathetic).

COMPLEXITY:

The Director of Nursing, Preoperative and Postoperative Care Units and Clinical Support Services is a key member of the Perioperative Executive Team.

She/he manages in a collaborative, interdisciplinary, culturally diverse environment that requires knowledge and skills related to: (1) budget and resource management, (2) excellent oral and written communications, (3) professional theory and standards, (4) the dynamics of the operating rooms, (5) conflict management (6) data management, (7) and continuous performance improvement.

YNHHS Requisition ID

192949