Director of Nursing, Med Surg

Overview :

In a joint venture partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive and integrated health network, Ardent operates Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center, located in Montclair and Hackensack Meridian Pascack Valley, located in Westwood.

Patient focused, community-oriented and equipped with technology that rivals the nation’s most prestigioushealthcare systems, each hospital offers comprehensive services delivered by caring and highly skilled medical professionals.

Mountainside Medical Center and Pascack Valley have 476 licensed beds combined.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of in-patient services is responsible for the planning, organizing, directing and evaluating the delivery of patient care.

Coordinates the operations of the department and maintains fiscal responsibility for areas under his / her control. Assists the Chief Nursing Officer to develop the strategic vision and the direction of the Department of Patient Care.

Responsible for achieving high patient, physician and employee satisfaction. Collaborates with other clinical and hospital leadership to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.

Responsibilities :

Directs and supervises Nurse Managers, Advance Practice Nurses, Clinical Instructors and supervisors in planning, implementing monitoring and evaluating patient care according to the established standards across the inpatient units.

Ensures that the Standards of Care and the Standards of Professional Performance as developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center are the framework for all decision-making and program development for the Department of Patient Care.

Identifies the needs of the patient population served and modifies and delivers care that is specific to those needs (i.e.

age, language, hearing and / or visually impaired, etc.) This process includes communicating with the patient, parent, and / or primary caregiver(s) at their level (developmental / age, educational level, literacy, etc.

Ensures accountability for the direction and supervision of staff according to established standards.

Demonstrates administrative / managerial competency in defined area(s) of responsibility.

Ensures that the delivery of patient care and nursing practice are in compliance with both safety / risk management standards and legal requirements of licensing boards / regulatory agencies and accrediting agencies.

Assures that areas of responsibility are in compliance with the National Patient Safety Goals.

Promotes staff engagement through eliciting feedback and input into departmental processes, positive communication, appropriate reward and recognition, and consistent application of policies and procedures.

Identifies resources and needs based on fiduciary responsibilities.

Develops, allocates, administers and evaluates the budget process

Direct and delegates appropriate aspects of the budget process to appropriate designee.

Delegates appropriate aspect of budget process to appropriate designee.

Chairs and / or participates at meeting committees, councils, task forces for the purpose of accomplishing the departmental and organizational goals and objectives.

Develops, implements, monitors and ensures compliance to all standards both generic and unit specific.

Develops, or assists in the development of evidence-based nursing protocols to assure standardization of nursing practice and quality patient outcomes.

Develops or assists in the development of policies and procedures to guide nursing practice. Assures the policy manuals in his / her area of responsibility are current and revised as needed.

Ensures ongoing compliance, licensing boards and accrediting agency standards promoting survey readiness as a constant state.

Participates in the development of the annual Performance Improvement plan based on organizational priorities, high risk care issues, or on identified patient care concerns.

Elicits staff input into the Performance Improvement Plan. Developed targeted, measurable goals and monitors in accordance with the documented plan. Provides reports as needed.

Based on collaborative analysis of the data, develops plans for improvement.

Ensures accountability for ongoing CQI monitoring.

Determines scheduling and staffing patterns. Monitors staff productivity and make appropriate changes based on data.

Monitors staffing scheduling patterns for compliance and appropriateness.

Creates a work environment that ensures inter and intra departmental systems / processes are efficient and effective in alleviating work intensity at the unit level.

Acts as a Retention Officer to ensure that high quality staff are recruited and retained.

Ensures staff attends appropriate orientation programs and ongoing education to meet performance expectations.

Objectively evaluates the performance of direct reports. Makes recommendations for promotion, disciplinary action or discharge.

Consults with Human Resources personnel as appropriate.

Participates in the hiring process assuring buy-in to organizational mission and values.

Possesses a thorough working knowledge of the nursing and hospital computer systems and is able to perform all systems functions necessary to achieve timely patient care.

Maintains current knowledge of nursing philosophies, models, procedures and innovations, trends in healthcare and standards of care.

Adheres to the standards identified in the hospital’s organizational and managerial competencies.

Maintains positive working relationships with physicians and other members of the healthcare team.

Qualifications :

Education & Experience

Graduate of an NLN / AACN accredited program in nursing; Masters in nursing or related health field preferred

Minimum of five (5) years experience in an acute care setting.

Minimum of two (2) years management experience in an acute care setting.

Registered Nurse (RN) with New Jersey Board of Nursing or RN Multistate License from the NCL required.

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certification by the American Heart Association (AHA) or the American Red Cross (ARC) required.

Basic Life Support (BLS) certification by the American Heart Association (AHA) or the American Red Cross (ARC) required.

Certification through the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center in area of specialty preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Must have good oral and written communication skills

Must have good computer skills, including proficiency with work processing, spreadsheet and database management software

Must have leadership skills, and be able to demonstrate effective management techniques, employing the philosophies of transformational leadership in direction of staff

Must possess a thorough knowledge of nursing policies and procedures and appreciation for the collaboration and integration with other clinical departments

Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding sensitive information

Demonstrated excellent customer service skills