Director of Nursing - Critical Care

Director Nursing

At Houston Methodist, the Director Nursing position is responsible for the 24/7 management of the assigned nursing units and departments in terms of the quality of nursing care delivered, as well as for planning, organizing, leading and evaluating nursing services within area of specialty. This position provides leadership and oversight in the accomplishment of strategic and operational objectives of the Department of Nursing. The Director Nursing position provides strategic direction for nursing and business operations, responsible for establishing strategic and tactical plans for clinical services, new programs and human resource allocation. This position promotes a practice environment that empowers nurses to provide effective, compassionate, efficient and knowledgeable nursing care. The Director Nursing position works in cooperation with the Medical Staff to ensure regulations and accreditation standards are maintained.

The Director position responsibilities include overseeing the activities of the department staff, ensuring quality, productivity, functional excellence and efficiency to accomplish strategic and operational objectives. In addition, this position is accountable for employee engagement, adequate staffing levels, budget development and compliance, staffing decisions such as hiring and terminating employment, coaching and counseling employees on work related performance, and developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure a safe and effective work environment. This position also ensures training, monitoring and operations initiatives are implemented which secure compliance with ethical and legal business practices and accreditation/regulatory/government regulations.

Houston Methodist Standard

PATIENT AGE GROUP(S) AND POPULATION(S) SERVED

Refer to departmental "Scope of Service" and "Provision of Care" plans, as applicable, for description of primary age groups and populations served by this job for the respective HM entity.

HOUSTON METHODIST EXPERIENCE EXPECTATIONS

• Provide personalized care and service by consistently demonstrating our I CARE values:
• Integrity: We are honest and ethical in all we say and do.
• Compassion: We embrace the whole person including emotional, ethical, physical, and spiritual needs.
• Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable for all our actions.
• Respect: We treat every individual as a person of worth, dignity, and value.
• Excellence: We strive to be the best at what we do and a model for others to emulate.
• Practices the Caring and Serving Model
• Delivers personalized service using HM Service Standards
• Provides for exceptional patient/customer experiences by following our Standards of Practice of always using Positive Language (AIDET, Managing Up, Key Words)
• Intentionally collaborates with other healthcare professionals involved in patients/customers or employees' experiential journeys to ensure strong communication, ease of access to information, and a seamless experience
• Involves patients (customers) in shift/handoff reports by enabling their participation in their plan of care as applicable to the given job
• Actively supports the organization's vision, fulfills the mission and abides by the I CARE values

Responsibilities

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Directs, develops and implements strategic and operational/high level projects and processes either through independent/highly autonomous work or through the facilitation of work teams to enable the effective and efficient completion of objectives.
• Oversees management of and ensures development for staff to meet overall objectives in terms of quality, service and cost effectiveness. Provides timely guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem. Directs management responsibilities of selection, scheduling, supervision, retention, and evaluation of employees.
• Meets or exceeds threshold goal for department turnover and/or system metrics on employee engagement indicators.
• Provides leadership and communication to maintain a competent and engaged employee group by conducting regular department meetings to review policies and procedures and operational matters, rounding on all employees, completing performance appraisals, conducting new hire feedback sessions, coaching/corrective counseling, and providing recognition/commendations to achieve desired outcomes.
• Identifies opportunities and takes action to build strategic relationships between one's area and other areas, teams, departments, and units to achieve business goals. Drives the promotion of teamwork within and between departments; participates and/or leads and facilitates department process improvements as needed.
• Implements change, demonstrating the ability to motivate employees and follow through to ensure change in behavior has actually occurred.
• Motivates staff, researching and implementing strategies to keep employees engaged while maintaining compliance in terms of the quality of nursing care delivered.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Oversees department operations, designated projects, schedules and activities as needed to ensure that goals or objectives are accomplished within the prescribed time frame. Sets priorities and functional standards, giving direction to staff as necessary to ensure the best possible delivery of service and high customer/patient satisfaction.
• Drives department service standards and activities to impact department and/or system score for patient/customer-based satisfaction, through role modeling and fostering accountability. Serves and actively participates on various entity committees as a voice for the department.
• Maintains 24-hour/7-days a week accountability and authority for decisions regarding patient care, department operations and personnel management for designated unit(s).

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Ensures a safe and effective working environment; monitors and/or revises the department safety plan and/or any specific accreditation/regulatory required safety guidelines. Responsible for staff maintenance of credentials and competencies, per accrediting/licensing agency and/or department guidelines as applicable.
• Employs a proactive approach in the optimization of safe outcomes and information systems by monitoring and improving the department workflow and enhancing operations, using peer-to-peer accountability and identifying solutions via collaboration. Implements process improvements utilizing tools such as lean principles. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety.
• Responsible for employee compliance to policies and procedures and performs associated actions upon non-compliance (i.e., licensure/certification compliance, focal point review requirements, disaster plan, in-services, influenza immunization, wage and hour, standard hours, timely termination submission, timely timecard approval, etc.).
• Remains current and proficient with regulatory requirements for the provision of clinical services. Translates the requirements into operations to ensure compliance. Uses automated systems to access, transmit and produce information.
• Coordinates the provision of comprehensive, interprofessional patient care that results in clinical excellence, optimal outcomes and maximum patient and family satisfaction.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develops and manages department operational and capital budgets, approvals, and ongoing maintenance of the department(s), ensuring operation in a cost-effective manner. Proactively identifies and plans for capital needs related to current equipment and future department projects. Ensures staffing plans and schedules meet department needs that reflect understanding of the importance of cost-effectiveness.
• Creates department strategies to achieve financial target and staffing needs, through optimizing productivity, supply/resource efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime and overtime percentage, and other areas according to department specifications.
• Projects anticipated volume and demand for resources, conducts cost analysis, analyzes, and monitors budget reports and variances, evaluating human and material resource utilization and making necessary adjustments. Analyzes and interprets complex data sets and reports (variance analysis, financial/quality, population specific reports).

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies and implements innovative solutions for practice or workflow changes to improve department, entity or system operations by leading unit projects and/or other department/ system-directed activities. Proactively leads task forces and committees. May represent HM at assigned community or professional organization meetings.
• Drives change initiatives, maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work responsibilities or environment; adjusts effectively to work within new work structures, processes, requirements or cultures. Partners effectively with stakeholders as appropriate.
• Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates My Development Plan (MDP) on an on-going basis. Conducts conversations with staff on their development and MDP.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.

Qualifications

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree and Master's degree one of which is nursing. If no current Master's degree must obtain within two years; must be enrolled in a degree program at time of transfer/hire

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Three years experience in a clinical setting, two of those years with people management experience