Chief Nursing Officer

About the role

The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) serves as the senior nursing executive responsible for the strategic leadership, operational oversight, and advancement of nursing practice across the hospital.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a key member of the Stony Brook University Hospital senior executive leadership team, contributing to strategic planning, operational leadership, and the advancement of the hospital’s mission and long-term vision.
• Provides executive leadership for nursing professional practice, education, research, administration, and clinical services across Stony Brook University Hospital and ensures that the voice and perspective of nursing are integrated into major organizational decisions affecting patient care, workforce strategy, and clinical operations.
• Establishes and advances a vision for nursing that promotes patient-centered care, evidence-based practice, continuous improvement in quality and safety, and an exceptional patient and family experience.
• Learns and executes nursing strategies that support organizational priorities including quality, patient safety, workforce engagement, operational excellence, and clinical innovation.
• Ensures the advancement of the hospital’s professional practice model and promotes a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and nursing excellence.
• Promotes an interdisciplinary shared governance model that empowers nurses and care teams to participate in clinical decision-making and practice improvement.
• Leads initiatives that enable nurses and other clinicians to practice at the top of their license through evidence-based care models, advanced clinical decision-making frameworks, and team-based care delivery.
• Maintains a deep understanding of the Magnet Recognition Program and leads initiatives that strengthen a culture of nursing excellence consistent with Magnet principles.
• Works collaboratively with the Chief Nursing Officers at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital to align professional practice standards, workforce strategies, and quality outcomes across Stony Brook Medicine.
• Uses clinical, operational, and workforce data to guide strategic decision-making and drive measurable improvements in patient outcomes, care delivery, and organizational performance.
• Fosters collaboration with the School of Nursing and other academic partners to advance research, clinical education, and workforce development.
• Promotes innovation in care delivery, nursing practice, and workforce models to support the evolving needs of patients and the healthcare environment.
• Builds strong relationships with physician leadership and interdisciplinary teams to promote coordinated care delivery, improve patient outcomes, and enhance the patient experience.
• Engages with nursing staff across the organization through visible leadership, effective communication, and inclusive decision-making.
• Collaborates with union leadership to promote constructive labor relations and support a positive, adaptable, and engaged work environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing
• Master’s Degree in Nursing or in a related field
• Eligible for RN licensure in the state of New York
• Ten or more years of nurse leadership experience in a hospital setting required
• Strong operational and financial acumen with a track record of leading and partnering around a vision for improving health through clinical excellence and compassion
• Strong conceptual clinical base with expertise in professional practice models, systems thinking and quality improvement
• A highly effective leader who can sit at the executive table and relate to interdisciplinary teams of clinicians, specifically bedside caregivers
• Strong executive presence and political savvy including communication skills that enable them to appreciate other’s perspectives and offer compelling insights and recommendations
• Experience championing an environment that rewards innovation, risk-taking and is viewed as a highly visible and effective leader
• Experience with process improvement, leading teams, and managing organizational change initiatives
• Proven ability of building internal and external relationships, with a demonstrated track record of working successfully with academic partners, physicians and physician leaders, and diverse management teams
• Experience building partnerships with a School of Nursing and collaborating around the generation of new knowledge and education of future practitioners
• Proven track record in the recruitment, retention and development of talent
• Demonstrated experience creating a work environment that fosters diversity and inclusion
• Experience building and sustaining a best practices-oriented staffing model which includes working with human resources on recruitment, retention and engagement strategies