Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job Purpose

The Clinical Nurse Specialist owns clinical education, clinical staff competency, and the advancement of professional practice across a region of Avem-managed entities. The role exists to develop, empower, and enable direct-care clinicians to define, monitor, and improve the standards of their practice, and to ensure they have the education, competency, and structure to do so.

Essential Functions

• Specialty clinical expertise & direct care
• Coach and develop direct-care clinicians in real time through rounding, demonstrating, and problem-solving alongside staff so expertise transfers into everyday practice.
• Assess clinical practice and care processes directly to identify gaps, risks to quality, and opportunities to improve patient outcomes, then act on what those assessments reveal.
• Advancing professional practice & bedside ownership
• Facilitate growth and development of Avem professional practice councils, building them into clinician-led bodies where direct-care staff define, monitor, and improve the standards of their own practice.
• Develop, empower, and enable clinicians to lead by facilitating effective meetings, coaching council members, and equipping councils with the data and evidence to evaluate practice against the standard of excellence in their discipline.
• Drive professional practice across all sites and carry practice questions and decisions from the bedside, then translate those decisions into education, competency, and practice change.
• Establish and sustain a clinical peer review process for Avem-managed facilities.
• Mentor clinicians and serve as a change agent and champion for scientific inquiry, embedding a spirit of inquiry and best practice evidence into how clinicians make practice decisions.
• Owning clinical education & clinical staff competency
• In collaboration with facility CNOs and managers, own the full clinical education program across all Avem-managed entities within a region to include needs assessment, session planning, objective writing, design, delivery, and evaluation, all built on adult learning principles.
• Develop, deliver, and continually strengthen the preceptor program, redesigning it as needed to meet learning objectives and the realities of practice.
• Own competency-based initial and annual training, including online modules, simulations, and in-person hands-on skills fairs—and determine where competencies must evolve based on direct observation of practice, expert input, peer review findings, and emerging evidence.
• Build and deliver clinical certification and life support training (BLS, ACLS, PALS and related).
• Serve as a clinical subject matter expert for the electronic health record (EHR), partnering with Information Technology and Informatics to resolve clinical system learning needs.
• Research, evidence-based practice & systems advancement
• Contribute to the advancement of clinical practice in rural health by reviewing and conducting research and evidence-based practice and translating those findings into clinical practice across the organization.
• Lead clinicians in planning, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based practice and quality improvement initiatives, and disseminate results so successful change spreads across the managed entities.
• Act as a system change expert, evaluating the impact of new products, technologies, and care models on clinical practice and outcomes, and guiding their adoption.
• Own the memorandums of agreement governing college and university clinical rotations, serving as the single point of accountability for academic partnerships.
• Partner with stakeholders to set the goals and objectives of clinical education at each site and direct the curriculum and continuing education portfolio staff need to maintain credentials and advance professionally.
• Own multiple development deliverables simultaneously and support other priorities as assigned within scope of practice.

Behavioral Standards

• Support the mission, vision, and goals of Avem Health Partners and serve as a role model within the company.
• Exhibit positive customer service behavior in everyday work interactions.
• Demonstrate a courteous and respectful attitude to the internal workforce and external customers.
• Handle difficult situations in a discreet and professional manner.
• Hold self accountable for professional practice.
• Participate in performance improvement activities utilizing principles that support and improve departmental goals.
• Demonstrate knowledge of unit goals and remain active in committees and projects to achieve these goals.
• Keep current with literature regarding changing practices, interventions, and best practices.
• Assume responsibility for seeking out educational and professional opportunities for personal learning and growth and meet mandatory education requirements.
• Demonstrate excellent work attendance and actively participate in a variety of meetings and training sessions as required.
• Adhere to the Avem Health Partners Code of Conduct and Standards of Behavior.
• Comply with established policies and procedures and all health and safety requirements.