Director of Nursing

About the Role

The Director of Nursing (DON) is a registered nurse who oversees and supervises the care of all residents, provides direct resident/patient care, and manages the entire nursing department.

Responsibilities

• Overall management of the nursing department and staffing levels.
• Develop and implement nursing policies and procedures; ensure compliance.
• Ensure resident safety and that all residents are treated with utmost respect.
• Develop and conduct in-services for clinical staff.
• Recruit, hire, and train nursing staff.
• Coordinate pharmacy services and destruction of expired/discontinued medication.
• Serve as liaison between the facility, physicians, and family members.
• Act as a witness at trials in the event of litigation.
• Collaborate with other departments to ensure excellent resident care.
• Manage department budgeting and reporting.
• Stay current on regulation changes and disseminate information appropriately.
• Participate in QA, Utilization Review, and Patient Care conferences.
• Actively assist with state surveys and required follow-up activity.
• Coordinate MDS and care planning.
• Conduct employee appraisals, resolve problems, and handle disciplinary actions and terminations.
• Maintain employee and resident/patient confidentiality.
• Provide direct/hands-on resident/patient care as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Director of Nursing supervises and manages the Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) and the entire nursing staff either directly or indirectly.

Requirements

• Graduation from an Accredited School of Nursing; Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) preferred.
• Must be in good standing with the State Board of Nursing and maintain all required continuing education/licensing requirements.
• Minimum of 7 years of nurse management experience preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite products and Point Click Care (PCC).

Skills

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from managers and employees.
• Ability to apply mathematical concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with variables in situations with limited standardization.
• Ability to interpret instructions in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Physical Demands

• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 75 pounds.
• Prolonged use of a desktop or laptop computer.
• Regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, read, or hear.
• Frequent use of office equipment: copier, scanner, fax, telephone, calculator.
• Travel by auto or airline may be required.

Work Environment

The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.