Director of Nursing

General Purpose: Define the roles and responsibilities of the Director of Nursing (DON). The DON is a registered nurse who oversees and supervises the care of all the residents. The DON also provides direct resident/patient care.

Responsibilities

• Overall management of the entire nursing department and staffing levels.
• Develop and implement nursing policies and procedures and ensure compliance.
• Ensure resident safety and that all residents are treated with utmost respect.
• Develop and conduct in-services for the 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.
• Serve as a witness at trials in the event of litigation.
• Work closely with all other departments to ensure excellent overall resident care.
• Responsible for department budgeting and reporting.
• Keep current on regulation changes and disseminate this information appropriately.
• Participate in QA, Utilization Review, and Patient Care conferences.
• Actively participate in and assist with all state surveys and required follow-up activity.
• Coordinate MDS and care planning.
• Conduct employee appraisals and resolve problems including disciplinary actions and terminations.
• Maintain employee and resident/patient confidentiality at all times.
• Provide direct/hands-on resident/patient care as needed.

Supervisory Requirements

The Director of Nursing is responsible for supervising and managing 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 Degree 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.

Skills

• Language Skills: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, 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.
• Mathematical Skills: Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Reasoning Ability: Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite products and Point Click Care (PCC).

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-related equipment including copier, scanner, fax, telephone, and calculator.
• Travel by auto or airline may be required.

Work Environment

• The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.