Director of Nursing, Peace Hospital, Child and Adolescent Psych, 8a-5p
Job Description
The Director of Nursing (DON) for Inpatient Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health oversees nursing services in a 24/7 psychiatric hospital setting. This role ensures safe, high-quality, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate care for children and adolescents with acute behavioral health needs.
Key Responsibilities
Provide 24/7 leadership and oversight of inpatient psychiatric nursing operations.
Direct and coordinate all nursing services across child and adolescent inpatient units.
Serve as a key member of the hospital leadership team, contributing to operational strategy and program growth.
Develop and enforce policies, procedures, and clinical protocols specific to inpatient behavioral health.
Ensure delivery of evidence-based psychiatric nursing care tailored to pediatric populations.
Oversee management of high-acuity patients, including those with severe behavioral dysregulation, suicidality, aggressive behaviors, and trauma histories.
Partner with psychiatrists and interdisciplinary teams on treatment planning and outcomes.
Promote a culture of safety focused on reduction of incidents (self-harm, aggression, elopement), safe patient handling, and crisis response.
Lead root cause analyses (RCA) and implement corrective action plans.
Monitor and reduce restrictive interventions in alignment with regulatory standards.
Ensure staff competency in CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention) or equivalent.
Ensure compliance with Joint Commission Behavioral Health standards, CMS Conditions of Participation, state psychiatric hospital licensure requirements, and regulatory standards.
Lead survey readiness and manage regulatory audits/inspections.
Oversee policy updates related to patient rights, restraint/seclusion, and documentation standards.
Recruit, hire, and retain skilled behavioral health nursing staff and mental health technicians.
Provide leadership oversight to Nurse Managers.
Implement structured onboarding and competency validation programs for inpatient psychiatric care.
Lead ongoing staff education on trauma-informed care, pediatric behavioral health, crisis intervention, and safety practices.
Build a culture of accountability, engagement, and resilience (reducing burnout and turnover).
Monitor and improve key clinical and operational metrics, including restraint/seclusion rates, patient safety incidents, medication errors, staff injuries, and patient satisfaction and outcomes.
Participate in hospital committees.
Ensure care models support family involvement and communication.
Promote developmentally appropriate, culturally competent, and patient-centered care.
Address grievances and participate in service recovery processes.
Develop and manage departmental budgets and staffing targets.
Monitor labor utilization, overtime, and productivity benchmarks.
Ensure efficient use of resources while maintaining safe staffing levels.
Qualifications
Education: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited/approved school of nursing (Required). Master’s Degree in Nursing, Administration, Education or other Leadership field from an accredited/approved school of nursing (Preferred). If Master’s Degree in other discipline outside of Nursing, then Bachelor Degree in Nursing from an accredited/approved school of nursing. Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from an accredited/approved school of nursing (Preferred).
Experience: A minimum of four (4) years related professional experience, including two (2) years in a leadership level in a matrix management organization. Proven ability to direct and/or facilitate the work effort of peers and subordinates through teamwork and team building. Proven ability to work collaboratively and effectively communicate with physicians, hospital staff, educational institution representatives and other professionals.
Licensure: Active Kentucky Registered Nurse License or compact license with privileges to work in Kentucky (Required). Basic Life Support (BLS) accredited by the American Heart Association (AHA) (Required). National Nursing Certification in Field of Specialty obtained if not held at time of hire (Preferred).
Work Environment
A 24/7 inpatient psychiatric hospital setting with high-acuity behavioral health units. Potential exposure to aggressive or self-harming behaviors. Requires availability for off-hours, on-call coverage, and emergency response.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Reduction in restraint/seclusion utilization.
Patient and staff safety incident rates.
Staff turnover and engagement scores.
Regulatory survey outcomes.
Quality and clinical outcome metrics.