Director of Staff Development

Pay Range: $83,000 to $103,000/yearly

About the Role

The DSD acts as a primary support to the licensed staff with the management of the resident’s care plan. This position is responsible for organizing, assessing, directing, planning, developing, and implementing all levels of orientation, in-service, and continuing education for all SNF employees. The DSD creates ways to contribute to making the Masonic Homes a purposeful learning environment by teaching practices that ensure safe, competent, and compassionate resident-directed service is provided to all residents. Additionally, the DSD is responsible for the development and facilitation of the infection control program for monitoring communicable and/or infectious diseases among residents and personnel. The DSD may perform other job functions as deemed necessary or as directed by the Administrator and/or the Director of Nursing.

Responsibilities

Educational Development

• Create opportunities for employees to contribute to Masonic Homes as a purposeful learning organization.
• Provide general orientation, mandatory in-services, continuing education, and other training to meet all department and facility needs and regulatory requirements.
• Orient new clinical staff to policies, procedures, and job duties.
• Coordinate all educational programs for licensed and unlicensed staff.
• Strive to meet the educational needs of staff within the Department of Nursing.
• Provide an annual calendar of educational activities, including needs identified by nursing leadership and relevant quality improvement activities.
• Coordinate the Nursing Assistant Certification Program in accordance with state long-term care requirements as needed.
• Ensure all necessary mandatory education (fire safety, infection control, residents' rights, hazard communication, sexual harassment, dementia, HIPAA, etc.) required by regulatory standards is available for all staff; track attendance.
• Schedule live presentations for mandatory in-services on a rotating basis as needed.
• Maintain all in-service records on employees in a current, neat, and orderly fashion, with individual educational profiles on all Nursing Assistants to ensure all 24-hour annual requirements are met.
• Provide BLS, CPR, and First Aid education for direct care staff as required; offer optional training for all other employees.
• Attend and participate in continuing education programs to learn best practices and maintain current licensure.
• Conduct in-services for staff on assigned shifts to ensure compliance with regulations, facility policy, or when changes in practice occur.
• Evaluate and monitor the transfer of training to the workplace.
• Perform competency skills to assess the transfer of safety training to the workplace.
• Include the RAI process in training and orientation to assure optimal utilization of services.
• Create a comfortable learning environment for staff with interactive, leadership-leveling, and creative teaching techniques designed to enhance sustained learning.

Employee Relationships and Administrative Functions

• Act as a role model for all staff, demonstrating a high standard of service that supports the organization’s mission and values.
• Assume a leadership role in identifying opportunities for improvement, defining goals, and developing solutions.
• Participate in developing, maintaining, and updating written policies and procedures that govern day-to-day functions of the facility regarding Employee Health and staff education.
• Provide all documents supporting orientation to facility policies and procedures for maintenance in individual employee file folders.
• Plan and post a monthly education calendar.
• Handle employee health issues that occur on shift in compliance with facility policy and procedure.
• Intervene in Bloodborne pathogen exposures by providing first aid, ensuring prompt medical attention, and completing thorough investigations.
• Report significant events to the Administrator/designee.
• Provide timely documentation of all History/Physicals and TB screenings within seven days of employment for new hires.
• Ensure all employees have a Physician Health Statement in their file yearly; schedule physicals for new and current employees.
• Manage the TB screening program, ensuring appropriate documentation of testing exists in employee files; counsel and refer as necessary.
• Monitor and investigate employee injuries and/or exposures; work cooperatively with department heads and HR in managing these issues.
• Identify, assist, counsel, and refer employees who have been exposed to blood/body fluids.
• Monitor and track employee illness to determine necessary interventions and/or work restrictions.
• Provide counseling and referral to Occupational Health or Emergency Services as necessary.
• Communicate areas of concern weekly and as needed with Administrator/DON.
• Make Hepatitis and Flu vaccines available to employees as necessary.
• Oversee the emergency management program for the facility.
• Provide direction for emergencies such as fire, disaster, code blue, etc., ensuring all appropriate persons/agencies are notified in a timely manner.
• Plan, assign, and direct work of trainees during their orientation period.
• Conduct daily rounds to train, coach, and advise front-line staff, ensuring nursing personnel perform their work assignments according to acceptable nursing standards.
• Identify concerns and take initiative to find resolutions.
• Assist, coach, redirect, and document performance problems as needed.
• Ensure performance documentation is equitable, uniform, and timely.
• Participate in developing, maintaining, and periodically updating written job descriptions.

Supervisory Functions

• Supervise the training and care provided by nursing assistants.
• Participate in the design of C.N.A. work assignments.
• Supervise volunteers and ensure they act within the scope of their responsibility and volunteer role.

Nursing Care Functions

• Provide direct nursing care as necessary, allowing clinical staff opportunities to experience education and team involvement.
• Participate as part of the clinical leadership on-call rotation, carrying a cell phone and covering shifts if a scheduled staff member cannot report to duty and a replacement cannot be identified.
• Perform basic resident care, including passing medications.

Resident Care

• Provide resident-directed services that honor individual lifestyles and preferences as outlined in their plan of care.
• Monitor staff approaches, care, and services to ensure residents have opportunities to direct their own care and services, balancing clinical and psychosocial needs.
• Support staff in creating an environment where residents have ongoing opportunities to participate in individualized and purposeful activities.
• Ensure confidentiality of all resident care information.
• Ensure all nursing and personal care is provided in privacy.
• Ensure all nursing service personnel are knowledgeable of residents' rights and responsibilities.
• Ensure each resident’s care is resident-directed and enables them to reach the highest practical level of functioning, in accordance with their plan of care.

Infection Control

• Develop, implement, and maintain the infection control program for monitoring communicable and/or infectious diseases among residents and personnel.
• Develop a tracking system for completion of in-servicing and TB testing, as required by federal and state regulations.
• Ensure nursing personnel follow established infection control procedures at all times.
• Evaluate and classify routine and job-related functions for the nursing department to ensure tasks involving potential exposure to blood/body fluids are properly identified and recorded.
• Review culture results on residents to assure appropriate treatment.
• Assure that appropriate personal protective equipment is accessible to personnel performing tasks involving exposure to blood/body fluids.
• In collaboration with the DON, develop and implement safety standards for the nursing services department.
• Monitor nursing service personnel to ensure they follow established safety regulations in the use of equipment and supplies.
• Ensure nursing service work areas are maintained in a clean and sanitary manner.
• Ensure all resident care rooms, treatment areas, etc., are maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary manner.
• Ensure all nursing service personnel follow established departmental policies and procedures regarding safety and sanitation, including appropriate dress code.
• Ensure nursing service personnel participate in and conduct all fire safety and disaster preparedness drills in a safe and professional manner.
• Ensure interdepartmental staff understands policies and procedures of safety and sanitation.
• Participate in the development, implementation, and maintenance of procedures for reporting hazardous conditions or equipment.
• Monitor Infection Control Logs.

Quality Improvement

• Assist in the development and delivery of educational programs revolving around all components of Quality Assurance, including orientation for new employees and programs addressing the Quality Assurance process and Regulatory guidelines.
• Attend the Quality Assessment and Assurance Committee monthly to report on data collection results from monthly audits and selected plans of correction.
• Serve on, participate in, and attend various facility committees such as Infection Control, Quality Assurance and Assessment, etc., providing written/oral reports as directed.
• Evaluate and implement recommendations from established committees as they pertain to nursing services.
• Report QA Audit results to the DON and work with them to develop and implement corrective action plans to address department deficiencies.
• Integrate the MDS process with quality indicators.
• Make written and oral reports/recommendations to the Administrator concerning the operation of the Quality Assessment and Assurance program.
• Evaluate service provision to assure quality standards, emergency preparedness policies, related audits, evaluations, and employee health.
• Ensure all nursing personnel perform their duties according to acceptable nursing standards.
• Conduct quality assurance projects as they relate to survey readiness.
• Advise the facility administrator, DON, and/or Department Heads regarding potential resident care or life problems.
• Assist in the reeducation of staff when developing corrective action plans from completed audits or chart reviews; ensure documentation of remediation and report to the Department Head.

Resources

• Maintain a reference library with necessary resources for compliance with current standards and regulations to assist in maintaining quality resident care and staff development.
• Recommend to the Director of Nursing the equipment and supply needs of the department and ensure all staff has received proper training.
• Assist in developing a preventive maintenance program for maintaining the department’s equipment and supplies in a safe and operable manner.

Skills and Qualifications

• Ability to perform nursing care per current community standard for long-term care.
• Demonstrates ability to lead and mentor staff.
• Act as a resource person for all departments.