Nurse Manager Neuro Critical Care Unit

Northeast Georgia Health System is rooted in a foundation of improving the health of our communities.

About the Role

The Nurse Manager (NM) functions as the first-line administrative nurse leader with primary responsibility for overseeing daily patient care operations and budget with 24-hour accountability for care delivery of assigned unit(s). The Nurse Manager must be able to navigate proficiently within the electronic health record and other technological systems and apply a set of management principles to ensure smooth operations of the department. The Nurse Manager must be capable of independent judgement and decision-making in the areas of budget, personnel, patient services, physician relations, and administrative or professional programs. He/she must be able to clinically assist with patient care and function in the charge role if needed. The Nurse Manager coordinates, evaluates, and resolves problems and conflicts as they occur.

With support from Charge Nurses, educators, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and other nursing support personnel, the Nurse Manager directly supervises the clinical nursing and ancillary personnel assigned to his/her respective unit(s). He/she ensures and is accountable for the effective daily operation of the nursing unit on a 24/7 basis by monitoring all activities necessary to provide consistent high-quality patient care, including staffing, equipment, supplies, and services. The Nurse Manager adheres to the policies, procedures, and regulations that govern nursing practice and exercises sound, independent judgment in adapting and applying leadership and clinical principles.

The Nurse Manager relies on experience, judgment, and collaboration with other nurse leaders to plan and accomplish goals. He/she assists in the advancement of the professional practice environment by communicating the NGHS nursing strategic direction and focuses on activities that support the nursing strategic plan. The Nurse Manager ensures nursing involvement and support for the Professional Nursing Governance structure, including a vibrant Unit Practice Council.

The Nurse Manager develops and submits appropriate capital and operating budgets for approval and is accountable for the achievement of budget objectives within areas of responsibility. In conjunction with the Human Resources Department, the Nurse Manager determines human resource needs and develops or assists in the development of programs to maintain and improve the quality and efficiency of the assigned department. He/she recruits, hires, orients, and evaluates performance of all assigned personnel to assure the department is staffed with team members who reflect behaviors and performance consistent with the hospital's mission, vision, and values. The Nurse Manager has the authority to hire, terminate, and/or take other disciplinary action as deemed appropriate.

The Nurse Manager develops and administers a master staffing plan for assigned areas in conjunction with the approved budget. He/she identifies educational and training needs of departmental staff and plans for the implementation of training needs. Lastly, the Nurse Manager ensures nursing unit(s) is in a state of continued regulatory readiness by adhering to all appropriate legal and ethical requirements necessary to maintain hospital accreditation and corporate compliance.

Qualifications

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Licensed to practice as an RN in Georgia.
• Professional certification in either a clinical or leadership specialty within two years of hire.
• Bachelor's Degree, a degree in Nursing (either BSN or MSN).
• Three to five years as an RN, preferably in an acute care setting.
• At minimum one year direct supervision of healthcare delivery if in combination with leadership experience outside of nursing (i.e., second career).
• Professional organization membership within one month of hire into the role.

Preferred Job Qualifications

• Master's Degree (Nursing or other if possessing a BSN) within five years of hire.
• Two years nursing leadership experience.

Skills

• Proactive, engaged, visible leader recognized as having excellent follow-through on issues impacting care delivery.
• Computer literacy—advanced computer and data management skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively, with good written and oral communication skills.
• Customer service abilities including effective listening skills.
• Critical thinking skills, decisive judgment, and the ability to work with minimal supervision in a fast-paced clinical environment.
• Understanding of budgeting and basic statistical analysis.
• Specialty certifications.
• Ability to remain calm during stressful situations.
• Skill and ability to instruct, direct, and evaluate employees.
• Skill in providing professional “specialty” nursing care to patients.
• Skill in supervision (e.g., hire, train, assign and review work, motivate, prepare performance evaluations, and effectively handle disciplinary actions).
• Skill in adapting nursing care to the emotional needs and behavior of patients.
• Skill in tailoring communication and performance feedback to the individual employee.
• Skill in preparing written reports.
• Skill in communicating orally with a variety of people, answering questions, and explaining information and decisions. Never uses only written communication to communicate sensitive information.
• Skill in coordinating patient care services with other departments.
• Skill/competency in use of computer software programs/systems impacting unit performance/management (e.g., Kronos, Bidshift, Quadramed, Excel, MS Word, Lawson VIP, Accudose).
• Ability to monitor and evaluate nursing care provided to patients.
• Ability to identify, plan, and coordinate services within the department.
• Ability to provide consultation to staff, patients, and the public.
• Ability to direct the training of professional and nonprofessional personnel.
• Ability to understand and maintain financial records and to prepare staff and budget reports.
• Ability to work effectively with a variety of professional and paraprofessional staff.
• Ability to give oral and written instruction in exact detail.

Responsibilities

• Actively monitors the quality of care delivered on their unit(s), including performance improvement programming, clinical metrics, and any risk management activities related to clinical care and/or overall departmental operations.
• Responsible for creating a “Customer-Centric” customer service program. Actively rounds on the unit and works with the Charge Nurses to identify and address patient/family/physician concerns. Interfaces with patients and families to ensure care is consistent with their expectations and organization quality and customer service expectations.
• Assesses, coaches, and evaluates staff’s level of clinical practice. Ensures that nurses are current in competency, assessments, licensure, certifications, and other annual training. Actively works with leadership team to coach staff, recommends, and designs education and training to meet the clinical needs of the patients/staff served by the unit.
• Routinely interacts with physician customers. Supports nursing staff in maintaining effective and positive interactions with physicians. Coordinates communication between unit team members and attending physicians or clinical ancillary staff to ensure appropriateness of care and outcome planning for the patients on their unit(s).
• Coordinates activities by scheduling work assignments, setting priorities, and directing the work of subordinate employees. Participates actively in the planning and distribution of patient assignments.
• Maintains regular ongoing contact/communication with all levels of nursing staff. Works with the leadership team to identify employee strengths, development needs, skills, interpersonal and personal style, and relates those to the business needs and challenges faced by the team.
• Actively supports and promotes a professional practice model that encourages staff participation in the development of clinical standards that is collaborative, collegial, and utilizes best practice research.
• Oversees various personnel actions including, but not limited to, hiring, performance appraisals, disciplinary actions, terminations, and other related activities.
• Collaborates with the reporting leader to determine fiscal requirements of the assigned unit and prepares budgetary recommendations. Monitors the level of resource utilization, both labor and supplies, to ensure care is delivered in a fiscally responsible and efficient manner.
• Develops annual strategic goals and objectives in conjunction with the reporting leader to ensure resource efficiency, improve patient satisfaction, and deliver quality patient care.
• Reviews quality and performance reports to ensure accuracy of data. Actively researches variances and develops appropriate action plans when indicated to reach clinical and financial goals.
• Maintains required unit records, reports, and statistics for administrative purposes and ensures compliance with established hospital policies, procedures, objectives, quality controls, and regulatory standards and requirements.
• Knowledgeable of organizational policies with respect to work rules and discipline and is responsible for providing progressive discipline to employees when indicated.
• May provide direct patient care and is responsible for assessing, planning, and evaluating patients.
• Conducts daily unit rounds providing a daily opportunity to:
  • Obtain real-time feedback on the clinical services being provided.
  • Proactively address potential customer service issues.
  • Engage directly with physicians and staff.
  • Monitor staff performance/competency and provide feedback in a timely manner.
  • Assess effectiveness of the staffing plan/assignments.
  • Conduct/complete environment of care assessment.
• Successfully completes mentoring class. Assists with mentoring of Registered Nurses when other mentor resources have been assigned. May mentor more as desired.

Physical Demands

• Weight Lifted: Up to 50 lbs, Frequently 31-65% of time.
• Weight Carried: Up to 20 lbs, Occasionally 0-30% of time.
• Vision: Moderate, Frequently 31-65% of time.
• Kneeling/Stooping/Bending: Occasionally 0-30% of time.
• Standing/Walking: Frequently 31-65% of time.
• Pushing/Pulling: Occasionally 0-30% of time.
• Intensity of Work: Frequently 31-65% of time.
• Job Requires: Reading, Writing, Reasoning, Talking, Keyboarding, Driving.