Director, Nursing Professional Practice

The Director of Professional Practice contributes to the achievement of the hospital's mission through the development and leadership of performance improvement activities related to Magnet designation status. Reporting directly to the CNO, the Director of Professional Practice will serve as a member of the Nursing Leadership Team and will provide strategic direction and leadership to engage nurses in promoting excellence in patient care, advancing clinical knowledge, and supporting nursing research and an evidence-based practice environment. The Director assures continual compliance with regulations and accreditation standards through monitoring activities, design and implementation of strategies to enhance Shared Governance. The Director will work with the Nursing Practice Councils and Unit-based Councils to enhance the shared governance infrastructure and ensure strong channels of communication across all sites. The Program Director assumes system wide responsibility for coordinating all aspects of the ANCC Magnet application and designation process, creating a Magnet readiness timeline, and facilitates attainment nursing quality initiatives. The Director will also be responsible for NDNQI data entry, dissemination and analysis to identify and address adverse trends on nursing sensitive indicators (NDNQI).

Director of Professional Practice:

The scope of responsibility and accountability for the director continuously evolves to meet the demands of the practice setting. The following responsibilities may also vary based on the identified needs of Patient care Services.

Communication

1. Support organization's efforts to maintain compliance with regulations, accreditation and designation standards and monitors compliance through formal and informal process.

2. Recognizes opportunities for enhancing compliance of Magnet standards.

3. Leads efforts to ensure clear and accurate interpretation of Magnet Standards.

4. Assist all levels of nursing in motivating and involving colleagues in the Magnet Process.

5. Maintains open communication and accurate correspondence with the ANCC Magnet Liaison.

6. Confirms and communicates changes and revisions in the ANCC Magnet policies and procedures to the nursing department and other departments as required.

7. Stays current of ANCC Magnet Program Activities and communicating them through appropriate channels.

8. Develops partnerships and mentoring relationships with other organizations about the Magnet Process.

9. Regularly updates nursing senior management team on Magnet Process.

10. Performs other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

Education/Staff Development

1. Develops Magnet related educational materials and presentations for all Stamford Hospital.

2. Mentors nurses and nursing leadership to support their role as educators & facilitators in the shared governance process.

3. Provides ongoing education and acts as a resource about the Magnet Standards and the principles of a professional practice environment to support the Nursing Department's Strategic Plan.

4. Develops, maintains, & expands a core group of Magnet Nurse Champions in collaboration with the Nursing leadership team.

5. Collaborates with Professional Development on Magnet related education and professional development.

Quality & Data Management

1. Contributes to the establishment of performance improvement priorities for the nursing departments.

2. Contributes to activities aimed at improving the hospital's performance in operations or clinical quality.

3. Responsible for NDNQI data entry and dissemination

4. Analyzes data to identify adverse trends and/or undesirable performance of nursing sensitive Indicators.

5. Identifies opportunities for improved performance of nursing sensitive indicators.

6. Evaluates effectiveness of improvement strategy through sustained monitoring of nursing sensitive indicator.

7. Completes, disseminates, and files annual Magnet Interim Report

8. Responsible for NDNQI nursing satisfaction survey to be administered every two years.

9. Collaborates with all Shared Governance Councils to develop & track annual goals

10. Ensures ongoing compliance with Magnet standards

Magnet Designation Process

1. Responsible for oversight of Shared Governance committees

2. Plans and coordinates retreats, meetings and activities for the Magnet Advisory Committee.

3. Ensures timely compliance with procedures for submission of all materials and application as required for Magnet designation.

4. Established timeframes for Magnet deadlines.

5. Coordinates efforts to identify appropriate evidence for each standard/indicator.

6. Collects, coordinates, and categorizes all Magnet evidence.

7. Coordinates preparation, editing, duplication, and publication of the Magnet designation.

8. Arranges Site Visit and travel arrangements for ANCC representative.

9. Oversees system wide education and preparation for the site visit.

Budget Management

1. Establishes Magnet budget with CNO and Director of Regulatory Affairs.

2. Monitors Magnet and related direct and indirect budget expenditures.

Core Competencies:

The AONE core nursing leadership competencies listed below are to be considered as integral and core components of the director role and are useful in validating knowledge and evaluating competency,

Communication & Relationship Building

• Effective Communication (Leadership Competency)

1. Produce cogent & persuasive written materials to address nursing, health care & organizational issues appropriate to the audience.

2. Resolve & Manage conflict (Behavioral Indicators)

• Relationship Management

1. Build trusting, collaborative relationships

2. Follow through on problems and concerns

3. Accomplish objectives through persuasion, celebrate successes and accomplishments & communicate a shared vision

4. Collaborates with clinical and nonclinical administrative leadership to develop strategic & operational plans for assigned clinical service lines/departments

• Shared Governance

1. Support shared governance by providing an environment conducive to opinion sharing.

2. Engage the staff and others in decision making

Knowledge of the Health Care Environment

• Clinical Practice Knowledge

1. Maintain knowledge of current nursing practice & the roles & functions of patient care team members

2. Ensure that written organization clinical policies & procedures are reviewed & updated in accordance with evidence based practice.

• Evidence based Practice

1. Utilize research findings for the establishments of standards, practices, and patient care models of the organization

2. Facilitate & or Participate in studies that provide outcome measures

• Quality & Safety

1. Design safe clinical systems, processes, policies,& procedures

2. Articulate & take action to support the JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals

3. Articulate the Organization and Nursing department/s QI program and goals

4. Identify, develop, monitor patient care quality improvement goals & objectives

• Regulatory & Risk Management

1. Articulate federal & state laws and regulations that impact the provision of patient care

2. Articulate patient care standards as published by the Joint Commission, CMS, and professional Nursing literature

3. Understand, articulate and ensure compliance with the State Nurse Practice Act, State Board of Nursing regulations, regulatory agency standards and the policies of the Organization

4. Monitor clinical activities to identify both expected and unexpected risks

Leadership

• Professional Development

1. Recognize one's own method of decision making and the role of beliefs, values and inferences

2. Seek mentorship

3. Assess ones's personal, professional and career goals and undertake career planning

4. Seek out new knowledge and ideas

5. Value and act on feedback that is provided about one's own strengths and weaknessess

6. Membership & Participation in Professional organizations

• Succession Planning

1. Conduct periodic organizational assessments to identify succession planning issues and establish action plans

2. Serve as a role model & mentor to future nursing leaders

• Culture & Values

1. Hold self and others accountable for actions and outcomes

2. Integrate high ethics standards and core values into every day work activity

3. Role model that patient centered care is the core of the organization's work

Business Skills

• Financial Management

1. Analyze financial statements

2. Develop, implement, and monitor operational and capital budgets

3. Develop business plans

• Operations Management

1. Develop, monitor and evaluate nursing budgets

2. Maintain current knowledge of patient care delivery systems and innovations

• Human Resource Management

1. Interpret and evaluate employee/nursing engagement/quality work surveys

2. Manage performance through reward and recognition, counseling, and disciplinary action

3. Develop and implement recruitment and retention strategies

• Strategic Management

1. Analyze the situation and identify strategic direction

2. Participate in and monitoring of the Organizational and Nursing Strategic plan

3. Conduct SWOT and GAP analyses as needed

4. Formulate objectives, goals, and specific strategies related to mission and vision

Education Requirements

• BSN and MSN or related healthcare field required; Doctorate preferred
• Current Connecticut Nursing License in good standing is required.
• Professional nursing specialty certification within 2 years of hire preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years clinical and/or nursing leadership experience
• Excellent interpersonal skills and dynamic personality.
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally
• Effective problems solving and conflict resolution skills with the ability to prioritize, multitask, and work with deadlines.
• Excellent writing skills with prior experience designing training programs, developing training materials and facilitating presentations to large audiences and varying levels of an organization is preferred.
• Ability to work with individuals at all organization levels, particularly peers, team members, other departments, patients and the community
• Critical thinking and analytical skills are required.
• Knowledge of NDNQI, Patient Satisfaction/HCAHPS
• Excellent computer skills -Microsoft Office, Power Point, Excel