RN or LPN Unit Manager (Skilled Nursing Facility)

MUST BE REGISTERED NURSE (RN) OR LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE (LPN)

The Unit Manager is responsible for creating and sustaining a healthy work environment for assigned nursing and unit-based personnel which fosters excellent professional nursing practice, shared decision-making, interprofessional teamwork and collaboration, and a safe and caring environment for patients, family and staff. The manager plans, develops, implements, evaluates and monitors policies and procedures, budgets and the allocation of resources, continuous quality and performance improvement initiatives, educational programs and shared governance councils to achieve departmental and organizational goals and objectives. Provides nursing care as needed.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE ROLE

Professional Practice Environment: Develops and articulates a vision for nursing practice for area of responsibility. Engages supervisors and staff in the development and implementation of departmental goals and objectives. Creates, fosters and sustains a healthy work environment through shared governance structures and processes which supports evidence-based nursing practice and research. Facilitates the professional development of staff including clinical and leadership expertise, through role modeling, teaching and coaching/mentoring. Ensures that staff members maintain competency based on standards of practice for patient population served. Ensures that staff are well-informed by communicating to staff in a timely manner new/revised protocols, policies and procedures, guidelines and standards.

Quality, Evidence-based Practice and Research: Maintains current knowledge in evidence-based clinical and leadership practices, nursing research findings, patient care delivery models and work redesign to proactively identify, plan, implement, evaluate and monitor quality/performance improvement initiatives to advance practice and improve patient care. Systematically analyzes and evaluates the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice based on a variety of indicators including, but not limited to, State and national regulatory bodies and related national benchmarks. Facilitates practice changes through use of evidence-based practices and research findings by nursing leaders and staff. Identifies, proposes and conducts clinical research.

Caring Practices/Service Excellence: Creates and sustains a compassionate, supportive, safe and therapeutic environment for patients, families and staff. Analyzes patterns and trends from departmental patient care conferences, interprofessional rounds and outcome data, and implements changes to ensure best caring practices and outcomes for patients, families and staff. Champions service excellence initiatives and ensures consistent implementation by staff. Fosters an environment that is supportive of staff's professional and personal growth. Responsible for development and implementation of the department's succession plan.

Response to Diversity: Identifies issues arising from individual differences and develops awareness of these issues in nursing staff, medical staff and other health care providers. Role models, teaches and provides age-specific and developmentally-appropriate patient care in accordance with established guidelines and scope of duty or practice. Identifies and resolves conflicts that affect performance and/or the work environment.

Advocacy and Moral Agency: Advocates on behalf of the nursing staff to represent the concerns of patients, families and staff. Fosters an ethical practice environment for professional practice and patient care based on optimum communication, teamwork and coordination of care. Identifies and helps resolve ethical and clinical concerns. Promotes health care at local, state and national levels.

Facilitation of Learning: Monitors the learning needs of staff and patients/families and assists in the design, implementation and evaluation of appropriate, cost-effective educational opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills. Facilitates the learning for patients and families, nursing staff, other members of the health care team and community.

Collaboration: Role models, teaches and mentors professional leadership and accountability for nursing's role within the interprofessional health care team. Leads and participates in departmental, hospital and system-wide programs, committees and special projects to achieve target outcomes. Collaborates with medical, allied health and administrative staff to ensure provision of safe, quality, compassionate health care.

Systems Thinking: Integrates knowledge of organizational mission, goals, and systems into staff and patient strategies Analyzes and prioritizes competing demands, taking effective action to redesign systems to best meet the needs of patient population and staff.

Professionalism: Improves nursing practice and the work environment through participation in shared governance and the decision-making processes, and meaningfully recognizing the contributions of others. Identifies personal goals and seeks opportunities to pursue life-long learning through continuing education, networking with professional colleagues, membership and involvement in professional nursing organizations, self-study, professional reading, certification and seeking advance degrees. Contributes to the professional development of peers, colleagues and others.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Knowledge and understanding of nursing and patient care standards and procedures.

Knowledge of laws, rules and regulations; standards and guidelines of certifying and accrediting bodies; hospital and department/unit standards, protocols, policies and procedures governing the provision of nursing care applicable to the area of assignment.

Knowledge of medical terminology; principles and practices of health promotion, risk reduction, illness and disease prevention and management; medications and drugs, common dosages, their physical and physiological effects, and possible adverse reactions.

Knowledge of medical and professional nursing ethics and patient privacy rights.

Must be able to communicate thoughts clearly; both verbally and in writing.

Ability to provide age-specific, quality, patient-centered care to all patients through the nursing process and standards of nursing practice with sensitivity and respect for the diversity of human experience and to develop, evaluate, implement and, as necessary, modify a patient care plan to meet the needs of individual patients.

Ability to make operational decisions around how work gets done - quality and productivity standards, measurable goals for employees and project teams, etc.

Ability to use broader objectives to determine how best to use resources to meet schedules and goals.

Ability to make or approve effective hiring and termination decisions.

Ability to evaluate and recommend changes to policies, and establish procedures that affect the managed organization.

General computer skills, including but not limited to: Microsoft Office, information security, scheduling and payroll systems, electronic medical documentation, and email.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER