Collaboration/Communication

Serve as liaison between nursing, patient care team, medical staff, and healthcare leadership. Engage and collaborate with interdisciplinary health care team members to identify opportunities for improvement, program development and capital budgeting. Communicate with external agencies and constituencies to address issues and answer questions. Serve as liaison among multiple clinical functions to support collaboration in identifying opportunities for improvement and program development.

• Develop effective working relationships among leadership from nursing, other departments, providers, and hospital administration.
• Develop effective working relationships with medical and advanced practice provider leadership as appropriate to areas of responsibility.
• Receive and disseminate information about strategic initiatives, process improvements, best practices, and innovation within and between the Department of Nursing and UI Health Care and serve as a key l liaison to the UI College of Nursing and other nursing and community partners.

 

Patient Care/Services Delivery

Work across multiple nursing functions to implement best care practices and new models of service. Address implementation issues across nursing functions and with other departments. Incorporate the principles of service leadership to ensure positive patient/customer relations.

• Identify and address opportunities for improvement related to patient care.
• Seek and evaluate best practices, benchmark with like institutions to continuously improve patient care outcomes.
• Improve communication and collaboration across disciplines by developing working relationships.
• Lead nursing informatics, nursing education, nursing quality, nursing research and evidence-based practice (EBP), Magnet, department nursing practice leaders, and Emergency Medical Services Learning Resource Center (EMSLRC) staff to enhance the support and optimization provided by these teams to the department and organization.

 

Human Resources Management

Work across multiple nursing functions and with hospital leaders to create a consistent approach to HR management in areas of responsibility. Hold area leaders accountable for high performance and high engagement by articulating expectations, monitoring performance and providing feedback consistently across areas of responsibility. Approve resource allocations and staffing models. Develop and retain qualified area leadership staff and build an effective leadership team. Creates and maintains a work environment that ensures optimal engagement of the workforce.

• Provide leadership and supervision of daily operations of staff in areas of responsibility providing service throughout the organization.
• Develop and retain qualified area leadership staff. For direct reports, assure performance expectations are clearly understood.
• Hold staff in areas of responsibility accountable to meet or exceed patient needs/expectations as well as maintain standards of collaboration and respect within and among multi-disciplinary teams.
• Build an effective divisional/cross divisional leadership team. Prepare leadership staff in areas of responsibility to lead/participate/serve as effective members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrate commitment to people; coach/mentor staff to participate in team decision-making.
• Actively seek participation from staff on decision-making and customer service improvement activities.
• Adhere to all UI Health Care guidelines and respective collective bargaining agreements.
• Participate in collection, analysis, reporting and strategizing of human resource related metrics for the Department of Nursing Services and Patient Care.
• Partner with Health Care Human Resources to support and enhance comprehensive HR support to the department.
• Lead the assessment, evaluation, dissemination, and action planning surrounding staff engagement for areas of responsibility.

 

Operations, Standards of Care, Regulatory Compliance, Quality and Patient Satisfaction

Work across multiple functions to develop, monitor and enhance quality and service indicators and business processes. Oversee performance for Magnet® related metrics: staff engagement, patient satisfaction and nurse sensitive/quality indicators. Assure that clinical services, educational programs, and research activities comply with all applicable internal and external requirements, including The Joint Commission and other accrediting bodies.

• Participate in daily safety brief and assist as needed with identified issues.
• Lead or partner with other departments on organizational or Magnet®-related initiatives to optimize quality and nurse-sensitive outcomes, patient satisfaction, and staff engagement.
• Monitor outcome metrics: quality, safety, and satisfaction across nursing units.
• Support nursing and multidisciplinary leadership to design efficient/effective and safe systems and processes to ensure patient safety and optimize patient outcomes.
• Ensure and support compliance with regulatory standards are met and understood by staff.
• Ensure standard of care delivery and competency of staff across units and services (macro level).

 

Financial Management/Business Analytics

Develop strategy for budget priorities for areas of responsibility and negotiate to address resource issues. Hold area leaders accountable for managing respective budgets. Work with leaders within and external to areas of responsibility to innovatively address and resolve budget issues.

• Assume responsibility for development, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of budget for areas of responsibility.
• Utilize and analyze metrics to drive value to assure cost effective allocations of resources.
• Benchmark with academic medical centers to determine best practices related to, quality metrics, staff and patient satisfaction, and other indicators, including Magnet® required metrics, as needed.
• Optimize skill mix, scope of practice and operational efficiency.
• Participate in annual budget preparation, continuous monitoring of divisional budget and justification of variances as needed.

 

Planning and Goal Management

Develop departmental strategic plan and integrate it with other functions; guide leadership in areas of responsibility in developing action plans for implementation; monitor progress to goal completion. Assure integration of goals across functions.

• Prioritize and manage strategic goals. Achieve alignment amongst areas of responsibility of goals around strategic intent/aim.

• Achieve quality improvement in relation to assigned/delegated pillars of the organizational and Department of Nursing’s strategic plan.
• Oversee daily administrative operations of areas of responsibility.
• Identify hospital operations strengths and weaknesses and act on opportunities for improvement for quality/ nurse-sensitive indicators, staff engagement, patient engagement, and overall operational efficiency.
• Sustain Magnet designation and other mission-critical accreditations relevant to areas of responsibility.

 

Education Programs

Develop and administer nursing education/onboarding and nursing professional development programs. Oversee nursing research and evidence-based practice opportunities for staff and students. Maintain a climate of learning that promotes collaborative experiences for nursing students within and outside the University of Iowa. Participate in and present educational programs to staff and external academic partners. Ensure critical designations and accreditations are achieved and sustained.

• Maintain a climate of learning that promotes collaborative learning and research for nursing students from the University of Iowa and other collegiate programs.

• Provide staff with tools to learn and apply skills related to change management/work redesign.
• Provide structure and process to implement research and EBP that benefit patients across the health care system.
• Support initial and ongoing nursing staff education including but not limited to competency assurance and professional development/mentorship.

• Provide oversite to the Magnet Program staff to ensure continual Magnet Recognition Program® designation for UI Health Care.
• Provide oversite to Nursing Education staff to ensure continual accreditation for the Nurse Residency Program and the Experienced Nurse Fellowship Program.

• Provide oversite to the EMSLRC to ensure continual accreditation for Emergency Medical Technician and Paramedic training programs with the state of Iowa and relevant accrediting bodies.

 

Research Administrator

Collaborate with other leaders to identify nursing research and EBP opportunities. Ensure access to nursing research and healthcare information. Benchmark best practices with comparable settings.

• Support and promote Nursing research and EBP and their staff’s availability to the Department of Nursing and organization’s staff, benchmark best practices with comparable settings.
• Ensure development and implementation of a comprehensive nursing research program, promoting research activities that support program, departmental and organizational objectives.
• Ensure/provide resources for development of nursing research grant proposals, and the acquisition and administration of grant funds.

 

Positive Impact / Achieving Results

Ability to utilize existing resources and learning to achieve or exceed desired outcomes of current and future organizational goals/needs.  Able to demonstrate ethical behavior in diverse situations while producing results.

• Takes personal responsibility for the success of the group, unit, department, or organization.
• Promotes organizational values in ethical and responsible decision making.
• Works to create a climate that values and rewards initiative, excellence, continual learning, and achievement of results.
• Deals effectively with ambiguity and change; coaches/mentors others in behaviors and prepares others through development for ongoing effectiveness.
• Leads efforts to support and maintain Magnet and other essential designations and accreditations within areas of responsibility.

 

Service Excellence/Customer Focus

Ability to meet or exceed customer service needs and expectations and provide excellent service in a direct or indirect manner.  Ability to effectively transmit and interpret information through appropriate communication with internal and external customers.

• Effectively uses a broad range of methods in communicating complex ideas to diverse populations.
• Monitors profession/field/discipline for trends and implements innovative solutions to enhance service.
• Builds successful track record of superior personal and organizational service delivery in diverse environments.
• Promotes excellence achieved through reports or other media for distribution to internal and/or external constituents and the professional community.
• Role models service excellence key behaviors.

 

 Collaboration and Embracing Diversity

Ability to work with a variety of individuals and groups in a constructive and civil manner while appreciating the unique contribution of individuals from varied cultures, race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

• Creates and champions initiatives that foster respectful communication, learning and a spirit of cooperation.
• Regularly shares information and effectively influences to gain common commitment in achieving objectives.
• Shapes unit/department, college/division, or university governance to reinforce collaboration, accountability, and responsibility.

• Promotes collaborative climate that recognizes, celebrates, and rewards diversity.

 

Budgeting

Knowledge of, and ability to apply, policies and practices for planning and administering a budget.

• Ensures budgeting practices for areas of responsibility meet regulatory requirements.
• Considers alternative budgeting strategies versus business situations.
• Champions importance of rigor in budget managing, reporting, and explaining.
• Monitors and ensures adherence to organization’s financial practices and standards.
• Reviews and approves all major budget adjustments; negotiates and reconciles line-item variances.
• Introduces technologies, policies, and programs for more effective budget management.

 

Department Operations Management

Knowledge of and ability to manage effective and smooth operations in a clinical service or department by utilizing various management principles and technique.

• Designs operational standards, in areas of responsibility.
• Uses techniques and management systems for operations in areas of responsibility.
• Establishes policies and guidelines for areas of responsibility.
• Advocates the mission, vision, and values of areas of responsibility throughout the organization.
• Develops areas of responsibility best practices to ensure an effective and smooth workflow.
• Predicts the future perspective and direction of areas of responsibility operations management.

• Consults on development and implementation of effective standards across areas of responsibility.

 

 Decision Making and Critical Thinking

Understanding of the issues related to the decision-making process; ability to analyze situations fully and accurately and reach productive decisions.

• Analyzes and discusses alternatives with multiple stakeholders.
• Identifies optimal timing and circumstances for either refraining from or making a decision.
• Coaches/mentors others in decision-making models, processes, and practices.
• Differentiates between content and context of a decision.
• Focuses on special issues and considerations for effective decision-making during a crisis.
• Monitors industry for examples/models of critical thinking or decision-making.

 

Healthcare Regulatory Environment

Ability to apply organization’s performance management system, practices, and tools to developing and improving individual, team, and organizational performance.

• Participates in developing and implementing enterprise-wide performance management systems.
• Identifies key issues in integrating selection, development, recognition, and reward systems.
• Coaches/mentors less experienced managers in the processes of performance management.
• Plays a leading role in designing individual and team reward and recognition systems.
• Champions a climate that supports and rewards excellent group and individual performance.

• Monitors industry for new approaches or ideas regarding performance management

 

Effective Communications

Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools, and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.

• Communicates effectively with diverse audiences, using appropriate media and language.
• Ensures important messages are clearly understood.
• Disseminates knowledge verbally or in written form to the professional community.
• Works to create a climate that values and rewards good oral and written communication.
• Coaches/mentors others on methods of improving their own communications.

• Monitors developments in communications tools for potential use by organization.