Knoxville Hospital and Clinics strive to be your healthcare destination, building on compassion and innovation. We are committed to faithfully providing exceptional healthcare. The values we hold true are Teamwork, Innovation, Compassion, Integrity, Service, and People-Centered.
This is a Full-Time Days position working 40 hours per week.
Position Summary
The Medical / Surgical Director, in accordance with hospital standards and policies, oversees the provision of nursing care and implementation and carrying out of philosophy and objectives or nursing within his/her units. The director is responsible for the operation of these units on a 24 hour a day/365 days per year basis. This position is a working leader and may require direct patient care as needed. He/She enforces department policies and procedures, infection control practices, quality assurance, risk management, and staff development. The Medical / Surgical director will perform as the House Supervisor on an as needed basis when necessary.
Essential Functions
Lists major actions performed in the job. Regular and predictable attendance is a required function of this position
- Supervises, directs, and coordinates the nursing and related activities of his/her units. This includes 24-hour accountability for the units.
- Monitors compliance with standards of care by observations, verbal reports, and written documentation; regularly communicates results to appropriate staff members; develops a plan to increase compliance and implements actions to correct deficiencies.
- Is responsible for all clinical policies and procedures specific to his/her units; reviews and updates in a timely manner; assigns to staff members.
- Actively participates in the quality, risk management and utilization review program; reports quality results to staff. Actively participates in the quality improvement and patient experience program; attends quality, safety, medication variance and other meetings as scheduled.
- Keeps up to date on and correctly interprets hospital, personnel, and nursing policies and procedures to patients, visitors, and nursing service personnel. Is supportive of hospital policies and procedures and of the administrative staff.
- Participates in and adheres to the financial plan of operation for the hospital; contributes to operating and capital budgets with recommendations of his/her units; monitors overtime and keeps it to a minimum; reviews monthly budgets. Accountable for meeting budget targets. Enforces low census staffing guidelines and incentive pay use.
- Attends committee meetings as invited and communicates problems/solutions up and down hierarchical structure.
- Constructively critiques work performed by professional and non-professional personnel. Does not criticize staff in front of others, keeps anecdotal notes on nursing personnel job performance and counsels personnel appropriately and in a timely manner; uses disciplinary action appropriately.
- Provides annual performance evaluations for all employees as well as quarterly in person check in meetings throughout the year to provide feedback, open communication
- Holds department staff meetings on regular basis. Daily huddles with department team to address key metric performance, safety, patient experience and staff needs
- Required to complete all annual competency training.
- Maintains department staff schedule, completes weekly employee timecards
House Supervisor Duties to be done by director in their absence
- Coordination of staffing for current and on-coming shifts by reallocating or calling in additional staff. Determines staffing for the entire hospital focusing on Emergency Department and Medical Surgical Floor but also assists with staffing for other departments as need arises.
- Maintains accurate records of staffing and bed counts, including census report, daily staffing sheets and Nurse Grid.
- Receives and documents all call-ins and reports this to appropriate department manager.
- Makes rounds to all departments assuring support for patient care. Identifies and utilizes available resources within nursing, delegating as necessary.
- Collaborates with nurse in Emergency Department, Surgery and Clinics for admissions and bed placements
- Reviews all transfers forms for completion and compliance with EMTALA regulations, cosigns forms. Coordinates transfers based on patient acuity and available EMS.
- Assists with tele-psychiatry consults and transfers.
- Assists with tele-hospitalist services.
- Assists with patient care in all departments, including ER. Responds effectively and appropriately in emergent or critical situations including MET calls and codes.
- Leads daily house wide huddle to increase communication throughout hospital and participates in inpatient unit discharge huddles each day.
- Reviews all patient falls during shift, and responsible for the completion of the post-fall huddles with staff and documentation of the huddle.
- Medication retrieval from Pyxis units or pharmacy after department hours, includes mixing of intravenous medications for immediate use. Notification of on call pharmacist with need of high-risk medications.
- After department hours, handles immediate needs for supplies from Nutritional Services, Surgery and/or Materials Management for patient care.
- Notifies appropriate on-call staff of various departments, including maintenance, housekeeping and information technology, of pertinent needs after hours.
- Notifies appropriate entities if facility on diversion for any reason
- Coordinates resources and equipment utilized by multiple departments
- Assures that KHC policies and procedures are followed. Acts as a role model/mentor and provides staff education as appropriate.
- Maintains clinical competencies for all clinical areas. Applies the nursing process and performs clinical skills for the direct delivery of quality patient care.
- Participates in process improvement activities to promote quality patient care.
- Communicates to department leaders about unusual patient or staff occurrences, changes in staffing requirements, commendable performance and/or disciplinary issues with staff. Contacts administration for risk management issues, physician issues, and/or legal issues.
- Practices excellent service recovery. Resolves with tact and diplomacy.
- Actively promotes excellence in customer service by creating a positive work environment by demonstrating a cooperative team approach and attitude.
- Builds trusting, collaborative relationships with staff, physicians, and ancillary staff. Acknowledges the efforts of the staff, provides positive reinforcement.
- Participates in charts audits as designated.
- Provides input to the department leaders and administration into:
- Equipment purchases, product demonstrations
- Reviewing, revising, and/or developing policies and procedures
- Evaluation and performance of staff
- Computer competency; training and superuser
- Other issues as identified by hospital leadership
- Protects patients and employees by developing and interpreting infection-control policies and protocols; enforcing medication administration, storage procedures, and controlled substance regulations.
- Maintains a cooperative relationship among health care teams by communicating information; responding to requests; building rapport; participating in team problem-solving methods.
- Directs and administers nursing care to patients; includes assessment, planning, implementing and evaluating the patient’s care plan in coordination with the physician and/or physician’s assistant.
- Maintains an awareness of the workload of coworkers and offers assistance as appropriate.
- Performs under stress when confronted with emergency, critical, unusual or dangerous situations, or situations in which working speed and sustained attention are make-or-break aspects of the job.
- Will be responsible for having huddle with staff once a shift, more if needed.
- Rounds on all departments every few hours each shift including but not limited to Emergency Department, Medical Surgical Floor, Infusion Center, Surgery, Specialty Clinics, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Family Clinic to offer assistance to staff.
- Supervises, directs and coordinates the nursing and related activities of the hospital. This includes functioning as the Nurse leader when the Nurse leader is not available in all departments of the hospitals with a focus on Emergency Department and Medical Surgical Floor.
- Monitors compliance with standards of care by observations, verbal reports and written documentation and communicates results to appropriate staff members; develops plan to increase compliance and implements actions to correct deficiencies during his/her shift and reports all to the CNO and/or Nurse leader
- Makes rounds to receive report from unit nurses. Visits patients, paying special attention to critically ill, post-op, labor and those scheduled for diagnostic tests, being sure patient needs are being met.
- Specifically assigns work to team members (RN/C.N.A/LPN and Patient Care Techs / Clerks). This may be patient care, writing a care plan, doing and documenting patient teaching, cleaning an area, preparing paperwork of anything else necessary for the functioning of the nursing unit.
- Participates in and adheres to the financial plan of operation for the hospital; contributes to operating and capital budgets with recommendations for nursing service personnel. Is supportive of hospital policies and procedures for nursing and of the administrative staff and monitors overtime and keeps it to a minimum.
- Continually evaluates the quality of care being provided for patients, recommends modifications and improvements as appropriate and enforces the same.
- Serves as clinical coordinator for the entire hospital on off shifts, weekends, and holidays when the Nurse leaders aren’t on duty. Replaces nursing personnel to make certain all areas are adequately staffed for all shifts. Checks the schedule daily for the next shift and utilizes low census when appropriate.
- Accurately obtains medications from Pharmacy in the absence of Pharmacy personnel.
Job Requirements
List the minimum education and experience, certifications, licenses, and skill sets needed to perform the job.
- Valid Iowa Nursing License
- 5 years of RN experience with at least 2 years management experience preferred.
- Demonstrates strong organizational and managerial characteristics; possess good communication skills
- BSN required
- Current BLS required, ACLS required within 1 year.
- Mandatory reporter for adult and child abuse required
- Required to complete all annual competency training and maintain license and/or certification.
This is a Full-time position and is eligible for benefits for medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, retirement plan with company match of up to 6%, accrued hours for vacation and sick time, paid holidays, and company benefits for employee life, employee AD&D, short term and long-term disability.
