Director of Nursing

CALDWELL MEDICAL CENTER JOB DESCRIPTION JOB TITLE:                            Director of Nursing           DEPARTMENT:                   Nursing  REPORTS TO:                      CEO SUPERVISES:                       Medical/Surgical and Emergency Departments   POSITION SUMMARY:    Responsible for establishing a culture of clinical excellence, zero-harm patient safety, and professional accountability.

Works in close partnership with the Medical Staff and Executive Leadership to elevate bedside clinical standards and drive continuous quality improvement across the Medical Surgical and Emergency Departments. The Director of Nursing will participate as a member of the hospital's Leadership team in planning, policy formulation, and administrative decision making with attention to the role, functions, and operations of the hospital's nursing services.

The position is responsible for patient care, management, resource management, and fiscal management. POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Initiates the development of policies and procedures that govern nursing services and other services under his or her supervision. Verifies employee credentials under his or her position supervision. Collaborates with other departments and agencies regarding resources and services for improved patient care and staff development.

Plans, develops, and implements a budget process for staffing and services rendered. Actively participates, and leads nursing services, in the hospital’s Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program. Designs, monitors, and analyzer key clinical quality indicators. Champions a culture of safety by establishing non-punitive event reporting mechanisms; assists with the conduction of Root Cause Analyses (RCA) and Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (FMEA) for all sentinel events, near-misses, and adverse clinical occurrences, ensuring immediate corrective action plans are executed.

Ensures continuous survey readiness and strict compliance with CMS Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoPs), State Department for Public Health regulations, and applicable accrediting bodies. Ensures, in coordination with the Education Coordinators, rigorous annual clinical competency assessments and skills fairs tailored to rural acute and emergency care (e.g., rapid triage, trauma stabilization, pediatric emergencies, critical drip titration, and pre-transfer stabilization).

Ensure effective implementation of objective clinical auditing tools (such as chart audits, bedside shift-report compliance, and direct-observation care rounds); conducts timely performance evaluations and executes progressive coaching or disciplinary actions when standards of practice or safety protocols are breached. Identifies clinical skill gaps across Med/Surg and ED nursing staff; designs and implements structured specialty training, onboarding pathways, preceptor programs, and continuing education initiatives to elevate nursing critical-thinking and scope of practice.

Partners closely with the Chief of Staff, Medical Director, and attending medical providers to establish, update, and standardize evidence-based clinical protocols, order sets, and transfer criteria. Participates actively in Medical Staff Committees as necessary, including but not limited to, Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T), and interdisciplinary clinical review meetings; serves as the nursing liaison to resolve operational, communication, or clinical practice issues