Unit Director, Cardiovascular/Thoracic/Transplant

Job Summary:

Designs and oversees nursing and administrative operations in large and / or multiple patient care areas. Accountable for the overall administrative planning and coordination of the staffing, fiscal and material resources. Assists with the development and implementation of new programs and policies. Direct reports are typically supervisors and managers.

Department Overview:

The Cardiovascular / Thoracic / Transplant Unit, is a 45 –bed inpatient unit. It is primarily a telemetry / step-down unit that also provides continuous pulse oximetry.  The unit serves the cardiology, cardiothoracic and vascular patient population. Patients admitted to this unit are usually admitted under the Cardiology, Vascular Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery (including the Heart & Lung Transplant) and Thoracic Surgery Services.

A wide range of medical disorders are represented including congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension (raised blood pressure in blood vessels supplying the lungs), myocardial infarction (type of heart attack) and arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythm).

The staff on this unit provide an individualized approach to patient care, emphasizing patient and family education regarding lifestyle changes, diet modifications, and medications.

This is a fast-paced unit involving multiple diagnostic tests & procedures, in addition to a moderately high number of discharges and admissions per day. Because of this, teamwork is crucial to daily operations, and is greatly promoted amongst the staff and other members of the health care team. Among the nurses and physicians, other members of the patient care team include professionals in the areas of social work, pharmacy, dietary, physical therapy (PT), respiratory therapy (RT), speech therapy, occupational therapy, and pastoral care.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree in Nursing required
• Registered Nurse in the State of California
• BLS by American Heart Association
• Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certification 
• Current assistant nurse manager or above in an adult nursing inpatient area with at least a minimum of three (3) years progressive inpatient nursing leadership experience
• Progressive leadership experience must be in a Transitional Care/Stepdown or Critical Care unit in an academic medical center or highly matrixed organization
• Strong hospital management experience, with progressive and in-depth expertise in patient care services
• Knowledge of hospital / clinic operations in a hospital or medical center setting; knowledge of appropriate professional standards for the department and team
• Strong knowledge of relevant healthcare information technology and patient care workflows and processes in complex cardiac care, for example open heart surgery, heart/lung transplant
• Strong knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements, as well as related legislative, accreditation, licensing and compliance environments 
• Excellent communications and interpersonal skills to foster and promote an environment for effective communication and collaborative decision making across multiple units and disciplines
• Excellent leadership, fiscal and operations management skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with physicians, management and staff from all disciplines
• Ability to create and maintain a goal-oriented climate of teamwork, collaboration and consistent achievement of objectives

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Nursing or relevant area preferred 
• ANCC RN specialty certification in Nurse Executive or Nurse Executive-Advanced