Director of Nursing

Campbell Street•Wellman, IA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The DON leads and manages the nursing department and is ultimately accountable to ensure the highest quality nursing care is received by residents. The DON interprets nursing policies and procedures in collaboration with the Director of Clinical Services to support the provision of nursing care and delegated medical care. All work is performed and guided by the Residents’ Bill of Rights and abides by the facility Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program. The major challenges of this position are the recruitment and retention of qualified licensed and non-licensed personnel.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited School of Nursing.
Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state where the community is located.
Current Certification in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and emergency care.
Strong knowledge of skilled nursing, long-term care, rehabilitation, post-acute care, assisted living, and resident-centered clinical practices.
Comprehensive understanding of federal, state, CMS, Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and regulatory compliance requirements, including survey preparedness and successful state survey management.
Proven ability to lead, inspire, mentor, coach, and retain high-performing nursing teams while creating a positive, collaborative, and engaged work environment.
Exceptional leadership, organizational, time management, and decision-making skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced healthcare environment.
Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with residents, families, physicians, healthcare providers, and interdisciplinary team members.
Demonstrated success in clinical quality improvement, infection prevention, risk management, resident safety initiatives, and achieving outstanding clinical outcomes.
Strong understanding of staffing, scheduling, workforce development, employee engagement, recruitment, retention, and performance management.
Ability to build trust, promote teamwork, and foster a culture of accountability, compassion, respect, and excellence in resident care.
Strong critical thinking, clinical judgment, problem-solving, and adaptability in complex healthcare situations.
Leadership skills that motivate, inspire, and empower staff while achieving organizational goals, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence.
Resilience with the ability to embrace constructive feedback, lead through change, remain solution-focused, and continuously improve processes.
High emotional intelligence (EQ) with the ability to actively listen, communicate with empathy, resolve conflict professionally, and develop meaningful relationships.
Commitment to delivering exceptional resident care, clinical excellence, customer service, and person-centered care.
Ability to effectively analyze clinical data, identify trends, implement action plans, and improve quality measures and key performance indicators.
Ability to clearly speak, read, write, and understand English while maintaining accurate clinical documentation and professional communication.

Nice To Haves

Three (3) or more years of progressive nursing leadership experience as a Director of Nursing (DON), Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON), Nurse Manager, Clinical Manager, or Nursing Supervisor in a skilled nursing facility (SNF), rehabilitation center, long-term care, post-acute care, memory care, or assisted living community.
Demonstrated success leading clinical teams, driving quality outcomes, improving resident satisfaction, maintaining regulatory compliance, and building a positive workplace culture.
Experience overseeing clinical operations, staffing, infection prevention, quality assurance/performance improvement (QAPI), survey readiness, admissions, care planning, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Experience with Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, reimbursement, budgeting, labor management, and healthcare operations preferred.
Experience mentoring, coaching, and developing nurses, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered nurses (RNs), certified nursing assistants (CNAs), and interdisciplinary healthcare professionals.

Responsibilities

Oversee hiring, terminating and development of nursing staff.
Monitors job performance and performance evaluations of nursing staff, completes performance evaluations of Assistant Director of Nursing Services, Restorative Care Coordinator, Care Plan Coordinator, Medical Records Clerk, Nurse Supervisors, all Nursing Direct Care Partners and recommends employee promotions and terminations to the Administrator.
Monitors ongoing staff development programs for all nursing personnel.
Monitors the staffing levels of various nursing sections; directs staff rotations and reschedules personnel to meet increased or decreased nursing service demands.
Develops nursing service objectives, policies and procedures and directs their implementation.
Continuously monitors Federal and State guidelines and requirements; revises departmental procedures accordingly.
Recommends in-service educational programs geared to the specialized needs of geriatric patients.
Functions as a liaison between the elders, their families, staff, and the public - responding to inquiries and providing information on nursing care and services and may screen prospective elders to assure that staff has the ability to provide the care needed.
Assures that there is compliance with the regulations pertaining to care plans and elder assessments.
Monitors the quality of care provided to elders with dementia and assists in the assessment process for admission to and exit from the unit.
Monitors the success of the Restorative Care Program in providing restorative nursing that maximizes each elder’s existing abilities.
Collaborates with contract therapy companies to enhance the quality of care for the elderly.
Assists with the preparation of the Departmental annual budget and maintains the operating budgets for personnel and medical equipment and makes budget recommendations to the purchase of such equipment.
Overseeing and implementing infection control, pharmaceutical and physical/chemical restraint policies, and procedures, and assures that committee recommendations are carried out.
Manages, supervises, and evaluates nursing practices, articulates expectations, and provides corrective guidance as needed.
Prioritizes work assignments consistent with level of staff available and resident care acuity.
Ensures proper staffing level, working as staff nurse if needed.
Ensures duties re complete, following up with delegated tasks and reviews departing staff reports.
Provides nursing reports to staff regarding daily resident care needs and significant changes in condition.
Maintains knowledge of disaster procedures and implements if needed.
Promptly reports and documents incidents and errors involving residents, staff, visitors, or self.