House Supervisor (FT)

Bunkie General Hospital•Bunkie, LA

About The Position

The House Supervisor is the on-site nursing and operational authority for the assigned shift at Bunkie General Hospital. Reporting to the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), the position provides administrative continuity when senior administration is not on site, maintains clinical and regulatory oversight across the inpatient/swing bed unit and Emergency Department, and serves as a licensed clinical resource who may provide direct patient care during surges or staffing coverage needs. The role does not have a routine patient load; direct care is a surge and coverage function. The supervisor has functional shift authority over on-duty nursing and nursing support personnel, while disciplinary authority rests with the CNO. The role oversees shift operations, staffing, bed control, admissions and transfers, Emergency Department support, clinical and regulatory rounding, nursing practice supervision, emergency response, quality and risk processes, and after-hours patient and family concerns. The House Supervisor maintains shift records and logs, coordinates with hospital leadership and external agencies, supports compliance and patient safety, and exercises independent judgment within established policies and CNO-approved parameters.

Requirements

Current, unencumbered Louisiana Registered Nurse license.
BLS, ACLS, PALS, and TNCC or equivalent trauma training; all certifications must be obtained within three months of the start date.
At least five years of acute care, emergency, or combined experience.
Prior charge nurse or comparable shift-leadership experience.
Demonstrated competency in the prior assigned clinical setting and willingness to maintain competency in both the inpatient/swing bed unit and the Emergency Department while serving as House Supervisor.
Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality regarding patient, personnel, and administrative matters.
Demonstrated professional and therapeutic communication skills and verbal de-escalation technique.
Demonstrated fair, impartial, and consistent leadership.
Demonstrated adherence to the chain of command.
Demonstrated critical thinking and independent clinical judgment under pressure.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
NRP, TNCC, or ENPC.
Swing bed or skilled nursing experience.
Prior formal supervisory experience.
Stroke scale certification.
Formal crisis prevention and de-escalation training, such as CPI, MOAB, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Serve as the ranking on-site administrative representative when the CNO, CEO, and department leadership are absent.
Conduct and document a shift-start huddle covering census, acuity, patient movement, staffing, equipment or facility issues, and safety concerns.
Maintain the Supervisor Shift Log for each shift and forward it to the CNO; update the LERN portal each shift.
Make real-time staffing decisions within CNO-approved parameters, authorize call-ins and overtime within approved thresholds, and escalate matters outside those parameters.
Serve as the after-hours contact for visitors and staff and initiate the unannounced survey protocol when a surveyor arrives after hours.
Manage bed control and bed assignments, monitor the 25-bed limit and unit capacity, and coordinate admissions with UR, the ED physician, and the CNO as appropriate.
Review patient status for admissions when UR is unavailable, verify that orders match clinical documentation, and escalate status mismatches to UR.
Supervise swing bed conversions and confirm required acute discharge and swing bed admission documentation.
Assist with transfers out by confirming the accepting facility and physician, required EMTALA certification, transportation, and completed records packet.
Coordinate direct admissions from clinics and physician offices and support discharge-readiness rounds by clearing barriers to discharge.
Respond to Emergency Department surges and high-acuity events, provide second-RN coverage when needed, and assist with triage within RN scope.
Verify EMTALA-related requirements each shift, including central log entries, medical screening documentation, on-call physician roster, transfer documents, and signage.
Support behavioral health holds and restraint events, including application, monitoring, documentation, sitter coverage, and law-enforcement coordination.
Coordinate with EMS and LERN regarding incoming patients, diversion status, and drop-offs, and handle point-of-care logistics during ED surges.
Round on inpatients at least once per shift and document rounds; spot-check required clinical documentation, orders, screenings, and electronic health record use.
Conduct environment-of-care rounds, including crash cart checks, medication storage temperature logs, life-safety checks, unit stock, and expired-supply checks.
Track open plan-of-correction items and report status to the CNO and Quality Improvement and Risk Management RN.
Provide direction and supervision for LPN practice consistent with Louisiana scope and hospital policy; ensure assignments match documented competencies and supervise or validate competency for orientees, agency and contract staff, and floats.
Provide real-time coaching and correction, document performance concerns, and route them to the CNO; ensure structured handoffs at shift changes and transfers of care.
Respond to all house-wide codes, lead resuscitation until a provider assumes responsibility, assign or perform the recorder role, lead post-event debriefs, complete event reports, and forward them to QAPI.
Serve as after-hours incident commander for emergencies, initiate EHR downtime procedures, maintain downtime packet readiness, and act as the hospital contact for local EMS, the sheriff’s office, and parish emergency preparedness.
Build and adjust daily staffing assignments across the floor and ED; manage call-ins, replacement staffing, float and mandatory-hold decisions, and staffing records.
Track and flag overtime and consecutive-hours-worked exceptions; work as an RN when call-ins occur and census does not support calling in another nurse.
Initiate incident and event reports, secure immediate patient safety, perform CNO-assigned sample chart audits, collect and submit shift-level QAPI indicator data, and report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation as required.
Preserve evidence and initiate serious-event review processes for sentinel or near-sentinel events.
Respond to after-hours patient and family complaints and grievances, document and route them through the formal grievance process, conduct service-recovery rounds, and manage conflicts, escalating unresolved issues.
Communicate professionally with patients, families, staff, providers, EMS, and outside agencies; use therapeutic communication and verbal de-escalation, applying restrictive measures only when less restrictive measures fail or safety is immediately threatened.
Maintain strict confidentiality, professional composure, fair and consistent supervisory practice, and adherence to the chain of command; address conflicts directly and escalate concerns to the CNO.
Exercise sound critical thinking and independent judgment, provide and receive feedback constructively and privately, and represent hospital and leadership decisions accurately and supportively.