Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Program Director

Medical University of South Carolina•South Park, WV

33d•Onsite

About The Position

The Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) Clinic serves a medically complex patient population with EDS and related connective tissue disorders requiring multidisciplinary care coordination, specialty referrals, patient advocacy, and comprehensive longitudinal support. The Program Director is responsible for overseeing operations within a highly specialized clinic environment that demands strong leadership, exceptional organizational skills, and the ability to coordinate across multiple clinical and administrative teams. The program director will serve as a dyad leader with the Medical Director, EDS. The EDS Clinic Program Director reports to the Director of Ambulatory Services and provides direct operational leadership for the EDS program and clinic. Under limited supervision, the Program Director is responsible for overseeing day-to-day clinic operations and proactively assessing, developing, and implementing processes that support safe, efficient, and patient-centered care for individuals and families served by the EDS clinic. This role partners closely with MCP leadership, Ambulatory Leader, ICCE leaders, physicians, APPs, nurses, medical office staff, system departments, and other stakeholders to support timely access, coordinated communication, fiscal accountability, regulatory readiness, and a consistent, high-quality patient experience.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN) required.
Three years of progressive work experience and two years of management experience preferred.
Experience in ambulatory practice operations, specialty clinic workflows, patient access, care coordination, staff supervision, and process improvement strongly preferred.
Must demonstrate the ability to establish effective working relationships with diverse patients, families, providers, clinical staff, administrative staff, and system partners.
Requires strong communication, critical-thinking, problem-solving, analytical, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to motivate teams and manage competing operational priorities in a complex clinical environment.
Knowledge of the unit's patient population, health care trends, community and regional resources and service availability to these populations.
An ability to establish working relationships with diverse groups and individuals, medical staff and other health care disciplines.
Demonstrated ability to work and communicate effectively with physicians, patients and staff; talent for motivating teams and individuals to accomplish goals.
Strong problem-solving, analytical skills and interpersonal skills.
Experience in leading teams, coaching/motivating staff, knowledge of financial systems and analysis, computer systems, and applications.
Effective verbal and written communication skills and strong decision making and organizational skills are essential.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office with emphasis on Excel and pivot tables and experience with practice management software.
Experience with development and review of Profit & Loss statements, and the budgetary process preferred.
Proven track record in customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction.
Skilled at taking teams to the next level through effective leadership, empowerment, and management.
Skilled in personnel management, organizing, planning, exercising initiative, judgment, problem solving, decision-making, development and maintaining effective relationships with providers, clinical and clerical staff, patients and the public.
Skilled in analyzing situations accurately and taking effective action.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Skilled in organizing work, prioritizing, and achieving goals and objectives.
Knowledge of EHR.
Participate in patient care as needed.
Current South Carolina licensure as a registered nurse or compact state required.
Current American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) certification or American Red Cross BLS for Healthcare Providers certification is required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Nursing or Education plan; a doctorate in nursing or related health science is preferred.
A minimum of five years of current clinical work experience, two of which should include experience in leadership, education, quality and outcomes measurement, and project management.
Experience in the coordination of the Magnet Recognition Program in accordance with the Standard of Care requirements of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) highly preferred.
Must possess experience with collecting & submitting data to national databases; competent in Word, Excel & PowerPoint; excellent verbal & written skills; and multidisciplinary collaboration required.

Responsibilities

Lead EDS clinic operations and patient experience: Design, implement, and manage clinic workflows that support timely access, coordinated care, and consistent communication for EDS patients and families. Develop and maintain service standards and operational protocols that create a high-quality experience at every touch point. Partner with providers, APPs, nursing, access teams, scheduling, referral partners, and system departments to reduce barriers and improve clinic flow. Review trends in patient access, volume, referrals, patient feedback, operational escalations, and clinic growth opportunities. Report key operational metrics consistently to support program visibility, accountability, and long-term clinic success.
Function as an effective programmatic and clinic leader: Demonstrate high standards of patient care, service, professionalism, and accountability. Serve as a role model for staff and support a culture of teamwork, respect, and patient-centered care. Delegate appropriately and guide staff in managing conflict, recurring problems, and department-specific issues. Support change by identifying operational needs, recommending solutions, and helping the team adopt new workflows. Monitor daily staffing levels and adjust as appropriate based on clinic volumes, provider schedules, and patient needs. Engage in SHIELD follow-up, safety reporting, and service recovery activities as required. Collaborate with key departments to build pathways for access for EDS patients along with the EDS Medical Director.
Manage day-to-day clinic operations: Oversee daily operations, monitor operational challenges, and implement solutions that improve efficiency and reliability. Ensure new providers and team members receive comprehensive onboarding experience specific to EDS clinic workflows. Continuously monitor compliance with policies, protocols, documentation standards, and operational expectations. Hold monthly staff and provider meetings to review updates, barriers, metrics, and improvement opportunities. Follow up on concerns in a timely manner and provide clear, concise communication to leadership and team members. Fill in and provide coverage for any gaps in staffing to ensure consistent and safe clinic operations.
Maintain workflows, policies, protocols, and resources: Use established outcome measures and operational data to identify best practices for EDS clinic workflows, policies, and protocols. Review and update protocols regularly and facilitate medical director review, approval, and signature at least annually or sooner when indicated. Promote effective and efficient use of protocols when applicable. Collaborate with regulatory, infection prevention, human resources, clinical leadership, and other departments as needed. Ensure appropriate equipment, supplies, rooms, and support resources are available and in good working order.
Monitor quality, compliance, and staff training needs: Monitor compliance with standards of care through observation, verbal reports, audits, documentation review, and patient feedback. Provide timely feedback to staff and leadership when opportunities for improvement are identified. Engage Nursing Professional Development, clinical leadership, or appropriate system partners when additional education or corrective action plans are needed. Support implementation of action plans to address identified deficiencies and sustain improvements.
Manage workforce activities and staff development: Complete job postings, interviewing, hiring, orientation, performance management, corrective actions, and conflict resolution in partnership with leadership and human resources. Support ongoing staff development through coaching, mentoring, feedback, and training. Ensure staff understand expectations for patient communication, documentation, teamwork, regulatory compliance, and quality care delivery. Recognize employee contributions and reinforce behaviors that support the mission and values of the clinic and organization.