University of Iowa Health Care—recognized as one of the best hospitals in the United States—is Iowa's only comprehensive academic medical center and a regional referral center. Each day more than 12,000 employees, students, and volunteers work together to provide safe, quality health care and excellent service for our patients. Simply stated, our mission is: Changing Medicine. Changing Lives.

The Director of Nursing, Clinical Cancer Services serves as the leader for ambulatory nursing operations in the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center (HCCC).  This role is accountable for the leadership and management of clinical cancer nursing operations for HCCC, including but not limited to the effective and efficient operations in the areas of oversight, which include operational, strategic, financial, and human resources duties to enhance the organization’s capacity to perform by addressing medical and psychosocial needs of patients and their families.  This position is part of an oncology leadership model and must demonstrate the ability to lead and function effectively in various matrixed relationships and reporting structures.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Operations, Standards of Care, Regulatory Compliance, Quality, and Patient Satisfaction

• Work across multiple inpatient and ambulatory units to develop, monitor, and enhance quality and service indicators and business process improvements for optimization. 
• Oversee patient satisfaction and quality indicators. 
• Assure that clinical services, educational programs, and research activities are in compliance with all applicable internal and external requirements, including Joint Commission.
• Lead initiatives to optimize patient care and quality outcomes to positively impact clinical cancer services.
• Monitor outcome metrics - quality, safety, cost, and satisfaction across ambulatory clinical units.
• Prepares and delivers reports to HCCC leadership, outlining progress toward annual goals and objectives, to include performance related to finance, clinical activity, quality, safety, marketing, and human resources.
• Support nursing and interprofessional leadership to design efficient/effective and safe systems and processes to ensure patient safety and optimize patient outcomes.
• Ensure regulatory standards are met and understood by personnel.
• Remains current of new trends and best practices and incorporates into the clinical cancer services practices and programs. 

Patient Care/Services Delivery

• Work across multiple ambulatory nursing functions and with nurse managers and associate/assistant directors to implement best care practices and new models of care/service. 
• Address implementation issues across ambulatory nursing functions and with other departments.  Incorporate the principles of Service Leadership to ensure positive patient/customer relations.
• Identify and address opportunities for improvement related to patient care including developing plans to assess and correct patient barriers.
• Seek and evaluate best practices by benchmarking with like institutions to continuously improve patient care outcomes. 
• Improve communication and collaboration across disciplines by developing working relationships.
• Enhance care coordination by the interprofessional team.
• Challenge past practices with patient throughput/placement across the care continuum.
• Coordinate and collaborate with inpatient nursing teams to ensure areas are aligned with HCCC initiatives and innovations in patient care.

Communication/Collaboration

• Serve as a liaison between staff, medical staff, nursing, and health care leadership.
• Engage and collaborate with physicians to identify opportunities for improvement, program development, and capital budgeting. 
• Communicate with external agencies and constituencies to address issues and answer questions. 
• Serve as a liaison among multiple clinical functions, research, and education units to support collaboration in identifying opportunities for improvement and program development.
• Develop effective working relationships among nursing and patient care leadership, other professional departments, clinical administrators, department and divisional leadership, hospital administration clinical liaison, and directors of hospital support departments.
• Develop effective working relationships with medical leadership (e.g. Department Executive Officers (DEO), Associate Chairs for Clinical programs, Medical Directors.)
• Receive and disseminate information about strategic initiatives, process improvements, best practices, and innovation through a formal plan for communication.
• Develop and communicate a shared vision for patient and family centered care.
• Actively listens to staff ideas and concerns, assesses others’ communication styles, and adapts to them.
• Articulates and presents data, information, and ideas in a clear and concise manner.
• Manages the complex interdepartmental and interdisciplinary relationships to assure collaboration and effective/efficient operations within the Clinical Cancer Center. 

Planning and Goal Management

• Develop departmental strategic plan and integrate it with other functions; guide nurse managers and associate/assistant directors in developing actions plans for implementation; monitor progress to goal completion.  Assure integration of goals across ambulatory functions.
• Prioritize and manage strategic goals.  Achieve alignment of division and unit goals around strategic intent/aim.
• Communicate a shared vision for optimal care for all patients.
• Achievement of quality improvement in relation to assigned/delegated pillars of the Department of Nursing Services and Patient Care strategic plan.
• Participate in the design of systems to measure and monitor outcomes of care.
• Identify and communicate need for additional resources to address patient care issues.
• Identify hospital operations’ strengths and weaknesses and act on opportunities for improvement for patient care/quality, staff engagement, and overall operational efficiency.
• Directs and provides guidance to managers to effectively allocate resources based on patient volume, space availability, budget constraints, and program priorities, goals, and objectives.
• Engages staff and other stakeholders in continuous improvement of systems and processes. 

Financial and Data Management and Analysis

• Develop strategy for budget priorities for multiple nursing education and research functions and negotiate among them to address resources issues.  Hold nurse managers and other leaders accountable for managing respective budgets.  Work with own leaders within and externally to innovatively address and resolve budget issues. 
• Establish reliable revenue cycle processes, including working with nurse managers, staff nurses, and physicians on documentation to support billed charges.
• Establishes annual financial goals and actively uses benchmarking to high performing systems in similar area of expertise to set annual targets.
• Assume responsibility for development, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of cost accounting, rate setting, and patient support fund usage.
• Utilize and analyze metrics to drive value to assure cost effective allocations of resources.
• Benchmark with academic medical centers to determine best practices related to patient flow and throughput.
• Optimize skill mix, scope of practice, and operational efficiency.
• Participate in annual budget preparation, continuous monitoring of divisional budget, and justification of variances as needed.
• Ongoing monitoring and maintenance of division position control/position management control documents.  

Education Programs

• Administer nursing education programs.
• Develop effective orientation and staff development programs.
• Maintain a climate of learning that promotes collaborative experiences for students in the University Health Sciences Colleges and other health care programs.
• Participate in and present educational programs to staff and University colleges and programs. Develop and support efficient systems for patient education.
• Provide staff with tolls to learn and apply skills related to change management/work redesign.
• With physicians and other UI Health Care staff, provide systems to implement clinical guidelines and research utilization for the management and movement of patients through the health care system.
• Support staff education including but not limited to competency assurance and professional development/mentorship.
• Partner with the College of Nursing faculty in creating a learning community of staff and faculty.

Human Resource Management

• Work across ambulatory nursing functions and with medical and hospital leaders to create a consistent approach to HR management.
• Hold unit leaders within the department accountable for high performance and high engagement by articulating expectations, monitoring performance, and providing feedback consistently across areas of responsibility.
• Approve resource allocations and staffing models.
• Develop and retain qualified nursing leadership staff and build an effective leadership team.
• Provide supervision of daily operations of the assigned staff providing service throughout the Clinical Cancer Center.
• Hold staff accountable to meet or exceed patient needs/expectations as well as maintain standards of collaboration and respect within and among interprofessional teams.
• Build an effective divisional/cross divisional leadership team. Prepare divisional leadership staff to lead/participate/serve as effective members of the interprofessional clinical team.
• Demonstrate commitment to people; coach staff to participate in team decision- making.
• Actively seek participation from staff on decision-making and customer service improvement activities.
• Adhere to all University of Iowa Health Care guidelines and respective collective bargaining agreements.
• Creates and maintains a satisfying workplace that fosters professional growth and job satisfaction for all members of the health care team.

Miscellaneous

• Maintains membership in professional organization(s) to develop knowledge and resources through networking, continuing education, and participation in national, regional, and/or local activities.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree (in nursing, MBA, or healthcare related field) is required. If Master’s/Doctorate Degree is in related field other than nursing specialty, a Baccalaureate of Science or Arts Degree in Nursing is required.
• Current license to practice nursing in Iowa is required.
• 7+ years of experience in an administrative position in a large, complex health care organization with demonstrated ability to work with multiple disciplines to ensure effective health care operations.
• Professional job-related experience fostering or promoting a welcoming and respectful work/academic environment where people of all backgrounds and perspectives feel welcomed and appreciated; or demonstrated ability to do so.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to serve as a liaison and to collaborate with physicians, staff, patients, and other customers.
• Demonstrated experience assuring patient safety, quality of care, and compliance in a regulatory environment with various state and federal agencies and the Joint Commission.
• Demonstrated knowledge of effective strategies for working with faculty, staff, and students from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
• Demonstrated experience developing budget strategy, priorities, and negotiating resource issues.
• Role model for service excellence principles.
• Must be proficient in computer and software applications, including but not limited to Microsoft Office products and EPIC.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of experience in Oncology Nursing across the care continuum (Infusion/radiology-oncology/outpatient/survivorship).
• 10+ years of experience at an NCI-designated cancer center.
• 10+ years of experience in an Academic Medical Center.
• Oncology Nursing Certification.
• Extensive experience with developing oncology quality programs and nursing education.
• Extensive experience in development of Bone Marrow Transplant outpatient programs and application of CAR-T therapies in an expanding landscape of non-oncology diagnoses.
• Experience working in a union environment and the related regulations associated with that type of environment.
• Knowledge of nursing research and evidence-based practice programs.

About Iowa Health Care

University of Iowa Healthcare- Nicole Olmstead 319-467-8171 nicole-olmstead@uiowa.edu

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