Summary:

Under general supervision of the Senior Director of Nursing Excellence facilitates a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach in the provision of healthcare within a specialty area. The Clinical Nurse Specialists are "clinical experts" in evidence-based nursing practice within a specialty area, treating and managing the health concerns of patients and populations to promote quality patient outcomes. With responsibility for monitoring and sustaining excellence in the provision of nursing care through the support and development of clinical standards of practice, implementation of education, and establishing competency for staff members, the CNS will demonstrate a firm knowledge base and clinical expertise, function as a clinical resource, conduct and facilitate patient care consultation, and assess the impact of appropriate practice on patient outcomes. The CNS will support clinical rounds with the multi-disciplinary health care team and work closely and collaboratively with all disciplines to establish and provide collegial relationships that benefit our staff, patients and the community.

Responsibilities:
• Functions as an advanced specialty nurse within an area of focused practice and in collaboration with the Clinical Nurse Specialist team as well as the interdisciplinary team to identify high-risk patients, support management of complex care situations, and help coordinate strategies across the continuum of care to promote optimal outcomes.
• Champions an exceptional patient and family experience by partnering with leaders and teams to strengthen communication, responsiveness, service recovery, and culturally respectful, patient-centered care.
• Rounds in clinical areas, responds to requests from nursing staff and other care team members, synthesizes complex clinical information, and provides consultation, bedside coaching, and support for patient/family education, discharge planning, disease management, and continuity of care.
• Serves as a clinical resource, mentor, teacher, coach, and change agent for nursing staff by facilitating critical thinking, reinforcing clinical standards, identifying knowledge and competency gaps, supporting staff education and orientation, and promoting evidence-based nursing practice and nurse-sensitive outcomes.
• Participates in data collection, interpretation, and evaluation of quality and outcome metrics; supports development and revision of standards of care, care pathways, policies, procedures, and protocols based on evidence; and contributes to practice improvement, safety initiatives, regulatory readiness, and research/evidence translation activities.
• Collaborates with nursing leaders and multidisciplinary partners to identify barriers and opportunities in clinical practice, support implementation of cost-effective and efficient models of care, improve coordination of services, reduce avoidable readmissions, and advance system-level change that improves patient, family, population, and organizational outcomes.
• Considers fiscal and budgetary implications in decision-making and evaluates products, services, and technologies for appropriateness and cost/benefit.
• Participating and supporting research.

Other information:

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES:
• Maintains role competencies through formal graduate education and professional development, participates in hospital-wide performance improvement and shared governance/professional governance activities, communicates effectively within the specialty department and across the organization, practices with a high degree of professionalism and ethical accountability, and performs other duties and special projects as assigned.
• Coordinates and supports clinical learning experiences with academic partners, student placements, compliance monitoring, unit communication, and orientation support for students and instructors as assigned as assigned.

MINIMUM EDUCATION QUALIFICATION
• Masters of Science in Nursing (MS/MSN) in a degree program that adheres to National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist standards for education preparation.

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION
• 5+ years of clinical nursing experience

MINIMUM CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATION
• Active CNS certification.
• Current Alaska Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) license.
• Current Alaska Registered Nurse (RN) license.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) per organizational policy.

PREFERRED EDUCATION QUALIFICATION
• Doctoral degree (DNP or PhD) preferred.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION
• Demonstrates leadership skills and ability to work within a team environment, effective communication, interpersonal and organizational skills, data analysis and research interpretation skills, and computer/word processing skills.
• Experience with developing and conducting staff and patient education programs preferred.

PREFERRED CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATION
• Professional specialty certification preferred.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
• May be required to work outside traditional hours.