Chief Nursing Officer

Description

Purpose

The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) provides executive leadership and oversight of nursing and clinical services within the healthcare facility, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality, patient-centered care. The CNO is responsible for establishing clinical standards, promoting evidence-based nursing practice, supporting regulatory and accreditation compliance, and fostering a culture of patient safety, quality improvement, accountability, and professional excellence. The CNO leads and develops nursing and clinical teams, collaborates with executive leadership and medical staff, and aligns nursing operations, workforce strategies, and clinical programs with the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategic goals.

Essential Job Functions

• Provide strategic leadership for the nursing department, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and priorities.
• Develop and implement nursing policies, procedures, and best practices to promote quality patient care.
• Lead, mentor, and manage nursing leaders (nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists, etc.) to ensure effective team performance and professional development.
• Collaborate with other departments (e.g., medical, administrative) to improve the overall patient experience and clinical outcomes.
• Participate in executive decision-making, representing the nursing perspective on clinical and operational issues.
• Establish and monitor nursing performance standards, accountability measures, and key performance indicators to ensure consistent achievement of clinical and organizational objectives.
• Lead organizational initiatives related to patient safety, quality improvement, regulatory compliance, and evidence-based practice across nursing and clinical services.
• Foster a culture of employee engagement, professional accountability, retention, and recognition that supports a high-performing nursing workforce.
• Evaluate current and future nursing service needs and develop strategic plans to support organizational growth, changes in patient populations, service expansion, and evolving healthcare demands.
• Serve as a visible and accessible nursing leader, promoting open communication, staff engagement, patient advocacy, and strong relationships among employees, patients, families, providers, and organizational leadership.

This list is not inclusive of all duties and responsibilities that may be assigned. They are only listed as typical. Any other duties and responsibilities assigned will be of a similar nature requiring the same relative skill and capabilities.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Oversee nursing and clinical care delivery to ensure patient safety, high-quality outcomes, and patient satisfaction.
• Implement evidence-based nursing practices and quality improvement initiatives to continuously improve care.
• Monitor and ensure compliance with national, state, and local healthcare regulations, standards, and accreditation requirements (e.g., Joint Commission, CMS).
• Ensure that nursing staff adhere to ethical, legal, and professional standards.
• Oversee the budget for the nursing department, ensuring financial resources are used efficiently and effectively.
• Review staffing levels, productivity, and resource allocation to maintain cost-effective and high-quality care.
• Provide input into the development of hospital or health system financial strategies and goals.
• Oversee the recruitment, hiring, and retention of nursing staff.
• Promote a positive work environment that supports nurse engagement, retention, and job satisfaction.
• Develop and implement nursing education and training programs to ensure that staff remain up-to-date with best practices, technologies, and certifications.
• Evaluate and address staffing needs to ensure appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios and minimize burnout.:
• Act as a liaison between nursing staff and the rest of the hospital leadership, ensuring that communication flows effectively.
• Represent nursing within various committees, such as infection control, patient safety, and strategic planning.
• Advocate for nursing issues within the organization and to external stakeholders, including regulatory bodies and professional organizations.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the organization's strategic plan, with a focus on nursing initiatives.
• Foster innovation in nursing care, exploring new technologies, methods, and processes to enhance care delivery.
• Monitor industry trends and healthcare regulations to anticipate changes and proactively address emerging challenges.
• Lead nursing and clinical quality, patient safety, and clinical performance improvement efforts by establishing measurable goals, monitoring nursing-sensitive indicators and clinical outcomes, identifying performance gaps, and ensuring timely implementation and follow-up of corrective and improvement actions.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - Competencies

• Strong leadership, management, and team-building abilities.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Deep knowledge of nursing practice standards, healthcare regulations, and accreditation processes.
• Ability to influence and drive change in a complex healthcare organization.
• Proficiency in healthcare technology, electronic health records (EHR), and data analytics.
• Strong leadership, management, and team-building abilities.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Deep knowledge of nursing practice standards, healthcare regulations, and accreditation processes.
• Ability to influence and drive change in a complex healthcare organization.
• Proficiency in healthcare technology, electronic health records (EHR), and data analytics.
• Strong financial management and budgeting skills, with the ability to effectively manage resources and evaluate operational performance.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze clinical, operational, and quality data and use findings to support evidence-based decision-making and performance improvement.
• Exceptional problem-solving, critical-thinking, and decision-making skills, particularly in complex clinical and organizational situations.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with physicians, executive leadership, employees, patients, families, and external stakeholders.
• Strong strategic planning, organizational development, and change-management skills with the ability to anticipate emerging healthcare trends and develop effective solutions.

Supervisory Responsibility

Divisional/Multi-Level: The job requires direct responsibility for the management of multiple departments. Directly and indirectly supervises multiple managers and/or supervisors who in turn manage and supervise their areas of responsibility. 

Materials Responsibility

High: Work requires a high degree of responsibility for material resources. Examples of resources could include large operating or capital budgets for a large functional area, major plants, facilities or properties, or other equivalent material assets. The employee has a large amount of control over these resources. The cost of errors might result in significant financial loss and affect overall corporate results. The difficulty, variety and depth of problems associated with these material resources is moderately complex.

Key Relationships

Co-Workers/JCRHC Employees, General Public/Visitors/Volunteers, Physicians/Medical Office Staff, Contract Staff, Students/Interns/Outside Instructors, Patients, Families, and Significant Others

Position Specifications

Education

Master’s degree in Nursing, Nursing Administration or a related field.

Field of Study

Nursing

Special Training

Dependent Adult/Child Abuse Mandatory Reporter Training, BLS, within timelines established in Licensure, Registration, Certification and Life Saving training policy.

Training Preferred

Certification in Nursing Administration (e.g., NE-BC) or a related certification 

Licensure / Registration

Active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state of employment.

Experience

Minimum of 10 years of nursing experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role, preferably in a hospital or healthcare setting.

Proven track record in nursing management and a deep understanding of nursing practice, patient care, and quality improvement initiatives.

Experience in financial management, strategic planning, and resource allocation within a healthcare environment.

Interpersonal Skills

Interaction is with a wide variety of people inside or outside the organization. Communications are often extremely difficult or stressful in nature. Contact with others involves highly complex and sensitive topics. The job requires extremely well developed interpersonal skills for dealing with a range of complicated problem situations. The job requires the use of diverse communication techniques.

Working Conditions:

This role may require long hours, on-call availability, and the ability to respond to emergencies or critical situations.

No safety equipment or unusual precautions are required. 

Possible Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens

Rare

Service Excellence Expectations

• Adheres to the “Values and Behavior Statement” of Jackson County Regional Health Center.
• Adheres to HIPAA and maintains confidentiality as relates to all patient and medical information.
• Works in a safe manner at all times and adheres to our safety programs and service expectations.