Assistant Director of Nursing

Assistant Director of Nursing Services & Infection Preventionist

Overview

The Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) provides support to the Director of Nursing

(DON) to plan, coordinate and manage the nursing department and resident care and

services. The ADON is responsible for overseeing, participating in, and/or acting as the

designee for the the Infection Prevention, Staff Development, and Restorative Programs.

Qualifications

• Must have graduated from an accredited school of nursing. Bachelor's degree or

higher preferred.

• Must have a current state license to practice as a registered nurse (RN). Current

CPR certification desired.

• Minimum two years' experience in long term care management. Prefer long term

care experience as a floor nurse or a similar position.

• Excellent understanding of state and federal regulations governing skilled nursing

facilities.

• Ability to lead, motivate, educate and evaluate others.
• Must have excellent assessment, planning, organization, communication and

interpersonal skills with an understanding of person-centered care.

• Ability to work flexible shifts including periodic weekends, holidays and off

shifts.

• Ability to work well with an interdisciplinary team and health care providers.
• Ability to establish and maintain rapport with team members and external

stakeholders.

• Ability to read, analyze and interpret professional journals, technical procedures

or governmental regulations. Ability to communicate orally and through written

reports and other documents relating to residents, staff, and others. Ability to

effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of

executives, managers, clients, customers, and the public.

• Ability to define and solve problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid

conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical journals and deal

with several abstract and concrete variables.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

The Orchards of Michigan expects their employees to promote an atmosphere of

teamwork, exemplify the values of CARING (Compassion, Accountability, Respect,

Integrity, Nimbleness and Generosity and uphold the pursuit of creating a personcentered culture for Residents and Team Members. To perform this job successfully, an

individual must also be able to perform each key function satisfactorily. Reasonable

accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the key

functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Assists the DON in the supervision of nursing care provided by registered nurses,

licensed vocational/practical nurses and others for whom they are administratively

or professionally responsible.

• Oversees the restorative nurse unit managers and acts as back up when needed.
• Assists in carrying out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the

organizational policies and applicable laws.

• Supervisory responsibilities include:
• Interviews, hires and trains employees.
• Plans, assigns and directs work.
• Oversees work assignments, taking into consideration Resident safety, the

educational preparation, experience, knowledge and ability of the persons

to whom the assignments are made.

• Assures staffing levels are met to meet the safety needs of residents.
• Transfers employees among units as needed.
• Prepares performance evaluations with the understanding that such

evaluations impact tenure of probationary employees and wage increases

of non-probationary employees.

• Meaningfully rewards and disciplines employees with the understanding

that such discipline results in termination of employment through

progressive steps.

• Schedules and adjusts lunch and rest breaks.
• Approves the correction of errors in timecards or other timekeeping

records.

• Authorizes overtime as necessary.
• Receives and resolves employee complaints.
• Promotes primary assignments to support primary nursing care.
• Monitors and corrects job performance of employees.
• is in charge of the facility in the absence of higher-ranking management officials.

The ADON assumes responsibility for the nursing department in the absence of

the DON

• Uses independent judgment and discretion on behalf of the organization in the

performance of these duties.

Infection Prevention

• Monitors the overall surveillance system of infection and exposure in the facility

involving employees and residents.

• Maintains appropriate records documenting facility infections, exposure and

control procedures implemented.

• Reviews monthly infection summaries to identify patterns or trends in infections.
• Analyzes infections to identify potential underlying conditions contributing to risk

of developing infections.

• Monitors the practice of infection control procedures within the facility.
• Reports infectious disease as appropriate to the Director of Nursing, Administrator,

Medical Director, and to the county or state health officials.

• Acts as a consultant to Department Managers, Administrator, and facility personnel

concerning infection control issues, policies, and procedures.

• Develops an Exposure Control Education Plan for personnel in the facility

including orientation in-service and ongoing in-services. Records will be kept of

these in-services.

• Implements procedural changes and provides education to employees related to

issues identified during infection control rounds and/or surveillance tracking.

• Reviews environmental infection control practices.
• Prepares quarterly and annual reports of nosocomial infections for the Quality

Assurance Committee and Administration.

• Oversees and maintains resident and employee health programs within the facility

and ensures compliance with state and federal regulations.

• Follows up personnel exposure to infectious agents.
• Maintains employee health files separate from employer files.

Care and Services

• Help the DON with the overall direction, coordination and evaluation of the

nursing department.

• Help ensure that adequate strategies are in place to verify the current licensure

and credentials of nursing employees.

• Conducts rounds at least daily to gain a global view of nursing care. Participates

in weekly grand rounds on each unit to gain an in-depth understanding of patient

care and needs and assist the team to identify potential declines in resident

conditions.

• Participate in morning stand up meetings and assist to evaluate and direct the

interdisciplinary team changes in condition.

• Assist in the maintenance of administrative authority, responsibility and

accountability for

o Proper charting and documentation of care and of medications and

treatments.

o Investigations of falls and allegations of abuse

o Resident outcomes within established benchmarks

o Implementation of nursing services philosophy and objectives.

o Adherence to standards of practice and organization policies and

procedures.

• Recommend to the DON the number and levels of nursing personnel to be

employed.

• Help develop and implement the written staffing plan and nursing schedule that

reflects the needs of the Resident population.

• Participate in the budget process of the facility and help maintain the nursing

supply, equipment and nurse staffing budgets.

• Maintain current knowledge of applicable managed care, Medicare and state

Medicaid regulations, reimbursement systems and methodology and if

appropriate, JCAHO standards for long term care.

• Aids in making assignments to others taking into consideration Resident safety

and that assignments are commensurate with the educational preparation,

experience, knowledge and ability of the persons to whom the assignments are

made.

• Participates in studies under the Quality Assurance and Process Improvement

program, utilizing root cause analysis to address process issues.

• Help ensure nursing staff:
• Performs nursing assessments regarding the health status of the Resident.
• Utilize the programs and systems put into place to minimize resident risk

of decline and prevent re-hospitalization.

• Contributes to the Resident's assessment (MDS/RAPs) and the

development of a plan of care.

• Makes nursing diagnoses, which serve as the basis of the strategy for care.
• Develops a plan of care based on assessment and implementing nursing

care.

• Evaluates the Resident's responses to nursing interventions.
• Selects and institutes appropriate nursing intervention, which might be

required to stabilize a Resident's condition and /or prevent complications.

• Consults with physician or licensed independent practitioner.
• Clarifies any order or treatment regimen believed to be inaccurate, noneffective or contraindicated by consulting with appropriate licensed

practitioner and notifying the ordering practitioner when making the

decision not to administer medication or treatment.

• Knows the rational for the effect of medications and treatments and

correctly administer same.

• Accurately reports and documents the Resident's symptoms, responses

and status.

• Demonstrates measures to promote a safe environment of Resident and others.
• Designs, promotes and organizes Resident education and counseling based on

health needs.

• Collaborates with the Resident, members of the healthcare team and, when

appropriate, the healthcare resources to provide continuity of care.

• Demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills to interact with facility staff,

Administration, residents, families, vendors and government agencies.

• Fulfill role according to Emergency Preparedness Manual
• Demonstrates respect for co-workers and responds to needs of residents by

complying with facility policies.

• Demonstrates ability to prioritize tasks/responsibilities and complete duties within

allotted time.

• Attends and participates in departmental/facility and corporate meetings, as

required.

• Promotes optimal communication among program staff members, facility staff,

referrals sources, physicians and patients.

• Demonstrates flexibility in adjusting to change, resident needs and customer

expectations; meets company standards relating to deadlines and attendance.

• Performs other duties or functions as directed.

Resident Rights: Promotes and protects resident's rights; supports the resident in the

exercise of his or her rights. assists residents to make informed decisions; treats residents

with dignity and respect; protects resident's personal belongings; reports suspected abuse

neglect, exploitation or misappropriation of property; avoids the need for physical

restraints in accordance with current professional standards; supports independent

expression, choice and decision-making consistent with applicable law and regulation.

Leadership: Demonstrates willingness to try new tasks; generates new ideas for change;

evaluates and recognizes priorities; challenges others to learn; keeps current and

integrates new information; communicates and models organization values; fosters high

performance.

Process Improvement: Applies process improvement methods and techniques and

identifies processes for improvement in daily work.

Environment of Care and Safety: Assures resident environment is safe and takes

necessary steps to intervene if an unsafe situation is identified; demonstrates

understanding of fire and emergency procedures; participates in fire and disaster drills;

demonstrates understanding of safety and security procedures; applies safety and security

precautions; demonstrates understanding of hazardous materials plan; demonstrates

proper use of equipment.

Infection Control

Applies hand washing principles during daily work, demonstrates understanding of

isolation precautions recognizes signs and symptoms of infection and complies with the

employee health program, demonstrates understanding of the process for identifying and

handling infectious wast6e, maintains personal hygiene, complies with OSHA standards

in the workplace and demonstrates understanding of cross-contamination.

Information Management

Enters of records data timely and accurately, protects confidentiality of Resident

information, protects data against loss or destruction, logs onto the system using own

password, logs off the system when leaving the work station, reports suspected violation

of security/confidentiality issues, reviews data and identifies trends and deletes

passwords of employees no longer needing access to software programs.

Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates active listening techniques, gains support through

effective relationships, treats others with dignity and respect, seeks feedback, sets clear

standards for performance, evaluates job performance and provides effective feedback,

establishes systems to measure effectiveness, efficiency and service and creates and

maintains reporting mechanisms.

Continuing Education: Attends in-service and education programs and attends

continuing education required for maintenance of professional certification or licensure.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that

must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to

perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is

frequently required to stand, walk, use hands or fingers, reach with hands and arms, talk

or hear. The employee is occasionally required to sit, climb or balance and stoop or

kneel. The employee on occasion will assist to lift and/or transfer Residents weighing

between 100 to 250 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close

vision, distance vision and peripheral vision.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described are representative

of those an employee encounters while performing the essential function of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to

perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is

occasionally exposed to blood or other body fluids, fumes or airborne particles and toxic

or caustic chemicals. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Job Description Review: I understand the job description, its requirements and that I am

expected to complete all duties as assigned. I understand the job duties may be altered

from time to time. I have noted below any accommodations that are required to enable

me to perform these duties.