Nursing Practice & Professional Development Manager (Ambulatory)

Nursing Practice & Professional Development Manager (Ambulatory)

The Nursing Practice & Professional Development Manager (Ambulatory) is responsible for the governance, standardization, and advancement of nursing and medical assistant (MA) practice across ambulatory care sites. This role ensures alignment of clinical practice with evidence-based standards, regulatory requirements, and organizational expectations.

Operating within a matrix leadership model, the Manager partners closely with Operations and Organizational Effectiveness (O&E) to establish clear decision rights, shared accountability, and escalation pathways when operational priorities and professional practice standards diverge. The role provides enterprise oversight of scope of practice, standard operating procedures (SOPs), standing delegation orders (SDOs) and competency validation, enabling clinical staff to function at the highest level of licensure. This position plays a critical role in reducing regulatory and patient safety risk, supporting quality outcomes, and advancing a sustainable professional practice governance model across the organization.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions:

• Establish and maintain standardized scope of practice for Nurses and Medical Assistants across ambulatory sites.
• Lead the development, review, and lifecycle management of SOPs and SDOs to ensure alignment with evidence-based practice and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor changes in scope-of-care regulations and proactively update organizational standards.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for clinical practice, delegation, and scope-related decision-making.
• Define and enforce decision rights related to clinical standards within the matrix structure.
• Design and implement a standardized competency validation framework for nursing and MA roles.
• Partner with O&E and clinical leaders to align training programs with workflows, systems, and care models.
• Ensure onboarding and ongoing education supports safe delegation and top-of-license practice.
• Establish mechanisms to track, maintain, and report competency completion and compliance.
• Support role clarity, skill progression, and workforce development across ambulatory teams.
• Ensure alignment of clinical practice with regulatory and accreditation standards.
• Lead preparation and readiness efforts for audits, site visits, and compliance review.
• Identify and mitigate clinical practice risks related to scope, delegation, and documentation.
• Partner with Quality and Risk teams to address trends and implement corrective actions.
• Integrate patient safety principles into SOPs, workflows, and competency validation.
• Partner with Operations leadership to align clinical practice standards with operational workflows and performance goals. Integrate professional practice metrics into operational dashboards (e.g., quality, access, compliance).
• Establish shared accountability for implementation and sustainability of practice standards.
• Provide structured escalation pathways when operational needs conflict with professional standards.
• Support care model optimization, including nurse visits, standing orders, and team-based care.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators related to practice compliance, competency, and quality outcomes.
• Analyze data trends to identify opportunities for improvement in workflows and clinical practice.
• Lead or support performance improvement initiatives tied to preventive care, access, and quality metrics.
• Ensure alignment of nursing and MA workflows with organizational goals and value-based care initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Deep knowledge of scope of practice, delegation, and ambulatory care models.
• Strong understanding of evidence-based practice and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to lead through influence in a matrixed organization.
• Strategic thinking with strong operational alignment.
• Data-driven decision-making and performance improvement.
• Effective communication, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement.

Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor's Degree (higher degree accepted) BSN -Required

Master's Degree (higher degree accepted) Nursing, Healthcare Administration, or related field -Preferred

Work Experience:

(5) years with at least 23 years in ambulatory care -Required

(5) years Demonstrated experience in clinical practice governance, education, or quality improvement -Required

(5) years Familiarity with electronic health records (EHR) and clinical workflow design -Required

3 years Experience working in a matrix leadership environment -Preferred

Licenses and Certifications:

Texas Active Registered Nurse RN Upon Hire -Required Relevant certifications in ambulatory care, professional development, or quality Upon Hire -Preferred