Assistant Director of Nursing-Clinical Support Services

Assistant Director

Reporting to the Director of Nursing, the Assistant Director will lead the Medical Assistants responsible for administrative and clinical tasks supporting clinical providers. This will include overall planning, quality management, and coordination of support services to ensure the highest standards of effective, culturally inclusive patient care. The incumbent will provide administrative oversight, guidance, and accountability by structuring the work effectively and defining goals and objectives to ensure the integration of services across practice teams. The Assistant Director will have knowledge, understanding, and skills in clinical care to perform various nursing duties, function as a liaison for nursing-related support services, and perform cross-functional nursing responsibilities and other clinical services.

Within the RN's scope of practice, the Assistant Director will administer direct care to patients. This will include performing nursing treatment for actual or potential health problems. The Assistant Director is expected to cultivate and sustain strong, collaborative working relations across functional and multidisciplinary teams within Columbia Health and other University partners to ensure students are provided a seamless health and well-being experience.

This is an essential on-site position that requires occasional Saturday coverage during the academic year. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Personnel Management

Direct and supervise the day-to-day responsibilities of the medical assistants; guide medical assistants in providing courteous, culturally inclusive, appropriately responsive, high-quality support services; direct staff in responding appropriately to emergencies or extraordinary support service challenges. Monitor and ensure Medical Assistants' compliance with existing policies and procedures, Practice Standards, HIPAA/FERPA regulations, and other compliance standards throughout all clinical activities.

Oversee, monitor, and ensure the highest customer service and accountability standards for Medical Assistants. Address deficiencies and resolve patient service and clinical issues by interfacing with providers and other clinical staff as appropriate. Role model service excellence in interactions with Medical Assistants.

Lead and facilitate all aspects of orientation, onboarding, and training of Medical Assistants. Provide ongoing training and education to promote the highest standards for culturally inclusive patient services, professionalism, and patient relations.

Lead recruitment for direct reports. Provide initial training and document the performance of probationary staff; manage disciplinary issues in consultation with Columbia Health Human Resources.

Develop work schedule for direct reports and ensure appropriate staffing; review and approve timesheets; manage and approve time off requests; monitor day-to-day activities, including attendance and lunch schedules for hourly staff.

Monitor Medical Assistant work schedule assignments for best utilization of space, maximum productivity, and adherence to practice guidelines

Clinical Administration

Function as a member of the Medical Services clinical team and clinical management team supporting patient pre and post-visit preparation, scheduling, and triage processes; work in unison with the Associate Directors, Clinical Services, and the Associate Director of Practice Operations to support the flow and care of patients with scheduled appointments or walk-ins for triaging.

Participate in developing, reviewing, and revising Medical Assistant protocols and practice guidelines developing standards, patient care policies, and clinical procedures, and auditing peer practice to ensure the overall quality of patient care.

Streamline communications between Medical Assistants and practice teams; work with clinical leadership and other key departmental clinical/administrative staff on clinical issues supporting Columbia Health objectives.

Coordinate ongoing clinical and laboratory competency in-services of Medical Assistants in collaboration with the Laboratory Manager.

In partnership with the Associate Director of Practice Operations, ensure appropriate clinical supplies. Supervise inventory tracking and stocking of the medical supply room by Medical Assistants. Track metrics related to clinical supplies purchases.

Manage and perform cross-functional responsibilities: (1) In the absence of the Associate Director of Nursing, manage Nurses in their clinical supportive and consulting/triage roles; ensure nurses coverage and coordinate resources to effectively manage the flow of unscheduled patients; (2) work with the Assistant Director, Infection Prevention and Public Health Support to complete real-time reporting to the Department of Health; serve as a backup and assist with Infection Prevention and Public Health Support issues in the absence of the Assistant Director; (3) Will be trained in Travel Health in order to provide travel assessment to students who are studying or traveling abroad; function as the nurse in the Clinician/Nurse Dyad during non-peak travel medicine service requests.

Evaluate the effectiveness of nursing clinical procedures; identify issues that impede the delivery of quality patient access; make and recommend changes to facilitate the highest level of patient service and access.

Appropriately obtain provider input and direction to determine the best clinical course of action and recommendations for specific patient health care needs.

Participate in all quality management activities (self-evaluation, peer review, and QM activities) and serve on interdisciplinary and inter-departmental committees as appropriate.

Participate as a member of the healthcare team and various interdisciplinary committees to improve patient care and meet patient needs. Monitor medication utilization, stocking, and reorders as a member of the pharmacy committee; serve as a member of the Quality Management committee.

The practicing RN role includes participation in the development of policies, rules, and regulations that govern the RN role. The incumbent is responsible for assuming continuity and consistency in the practice framework at Columbia Health.

Lead and participate in clinical and performance improvement initiatives to enhance service delivery.

Participate in continuing education; Analyze new knowledge gained from (professional literature, lectures, workshops, conferences) and assimilate this knowledge into clinical practice.

Direct Clinical Care

Perform routine and specialized nursing care in health screening and prevention, health assessment, treatment, and health education, including travel health. Effectively conduct a focused health history and perform a physical examination as indicated by the patient's reason for the visit. Evaluate and assess the severity of patient's health concerns utilizing established triage protocols and guidelines; facilitate and participate in the coordination and continuity of care of patients with chronic, complex, or complicated health issues.

Triage patients' complaints using critical assessment skills, including crisis intervention, acute and chronic medical problems, and women's health-related concerns. Assign acuity level and prioritize the needs of patients seeking care timely and appropriately. Perform telephone triage, consultations, laboratory follow-up orders, and interpret point-of-care diagnostic tests.

Provide health education for acute and chronic medical conditions using a self-care and wellness prevention model to patients and the Columbia University community.

Accurately and timely document symptoms/complaints, nursing assessment, triage plan, and follow-up in the patient's electronic health record. Evaluate and document patients' responses to the plan of care in the electronic health record system.

Respond to emergency situations; ensure continuous reassessment and management of patients in the examination room and reception area. Maintain clinical expertise in emergency nursing. Participate in ongoing education, training, and professional development in triage and related emergency nurse and emergency care activities. Work with the Associate Director, Nursing, and Practice Team Nurses on follow-up of referred patients to the emergency department, consultant, or discharged with self-care instructions.

Coordinate care for patients with women's health, gender-affirming care, and other health-related issues; follow-up on lab tests; work collaboratively with clinicians in planning for patient care; make referrals to other disciplines as indicated.

Administer appropriate medications and treatments as prescribed by providers.

Collaborate with practice team leader during morning and evening huddles and team meetings; serve as a clinical resource for clinicians, other nurses, medical assistants, and non-medically trained staff.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• BSN from an accredited program and current New York State RN licensure.
• Minimum of 5 years of clinical nursing experience.
• BLS and Infection Control Certificate.
• Demonstrated experience supervising staff in a medical setting or a closely related setting.
• Ability to manage, motivate, and influence staff at all levels in a highly complex organization.
• Ability to resolve conflicts, establish credibility, and work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and various levels of leadership and clinical disciplines.
• Prior experience working in a clinical practice with day-to-day management and supervisory responsibilities.
• Knowledge and experience with a wide range of illness and injury patterns to conduct rapid and accurate triage based on the clinical urgency of patients' presenting problems.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills are necessary for problem-solving and clinical decision-making.
• Demonstrated sensitivity to and understanding of working with individuals of diverse backgrounds.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• Must be computer literate and familiar with EHR and patient scheduling systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in triage, emergency health care, ambulatory care, college health, community health, patient teaching, health counseling, and health education.
• Experience in a college health setting.
• Experience managing union employees