Director of Nursing CVICU (day shift, full-time)

• Seeking a Nursing Leader with specific Critical Care experience in CVICU
   

• Join our team as a day shift, full-time, Coronary Care HH Director of Nursing (RN) in Albuquerque, NM.

• The nurse director is a professional registered nurse with 24 hour responsibility for assigned departments within established standards to achieve the mission and vision of the organization.
• The nursing director is responsible for overall direction, coordination and evaluation of the unit/departments and executes supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws.
• The nurse director provides leadership and mentorship in the development of leaders and staff.
• The nurse director is responsible for monitoring and evaluating quality, patient satisfaction and employee satisfaction outcomes to implement strategies for improvement.
• The nurse director is a change agent and will establish strong collaborative relationships with physicians. Responsible for overall administrative, financial and clinical activities of assigned departments.

• Must be proficient in CVICU nursing. 
• Must be able to work at the bedside when needed (staffing coverage). 

• ECMO, LVAD, Open Heart, Impella, Balloon Pumps. 
• Candidate must have extensive cardiac background. 
• Cannot come from a purely medical ICU without cardiac exposure. 
• If strong in CVICU but lacking LVAD experience, this may be workable. 

• 3–5 years clinical nursing experience. 
• 2 years of management required (e.g., charge nurse, nurse manager, supervisor). 
• Interim charge roles not sufficient—must have full-time or formal leadership experience. 

• If they don’t have a BSN, they must be already enrolled, with a completion date. 
• Enrollment just to qualify is not acceptable. 
• Hiring leader is flexible if candidate is solid and enrolled in BSN program. 

• Officially a 40-hour work week. 
• Leadership roles vary: Sometimes exactly 40 hours, sometimes more, depending on hospital needs. 
• Typically weekends off, but occasional weekend presence may be needed due to hospital circumstances. 
• Directors often adjust early/late to meet with night shift, observe shift changes, staff engagement, etc. 

• Nurse development, retention, and recruitment. 
• Coordination with service lines: CT surgeons, interventionalists, various procedural service lines. 
• Quality oversight: Chart audits, staff education, quality metrics. 
• Meeting-heavy role—numerous recurring and ad hoc meetings. 
• Operational responsibilities: Staffing oversight / Scheduling / Timekeeping (charge nurses help but director finalizes/validates) 
• No nurse manager in unit—all manager-level duties fall to the director. 

• Heart Hospital has 55 beds total, CVICU accounts for 16 beds. 
• When fully staffed, approximately 50–60 employees, all RNs; no techs on unit. 
• 4 full-time charge nurses, working 3×12s across different shifts. - They handle initial scheduling balance, staff assignments, and many managerial tasks. 
• Charge nurses are typically not in staffing because of high acuity. 

• Highly dedicated, engaged team—one of the strongest the leader has worked with in 20 years at Lovelace/Ardent. 
• Nurses are self-motivated, high-performing, push each other. 
• Recent metrics: HCAHPS ~84%, 95th percentile in satisfaction / Strong quality outcomes. 
• Unique procedural exposure—“cool procedures,” cardiac-only population. 
• CVICU has no mixed medical patients—entirely cardiac/vascular. 

• Biggest challenge: erratic census fluctuations. - Census may drop to 4 patients → staff float → frustration. Then surges with CT surgical cases. 
• Difficulties managing: Productivity / Engagement / Staff satisfaction 
• Leader working with intensivists on lowering admission threshold: Accept PCU patients / Accept some MICU overflow / Goal is maintaining census of 10 patients. 

• MS WORD Resume
• required compensation.
• Contact information.
• Availability

Salary : $130,000 - $150,000