Clinical Leader Operations

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Manager of Ambulatory Surgical Care, the Clinical Leader Operations supports the efficient and effective operation of the Children’s Cleft Lip & Palate Clinic Team by assisting with the planning, organization and directing of clinical care consistent with the philosophy, vision, objectives and mission of the Health Centre. The Clinical Leader practices nursing to full scope and role models professional nursing practice, fostering the development of an environment in which the desired outcome of all activities is the enhancement of patient care while demonstrating strong leadership, organization and communication skills.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

•    Assess physical, psychosocial, developmental, spiritual, cultural and educational needs of children and families in our cleft lip and palate clinic
•    Anticipate and identify crisis situations related to the cleft lip and palate condition for both the patient and family. Respond promptly to time sensitive situations
•    Contribute to the development of individualized patient drop-down letter to provide a coordinated plan of care for the patient and family
•    Demonstrate the ability to develop a comprehensive interdisciplinary summary after each child’s Team assessment. Arranges for the summary (drop-down letter) to be available to the appropriate health care providers and family
•    Participate in the development and document on the interdisciplinary care plan 
•    Serve as the contact person, resource, liaison, and advocate for patients/families and health care providers both within the IWK Health Centre and Atlantic Canada community 
•    Assess and identify patient and family/caregiver needs and provide the care and support needed as they undergo their individualized journey; reach out to additional avenues of support as appropriate and required beyond that of the Team Lead’s abilities
•    Accurately triage all cleft patient referrals, ensuring a collaborative interdisciplinary initial assessment
•    Serve at the initial point of contact for all referrals (in-house IWK, HRM, Atlantic Canada) – person and paper referral whether fax, e-mail or other form of referral
•    Demonstrate knowledge, skill, and judgement to protocol referrals to interdisciplinary Cleft Team members based on patient/family assessment and referral criteria determined by the Cleft Team
•    Facilitate discharge and continuity of care plans activities in collaboration with other members of the health care Team
•    Educate and collaborate closely with community hospitals regarding specialized bottle feeding 
•    Facilitate weekly rounds and ensure patient’s / family needs are being identified and coordinate appropriate care/follow up.
•    Coordinate and facilitate quarterly meetings for the Team; reviewing SIMS and family feedback
•    Provide leadership to organize and facilitate virtual and in person events for patients and caregiver

Hours of Work

7.5 hour shifts, Monday to Friday, negotiable

Your Qualifications

•    Bachelor’s degree in Nursing required. Candidates with commensurate experience and education will be considered.
•    Licensed or eligible for licensure by the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia required. 
•    Successful completion of CPR Level-C Health Care Provider within the past 12 months required. 
•    Minimum three years recent pediatric surgical nursing experience required.
•    Recent Cleft Lip & Palate Ambulatory Care nursing experience required.
•    Previous supervisory and/or leadership experience preferred. Continuing education in leadership or team training an asset. 
•    Demonstrated effective leadership, communication (verbal & written), and interpersonal skills required. 
•    Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within an inter-professional team and to work independently required.
•    Demonstrated critical thinking skills, including clinical judgment, problem solving, and decision making abilities required. 
•    Demonstrated commitment to professional development and practice required.
•    Demonstrated ability to take initiative and to generate and implement innovative/creative solutions required. 
•    Demonstrated competencies in the promotion of teamwork/team building through consultation and collaboration with all stakeholders required. 
•    Demonstrated ability to be adaptable and flexible in responding to changes in patient/family and clinic needs required. 
•    Excellent time management and organizational skills required. 
•    Understanding of and commitment to Family Centred Care required. 
•    Demonstrated professionalism and ability to conduct oneself in a mature manner required.
•    Demonstrated proficiency with Windows, MS Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.) preferred. 
•    Demonstrated experience and competency in with Meditech/PCI preferred. 
•    Competency in other languages considered an asset; French preferred.