Director, Education, Professional Practice and Nursing Excellence

Day - 08 Hour (United States of America)

Location:

Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Department:
Nursing Excellence and Inquiry

Reports To:

Assistant Chief Nursing Officer, Patient Safety, Accreditation and Nursing Excellence FLSA Status:
Exempt

A Brief Overview The Director of Education, Professional Practice and Nursing Excellence provides strategic and operational leadership for nursing and interprofessional education, professional practice, workforce development, competency management, nursing excellence, evidence-based practice, research, and clinical inquiry across Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley. The Director establishes integrated strategies, standards, and infrastructure that advance clinical competence, professional development, practice excellence, workforce readiness, and the generation and dissemination of new knowledge.

The role ensures that education and professional practice programs align with organizational priorities, nursing strategic goals, clinical outcomes, regulatory requirements, and recognized standards of excellence. In partnership with designated medical directors, the Director serves as the nursing and administrative dyadic leader for medical education and research. The dyad advances coordinated interprofessional education, simulation, clinical scholarship, academic partnerships, and research initiatives that strengthen collaboration among nurses, physicians, advanced practice providers, and other healthcare professionals.

Strategic and Operational Leadership Establish and execute an organization-wide strategy for education, professional practice, workforce development, nursing excellence, research, and inquiry. Translate organizational and nursing priorities into measurable departmental goals, programs, and multiyear roadmaps. Lead departmental operations, including staffing, performance management, budgeting, resource allocation, contracts, technology, and program evaluation. Recruit, develop, and lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for education, professional practice, simulation, workforce development, nursing excellence, and research.

Represent the department on organizational committees, leadership forums, and strategic initiatives. Establish performance measures demonstrating the clinical, workforce, operational, and financial impact of departmental programs.

Education, Professional Development and Competency Provide strategic oversight for nursing and interprofessional education, orientation, onboarding, continuing education, simulation, transition-to-practice programs, and specialty development. Establish organization-wide standards for learning-needs assessment, curriculum development, competency validation, program evaluation, and educational recordkeeping. Ensure education addresses changes in clinical practice, policies, equipment, technology, services, regulatory requirements, and identified performance gaps. Oversee learning-management-system administration, continuing-education processes, certification tracking, and required education reporting.

Partner with clinical and operational leaders to ensure staff possess the knowledge and skills necessary to provide safe, high-quality care.

Professional Practice Provide leadership for nursing professional practice standards and the structures supporting consistent, evidence-based care. Promote integration of the Nursing Professional Practice Model into clinical practice, education, decision-making, orientation, and professional governance. Oversee professional practice consultation related to policies, clinical guidelines, standards of care, clinical pathways, new services, and changes in practice. Ensure alignment among policies, education, competencies, clinical workflows, and regulatory requirements.

Lead structured change-management efforts that support implementation and sustained adoption of evidence-based practices and new models of care.

Nursing Excellence and Professional Governance Lead the organization’s nursing excellence strategy and preparation for a future nursing excellence designation. Oversee readiness assessments, performance monitoring, evidence development, communication, and improvement plans. Advance shared decision-making and professional governance structures that enable nurses to influence clinical practice, education, quality, and professional development. Develop strategies that support professional certification, academic advancement, mentoring, succession planning, recognition,…