Assistant Nurse Manager, Intensive Care Unit

Department Overview

The Assistant Nurse Manager is a registered nurse who provides operational leadership under the direction of the Nurse Manager to ensure safe, effective, and patient-centered nursing care. The Assistant Nurse Manager supports staff development, oversees daily operations, and contributes to quality, financial, and human resource management activities. This role promotes a professional practice environment that fosters excellence in patient care and staff engagement.

The nurses of the 12K Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) provide patient and family centered care to the patient populations that include complex cardiac and vascular patient as well as specialty surgery patients, including advanced heart failure, cardiology, CABG, heart valve replacement, adult congenital heart population, ventricular assist device (VAD), heart transplantation, vascular surgery, ENT, plastics, ortho, OB‑GYN, and urology. As a critical care unit, the nurse to patient ratio is either 1:1 or 1:2 based on patient acuity .

Medical modalities on this unit include, but are not limited to, various short‑ and long‑term Ventricular Assist Devices, Intra‑Aortic Balloon Pumps, Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy, and Extracorporeal Life Support. Our unit is unique in that it has been awarded the AACN Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence five consecutive times. We are the home of the Rapid Response Team which provides care throughout the hospital as code responders and to assist in code prevention.

The CVICU has a very active UBNPC with a commitment to the shared governance model, quality care delivery, on‑going education and journal club. Our dedication to the professional practice model is exemplified through our certified nursing staff (CCRN) which is currently 85%.

The Assistant Nurse Manager is distinguished from the Nurse Manager by providing operational leadership and supervisory support on a shift or unit basis, rather than holding primaryaccountability for long‑term strategic, fiscal, and administrative management of the department. The Assistant Nurse Manager serves as a front‑line leader who implements policies, coordinate staffing,monitor patient care quality, and provide coaching and guidance to nursing staff.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Strategic & Unit Planning — Partners with the Nurse Manager to translate organizational and nursing priorities into unit plans; contributes to goal setting (short- and long‑term),measurable targets, and implementation timelines; coordinates interventions, tracks progressusing data, and communicates status to stakeholders; supports readiness for accreditation/regulatory changes.

2. Operational Leadership — Oversees day‑to‑day operations, including staffing, scheduling,assignments, patient flow, and escalation pathways to ensure safe, effective care; leadshuddles and facilitates clear communication; may provide leadership coverage across allshifts (days/evenings/nights/weekends) as operationally needed.

3. Staff Supervision & Development — Provides coaching, mentoring, competencyvalidation, and performance feedback; participates in orientation and evaluations; supportsrecruitment, retention, and succession planning; recognizes exemplary practice and addressesperformance concerns.

4. Quality, Safety & Risk — Promotes adherence to professional standards, organizational policies, and regulatory requirements; uses data to monitor outcomes; leads/participates in performance improvement, event review, risk mitigation, and dissemination of best practices;supports standard work and error‑reduction processes.

5. Human Resources & Employee Relations — Fosters engagement and a positive work environment; facilitates conflict resolution; supports attendance management and progressiveperformance management; ensures compliance with applicable labor/collective bargaining agreements and HR policies.

6. Resource & Financial Stewardship — Assists with productivity and resource monitoring;applies staffing tools and guidelines; monitors overtime/premium use and supply utilization;educates staff on financial implications of care decisions and…