VUMC

Clinical Nurse Specialist - Neonatal

Nashville, TN Full time

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Neonatal Services

Job Summary:

Performs a wide range of nursing clinical, consultative, educational and research activities with established expertise. Serves as a mentor and leader in the development of standards and in the training and monitoring of practice to achieve and maintain those standards.

.

We are seeking a dedicated professional to advance neonatal care in a Level IV NICU. Responsibilities include reviewing and developing evidence-based nursing practice policies, driving quality improvement initiatives, assessing equipment, and supporting multidisciplinary teams to ensure best practices. This role does not involve direct patient care, but focuses on enhancing neonatal care standards and understanding the complexities of Level IV NICU services.

Position Hours:

  • Full-Time (40 Hours Per Week)

  • Monday through Friday - Days

Department Summary:

In the NICU at the Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt we are committed to providing the highest standard of care to our newborns and their families. Our state-of-the-art NICU is equipped with advanced technology and staffed by a compassionate team of experts who work tirelessly to ensure the best outcomes for our patients.  We are the largest unit within Vanderbilt University Hospital system with 116 beds, with an increase to 131 beds in Summer 2025.  We are a level IV tertiary care NICU that attends to the complex care needs of more than 1400 fragile newborns per year.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Acts as an internal and external consultant and liaison to promote agreed upon clinical enterprise or Patient Care Center goals.
  • reviews nursing care plans for selected patients and serves as a resource to the nursing staff
  • teaches and models new skills/care modalities for the health care team
  • serves as a mentor to nursing staff on clinical, professional and research practices that support high quality, satisfying and cost beneficial care across the continuum.
  • Fosters individual and corporate staff development in the area of specialty
  • directs and/or conducts needs assessments for individuals or groups
  • develops, coordinates, implements and evaluates orientation and continuing education systems
  • Participates in scholarly and/or research activities in area of expertise.
  • maintains current knowledge of professional literature
  • conducts, coordinates or participates in research studies
  • writes for publication
  • teaches, precepts or mentors nursing students
  • participates in community projects
  • Assists in designing tools and systems to facilitate and optimize nursing care.
  • uses continuous improvement techniques (Plan, Do, Study, Act) to select or target areas/processes for improvement
  • mentors others in the continuous improvement cycle
  • shares results of process improvement with others on a timely basis either through verbal or written presentations
  • Provides expert nursing care to selected patients in area of specialty.
  • plans and manages patient care
  • provides patient and family education
  • prepares patient for the next level of care
  • addresses problems
  • communicates/collaborates effectively to meet patient and team goals
  • Under the direction of the PCC Administrative Director, participates in program development.
  • coordinates or directs program development
  • implements program(s)
  • evaluates program results and processes


TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

 Our Nursing Philosophy:  

We believe highly skilled and specialized nursing care is essential to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s mission of quality in patient care, education and research. We believe nursing is an applied art and science focused on helping people, families and communities reach excellent health and well-being. 

As a Vanderbilt University Medical Center employee, you make a difference to our patients and their families by bringing compassion and care to those in need of hope and healing. Please see our current employee benefits offered:

  • Affordable High Quality Health Plan Options
  • Dental and /or vision plan
  • 403 (b) retirement plan
  • Paid Time off (flex PTO)
  • Tuition Reimbursement and adoption assistance (maximums applied)
  • Short-Long term disability
  • Subsidized backup childcare
  • And many more... Ask us about our current inpatient nursing supplemental Pay Program!

Achieve the Remarkable: 

Learn more about VUMC Nursing here.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment. Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area. Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues:- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.- Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services:- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.- Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.- Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.- Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.- Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation:- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.- Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.- Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

LIC-Registered Nurse - Licensure-OthersLicensure-Others

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience


Experience Level:

2 years

Education:

Master's

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity.  EOE/Vets/Disabled.