Sample of Job Descriptions

1. Hospital Administrator Job Description• Hospital administrators oversee the various

hospital departments and other related medical facilities including outpatient clinics, hospices and drug-abuse treatment centers. Hospital administrators must follow and enforce policies established by a board of trustees. These rules help administrators to plan, organize, direct, control and coordinate medical and health services.

Hospital administrators have numerous responsibilities that include:

• acting as liaisons among the governing boards, medical staff and department heads

• helping all departments work together as a team

• recruiting and hiring doctors, nurses, interns and assistant administrators

• conducting or coordinating employee evaluations.

• In addition to creating policies for the medical center, hospital administrators are in charge of developing procedures for medical treatments, as well as ensuring quality assurance and other patient services.

• A hospital administrator’s job includes public relations, ensuring that the facility maintains a positive image. Administrators must attend numerous health planning councils, hold fund-raising events and occasionally travel to professional association conventions. Being a hospital administrator is a demanding job that also requires keeping up with ever-changing medical technology, government regulations, financing options and health insurance benefits.

2. Medical Director Job Description• A medical director job description entails

taking care of all the activities that take place in the department while providing quality health care.

• A medical director is a person who is the leader of a department or a medical facility. One of the most sought after medical jobs, he is a physician who implements policies, procedures and who decides what is best for the organization. As a part of the medical director job description, he also oversees all training and continuing education programs so as to keep his staff updated.

• And all these efforts aren't for nothing - the average medical director salary can range around USD 200,000 per year! Given below are details regarding the job description of a medical director.

Job Description of a Medical Director • To develop, coordinate and supervise staff within

the department and between other departments.• To oversee evaluation and management of

clinical practices within the department and in other departments.

• One of the important aspects of medical director job descriptions is to ensure that there is adequate staff with appropriate training in the department, and exceptional customer service that provides quality health care.

• A medical director is also in charge of assigning and reviewing the work of the staff of his department. Read more on hospital jobs.

• Providing for and recommending selections, promotions, awards, and corrective actions as is needed within the department. This is done by participating in the production of setting performance standards for the staff and then monitoring, assessing, reviewing and evaluating employee performance based on these established standards.

• A medical director job description also entails supporting, communicating and facilitating corporate wide employee programs and policies like pay policies, working overtime policies, etc.

• A medical director also has the duty of providing clear and concise verbal and written instructions regarding running the department to ensure that they are understood.

• To ensure that department staff are kept up to date on any changes that are occurring regarding the working style of the department or the pay pattern.

• A medical director is also supposed to listen and ask for feedback from staff and customers. Effective interpersonal communication is of utmost importance and it is a mandatory requirement for a person who wishes to fully comply with a medical director job description requirements.

• To listen for clues on whether the patient needs any additional assistance in understanding the treatment plan or clearing any doubts that he may have regarding the treatment plan.

• A medical director has to counsel and instruct customers and family members either directly or with the help of a referral, whichever is more suited to the requirement at that point of time. He needs to adjust his communication style so as to fit the receiver of the message.

• Proper usage of the computer system so as to obtain necessary customer information, order required laboratory tests and to check messages.

• To ensure the efficient and effective flow of customers throughout the department, while also ensuring that they are being properly treated and taken care for.

• To intervene and diffuse any situation that involves agitated, confused, scared or emotional customers and family members. He needs to be patient with them and reassure them that the treatment being offered is the best available treatment.

• One of the medical director duties is also to resolve any kind of argument or misunderstanding that may crop up between the medical staff. Sometimes, there tends to be a disagreement over the diagnosis or the treatment plan that is chalked out for a patient. In such cases, it is important to amicably resolve the dispute in the best interests of the staff and the patient at heart.

• A medical director is also supposed to abide by policies, procedures and laws to ensure that the best interests of the organization are kept in mind while providing quality health care.

• To ensure that a safe work environment for the staff is maintained by keeping a clean work environment, including adequate supplies and upkeep of unit and equipment. He also needs to update employees on health records and assist in disaster planning and other such activities that the staff and organization may have to face.

3. Chief Nurse Job DescriptionIdentification• A chief nurse is a part of the administrative or

executive staff at a hospital or other medical center. They advance to this position of great responsibility after exceptional service as a registered nurse.

Duties• The chief nurse is responsible for mentoring

and supervising the activities of RNs on her staff. She must manage the operations of her nurse unit, develop strategies for making her unit more efficient and evaluate methods to improve the quality of patient care.

Training and Skills• A chief nurse must complete a bachelor's or associate's

degree or earn an in-hospital diploma to become registered, then work in a hospital setting for at least three to five years. She must have a caring and understanding nature and also have impeccable supervision skills.

Work Environment• Chief nurses are on call 24 hours a day. The schedule

can include weekends and holidays. They work directly with nurses on staff in patient rooms and at nurse stations.

4. Head nurses or nurse supervisor job description

• Head nurses supervise nursing activities in a variety of settings. While some patient care is usually required, the nursing superviser's new duties include setting up work schedules, assigning duties to a nursing staff, and ensuring that each member of the nursing team is adequately trained.

• Head nurses are ultimately responsible for the performance of the nurses on their team. This means that they must ensure that nursing records are correctly maintained, that report is correctly given at each shift change, and that equipment and other supplies are in stock.

5. Registered Nurse job description (RN)• Registered Nurses (RNs) comprise the largest

group of healthcare workers. To become an RN, students must learn what it takes to work directly with patients and their families. They are the primary point of contact between the patient and the world of health care, both at the bedside and in out-patient settings.

• RNs perform frequent patient evaluations, including monitoring and tracking vital signs, performing procedures such as IV placement, phlebotomy, and administering medications. Because the RN is much more regular contact with patients than are physicians, the RN is usually first to notice problems or raise concerns about patient progress.

• RN job descriptions also include developing the day-to-day nursing care plans both in the hospital and for care after discharge, to be administered by families and visiting nurses.

• While there is a national component to RN training (culminating in the NCLEX licensing exam), state laws determine the formal responsibilities of the RN. Nonetheless, because of the relatively broad nursing job description for RNs, the particular work enivironment determines what the daily routine is.

6. Nurse Practitioners job description• Nurse Practitioners are primary caregivers.

Several critics of the current U.S. healthcare system would argue that the system needs many more Nurse Practitioners and fewer physicians. These nurses are often first in line to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries. Nurse Practitioners have the right to prescribe certain medications, with licensing and priveleges varying by state.

• With increasing specialization, becoming a Nurse Practitioner requires taking on some secondary care responsibilities, including anesthesiology (certified registered nurse anesthetists), widwifery (certified nurse-midwives), and certain other clinical responsibilities (clinical nurse specialists).

• Educational requirements to become a Nurse Practitioner often require a BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing), followed by additional training, sometimes requiring a Masters in Nursing.

7. Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) job description• Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), or licensed

vocational nurses (LVNs) in Texas and California, provide the patient care on a very personal level. They usually report directly to physicians and RNs, and are usually responsible for taking vitals and monitoring in-and-out volumes, treating common like bedsores, and preparing or performing several procedures such as dressing wounds, bathing and dressing, and giving enemas.

• With frequent direct contact with patients, LPN jobs and LVN jobs are important in helping patients deal with their illnesses.

• In some, but not all, states LPNs and LVNs may administer prescribed medicines or start IV fluids.

8. Nursing home nurses job description• Nursing home nurses manage nursing care for

residents with conditions ranging from a fracture to Alzheimer's disease. Although they often spend much of their time on administrative and supervisory tasks, RNs also assess residents' health condition, develop treatment plans, supervise licensed practical nurses and nursing aides, and perform difficult procedures such as starting intravenous fluids.

• They also work in specialty-care departments, such as long-term rehabilitation units for patients with strokes and head-injuries.

9. Home Health Nurses job description• The aging Baby-Boomer population as led to a

growth in home health nursing jobs. Home health nurses provide periodic services to patients at home. After assessing patients' home environments, they care for and instruct patients and their families.

• Home health nurses care for a broad range of patients, such as those recovering from illnesses and accidents, cancer, and childbirth. They must be able to work independently, and may supervise home health aides.

10. Nursing Aides job description• Nursing aides, also known as nursing assistants,

geriatric aides, unlicensed assistant personnel, or hospital attendants, perform routine tasks under the supervision of nursing and medical staff. As the medical industry booms, nursing assistant salaries are expected to remain competitive. Nursing aides answer patients' call bells, deliver messages, serve meals, make beds, and help patients eat, dress, and bathe.

• Aides also may provide skin care to patients; take temperatures, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure; and help patients get in and out of bed and walk. They also may escort patients to operating and examining rooms, keep patients' rooms neat, set up equipment, store and move supplies, or assist with some procedures. Aides observe patients' physical, mental, and emotional conditions and report any change to the nursing or medical staff.

PROCEDURES COMMONLY DONE IN THE WARD

• Venipuncture• Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) Measurement• Urinary Catheterization• Subcutaneous (SC) Injection

• Intramuscular (IM) Injection• Electrocardiograms (Ecgs)• Nasogastric Tubes• Ascitic Tap and/or Drainage (Paracentesis)• Intravenous therapy

Infection Control and Prevention

Policy

• Health-care workers are to consider all patients as potentially infected and to adhere rigorously to infection control precautions for minimizing the risk of exposure to blood and body fluids of all patients.

• Health-care workers are defined as persons, including employees, physicians, students, trainees, contract workers and volunteers whose activities involve contact with patients or with blood or other body fluids and tissues from patients in a health-care setting.

Policy

• All health-care workers are expected to follow standard infection control practices to ensure their own safety, and that of other workers, patients and visitors.

• Handwashing is the single most important procedure to reduce the risks of transmitting microorganisms from one person to another or from one site to another. All health-care workers must comply with the handwashing policy.

Procedures

• All health-care workers must routinely use appropriate barrier precautions to prevent skin and mucous-membrane exposure when contact with blood or other body fluids of any patient is anticipated. a) Gloves must be worn for touching blood and body

fluid, mucous-membranes and for handling items or surfaces soiled with blood or body fluids. Gloves must also be worn for contact with non-intact skin and when conducting vascular access procedures. Gloves must be changed when moving from contaminated to clean body systems and after contact with each patient. Hands must be cleaned after removal of gloves.

Procedures

b) Masks and protective eye wear must be worn during procedures that are likely to generate droplets of blood or other body fluids to prevent exposure of mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes.

c) Gowns or aprons must be worn during procedures that are likely to generate splashes of blood or other body fluids or anytime soiling of clothing may be anticipated.

Procedures

• Hands and other skin surfaces must be washed immediately and thoroughly if contaminated with blood or other body fluids and after gloves are removed.

• All health-care providers must take precautions to prevent injuries caused by needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments or devices during procedures; when cleaning used instruments; during disposal of uses needles; and when handling sharp instruments after procedures.

Procedures

• To prevent needlestick injuries without prior safety activation device, needle must not be recapped, purposely bent or broken by hand, removed from disposable syringes, or otherwise manipulated by hand. A one-handed scoop method may be used if recapping cannot be avoided. After they are used, disposable syringes and needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp items must be disposed of as close as practical to the use area into an approved sharps disposal container.

Procedures

• Although saliva has not been implicated in HIV transmission, to minimize the need for emergency mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, mouthpieces, resuscitation bags or other ventilation devices shall be available for use in areas in which the need for resuscitation is predictable.

• Health-care workers who have exudative lesions or weeping dermatitis that cannot be adequately contained shall refrain from all direct patient care and from handling all patient care equipment until the condition resolves.

Procedures

• Pregnant health-care workers are not known to be at greater risk of contracting nosocornial infection than health-care workers who are not pregnant; however, if a health-care worker develops an infection during pregnancy, the infant may be at risk of infection resulting from prenatal transmission. Because of this risk, pregnant health-care workers must be especially familiar with and strictly adhere to precautions to minimize the risk of possible transmission