Associate Director - Respiratory Care Operations

Under the leadership of the Director of Respiratory Care, the Associate Director of Respiratory Care provides operational oversite of respiratory care services. Respiratory care services at VCU Health include the Department of Respiratory Care, Pulmonary Function, ECMO Program Services, and Interventional Pulmonology at the VCU Medical Center, the Children's Hospital of Richmond, CHoR Brook Road & Tappahannock.

The Respiratory Care Department provides services at outside facilitates such as Sheltering Arms Institute and specialty clinics.

The Associate Director, specifically with ECMO program, will have a thorough understanding of adult and pediatric, cardiac, pulmonary, vascular surgery, organ transplantation procedures and circulatory support theory. They consider all factors related to safety, effectiveness, knowledge, and skill of team members, as well as the cost of planning and delivering care of ECMO operations.

Essential Job Statements

Performance Expectation: Clinical Operation

Organize, direct and manage the daily clinical operations of the Department of Respiratory Care in the pursuit of safe and efficient clinical operational excellence. Works with the Director to establish division/work unit goals and expectations.

Meet regularly with Managers, Supervisors, and staff to address and resolve process issues. Compile productivity reports. Collaborate with other internal and external faculty, management and staff to address and resolve problems.

Actively lead and/or participate in department and/or team meetings. Develop and foster a strong sense of team spirit across the department. Reduce barriers to staff accomplishment of departmental objectives.

Performance Expectation: Human Resource Management & Supervision

Manage departmental personnel and resource utilization processes including staff scheduling, performance appraisal and competency assessment, staff recruitment and selection, retention and recognition, training and education, coaching and mentoring. Guide staff to achieve related management, clinical, technical, human relations, and customer relations competencies through education, delegation, mentoring or other individualized learning experiences.

Encourage staff to continue formal and informal education and participation in organizations that expand professional perspective. Create an environment that attracts and retains qualified staff. Encourage creative thinking, problem solving and innovation.

Recognize excellence in performance. Provide leadership and direction to management and staff. Develop a positive working environment by communicating clearly, professionally and timely.

Develop and enhance management skills of managers and supervisory staff. Foster staff member individual accountability for continuous improvement in performance. Address performance issue timely and effectively with fairness, trust and respect.

Establish and oversee staff orientation and competency processes. Regularly audit for compliance with health system objectives.

Performance Expectation: Safety/Quality/Performance Improvement/Benchmarking

Be a role model for daily use of the safe behavior expectations for error prevention as personal work habits. Take actions to ensure that all staff members apply STAR value behaviors to their everyday work.

Collaborate with faculty, management, and staff to establish an environment in which it is both encourage and expected that staff speak up for safety; support staff in speaking up. Encourage reporting of events and near misses. Take action to ensure alignment of clinical activities with department guidelines.

Work closely with departmental leadership and management (internal and external to respiratory therapy) to identify and implement process improvement opportunities to enhance patient safety and care initiatives. Identify, design and implement new processes for continuously driving improvements and change. Identify opportunities for streamlining and continuing to automate processes as applicable. Contribute to long- and short-term strategic planning and departmental operations improvement.

Performance Expectation: Customer Service (Patients, Visitors, Guests, Faculty, Staff

• Internal & External to VCUHS)

Develop, implement and monitor department specific customer service standards for staff at all levels. Work with area managers to ensure that staff provides prompt and professional customer service.

Work with area managers to develop unit specific customer service standards and expectations for compliance. Assist in public relations efforts by serving as a departmental representative for groups visiting the medical center. Create a daily monitoring process for service recovery for customers who may have had a negative experience.

Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the organization to safely discuss practices or other concerns within the lens of equitable responsibility.

Mentoring, coaching, and supporting their team members is being practiced every day in the department and approaches any conflict management with formal training and support.

Performance Expectation: Leadership/Relationship

Development Provide strong team leadership. Promote and manage change.

Motivate staff and respond to individual and team needs. Develop a strong team culture; deal appropriately with staff conflict. Promote and assist in departmental marketing efforts.

Represent the department in various committees and task forces as needed. Collaborate with Faculty to ensure open communication and perceived urgency of suggested operational improvements. Assist the manager and participate in the educational enhancement process of team members, including annual competency compliance. They will also continue to foster an environment within the teams that leads to new initiatives and workflows that benefit the team, the medical center, or the field of ECMO.

Patient Population:

Demonstrates knowledge and related competencies of the principles of growth and development of the life span and possesses the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's status and interprets the appropriate information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to their age, specific needs and to provide the equitable care needed as described in departmental policies and procedures.

Infant (1-12 months), Pediatrics (1-12 years), Adolescents (13-17 years), Adults (18-64 years), Geriatrics (65 years and older)

Employment Qualifications:

Required Education:

Bachelor's Degree in Respiratory Therapy, Health Administration, Public Health or Business Administration or health related field from an accredited program

Preferred Education:

Master's Degree in Respiratory Therapy, Health Administration, Public Health or Business Administration or health related field from an accredited program

Licensure/Certification Required:

Commonwealth of Virginia license as Respiratory Therapist, Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential from the National Board for, Respiratory Care (NBRC)

Licensure/Certification Preferred:

Specialty credential such as RRT-ACCS or RRT-NPS

Minimum Qualifications:

Years and Type of Required Experience:

Minimum of seven (7) years of experience as a Respiratory Therapist including progressively more responsibility related to work experience.

Minimum two (2) years of experience in a supervisor role.

Four (4) of the seven (7) must be years of experience at an academic medical center

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

Critical and acute respiratory care

Regulatory compliance

Policy and procedure development

Microsoft Word and Excel

Employee relations including hiring, disciplinary actions, performance reviews

Communication including with medical staff

Manage staffing with allocated resources

Direct meeting activity

Must be willing and able to work occasional evenings and weekends to ensure the department provides services according to internal guidelines.

Cultural Responsiveness

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred:

Minimum nine (9) years of experience as a Respiratory Therapist including progressively more responsibility related to a supervisor role.

Minimum four (4) years of experience in a supervisor role.

Six (6) of the nine (9) must be years of experience at an academic medical center

Working Conditions:

Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur.

General Office Environment

Required to car travel to off-site locations, occasionally in adverse weather conditions.

May be exposed to high noise levels and bright lights.

May be exposed to limited hazardous substances or body fluids.*

May be exposed to human blood and other potentially infectious materials.*

May have periods of constant interruptions.

• Individuals in this position are required to exercise universal precautions, use personal protective equipment and devices, and learn the policies concerning infection control.

Physical Requirements:

Physical Demands: Lifting/ Carrying (0-50 lbs., 50-100lbs.), Push/Pull (0-50 lbs., 50-100 lbs.), Stoop, Kneel, Squat, Climbing, Balance, Bending

Work Position: Sitting, Walking, Standing

Additional Physical Requirements/ Hazards:

Physical Requirements: Manual dexterity (eye/hand coordination), Hear alarms/telephone/tape recorder, Reach above shoulder, Repetitive arm/hand movements

Hazards: Use of Latex Gloves, Exposure to toxic/caustic/chemicals/detergents, Exposure to moving mechanical parts, Exposure to dust/fumes, Exposure to potential electrical shock, Exposure to x ray/electromagnetic energy, Exposure to high pitched noises, Gaseous risk exposure

Mental/Sensory

• Emotional:

Mental/Sensory: Strong Recall, Reasoning, Problem solving, Hearing, Speak clearly, Write Legibly, Reading, Logical Thinking

Emotional: Fast pace environment, Steady Pace, Able to handle multiple priorities, Frequent and intense customer interactions, Noisy Environment, Able to adapt to frequent change

EEO Employer/Disabled/Protected Veteran/41 CFR 60-1.4.