About this role
Head Nurse
Introduction: Nationally recognized as a Great College to Work For, TTUHSC provides much more than just a job! Enjoy excellent benefits, including paid leave, retirement plans, wellness programs, health insurance and so much more. Ready to start building a rewarding career in a positive environment where you can develop and thrive? Join us as we change the future of health care.
About TTUHSC: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is enriching the lives of others by educating students, providing excellent patient care, and advancing knowledge through innovative research. TTUHSC graduates more health care professionals than any other health care institution in the state, conferring 24.2% of all degrees and certificates awarded from health-related institutions in Texas. By providing comprehensive clinical services to more than 10 million individuals across 121 counties, TTUHSC is dedicated to advancing the health of people throughout Texas and beyond. This is where world-class education meets compassionate patient care – and we believe that our people are the reason for our institution’s lasting success and bright future.
Being part of the TTUHSC team means being part of an innovative and supportive community that empowers each individual to do their best work. Through our values-based culture, TTUHSC is committed to cultivating an exceptional workplace community with a positive culture that puts people first.
Visa Information: TTUHSC, at its sole discretion, may initiate new H-1B I-129 visa petitions in accordance with the directive issued by Governor Abbott. Approval from the Texas Workforce Commission is required. On a limited, case-by-case basis, the institution may also sponsor eligible individuals for change-of-status or change-of-employer petitions for qualifying positions. TTUHSC will not pay the $100,000 fee, if applicable.
Position Description: The Head Nurse is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and evaluating patient care services (primarily nursing services) within an assigned specialty or sub-specialty area of a clinic. Persons in this position provide supervision and coordination of service to subordinate nursing personnel and may provide various levels of direct patient care. Work is performed under usual clinic conditions.
Major/Essential Functions: • Provides nursing leadership and operational oversight for the Department of Pediatrics, including General Pediatrics and pediatric specialty clinics. Supervises and coordinates the work of RNs, LVNs, and CMAs to ensure safe, efficient, consistent, and patient-centered clinical operations. • Provides direct supervision, leadership, coaching, and performance management for nursing and clinical support staff, including RNs, LVNs, and CMAs. Establishes clear expectations, promotes accountability, and supports a professional and collaborative work environment. • Develops and manages nursing and clinical support staff schedules to ensure appropriate coverage across General Pediatrics and pediatric specialty clinics. Coordinates coverage for vacancies, leave, call-outs, provider schedule changes, and fluctuations in patient volume. • Assesses daily staffing needs and reallocates clinical support resources as needed to maintain patient care operations, clinic flow, and provider support. • Leads orientation, onboarding, training, competency assessment, and ongoing education for nursing and clinical support staff. Coordinates in-services, skills validation, regulatory education, and training related to new workflows, equipment, medications, procedures, and clinical programs. • Develops, implements, and monitors standardized nursing workflows, clinical protocols, policies, and procedures in collaboration with faculty, APPs, clinic leadership, and department administration. • Supports efficient patient flow, rooming, triage, medication administration, vaccine processes, telephone and electronic message workflows, prescription support, referrals, prior authorizations, clinical documentation, and other nursing functions. • Serves as the primary nursing escalation point for clinical staffing, workflow, patient care, and operational concerns. Resolves issues within delegated authority and escalates matters requiring physician, administrative, HR, compliance, or executive review. • Partners with faculty physicians, APPs, nursing staff, clinic leadership, and departmental administration to identify workflow barriers, improve team-based care, and ensure appropriate clinical support for providers. • Monitors compliance with TTUHSC policies, nursing standards, scope-of-practice requirements, infection prevention, medication safety, vaccine management, patient safety, documentation requirements, and applicable regulatory standards. • Supports quality improvement activities, incident review, patient safety initiatives, and development of corrective action or process-improvement plans when nursing or clinical workflow concerns are identified. • Participates in recruitment, interviewing, selection, onboarding, retention, and workforce planning for nursing and clinical support positions. • Monitors staffing levels, vacancies, overtime, productivity, workload distribution, and other workforce indicators; provides recommendations to departmental leadership regarding staffing needs and resource allocation. • Conducts staff meetings and nursing huddles and ensures timely communication of operational changes, policy updates, clinical expectations, and departmental priorities. • Supports implementation of new clinical services, specialty programs, practice changes, equipment, and workflows affecting nursing or clinical support teams. • Maintains appropriate records related to staffing, competencies, training, performance, and clinical operations. • Represents Pediatrics on nursing, clinical operations, quality, safety, and institutional workgroups as assigned. • Performs other duties and special projects as assigned by departmental leadership.
Required Qualifications: Graduate from an approved accredited nursing program. Current RN license in the State of Texas or ability to obtain a Texas license. At least four years in nursing, with at least two of those years in a supervisory capacity.
Preferred Qualifications: • Progressive nursing leadership or supervisory experience in an ambulatory, academic medical center, multispecialty practice, pediatric practice, or similarly complex healthcare environment. • Experience supervising RNs, LVNs, CMAs, or other clinical support staff. • Experience developing staff schedules, managing clinical coverage, and responding to staffing shortages or unexpected operational needs. • Pediatric clinical experience strongly preferred.
Benefits: TTUHSC is committed to creating an environment where our team members can do their best work, with programs and benefits to support head-to-toe well-being. Explore just a few of the advantages of being a TTUHSC team member: • Health Plans + Supplemental Coverage Options – Individual health insurance provided at no cost for full-time team members • Paid Time Off – Including holidays, vacation, sick leave and more • Retirement Plans • Wellness Programs • Certified Mother-Friendly Workplace Additionally, TTUHSC invests in the success of our team members by providing opportunities for personal and professional growth, including lifelong learning programs, recognition programs, and health and wellness initiatives. Team members also enjoy a variety of other perks, such as special membership rates at local gyms and golf courses, access to state-of-the-art software and facilities, and discounts on travel, technology, entertainment and more.
Pay Statement: Compensation is commensurate upon the qualifications of the individual selected and budgetary guidelines of the hiring department, as well as the institutional pay plan. For additional information, please reference the institutional pay plan website at https://app4.ttuhsc.edu/payplan.
EEO Statement: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or status as a protected veteran.
Jeanne Clery Act: The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal statute requiring colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to maintain and disclose campus crime statistics and security information. By October 1 of each year, institutions must publish and distribute their Annual Campus Security Policy & Crime Statistics Report (ASR) to current and prospective students and employees. To view this report, visit the TTUHSC Clery Act website at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/compliance/clery-report.aspx.