Nursing Supervisor - Emergency Services

J  o  b    D  e  s  c  r  i  p  t  i  o  n

JOB INFORMATION

Effective Date:

9/21/2025

Entity:

Wisconsin

Job Code:

802015A

Job Title:

Nursing Supervisor - Emergency Services

Exemption Status:

Exempt

Management Level:

Supervisor/Program Manager

JOB SUMMARY

The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor is a registered nurse with demonstrated expertise in nursing. The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor has responsibility for the supervision of patient care, nurses, and non-nursing staff, and unit/area operations. The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor works collaboratively with the leadership team to facilitate efficient clinical operations, staff development, effective management of resources, and quality improvement.

The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor partners with Nurse Managers and Emergency Services Directors to support and provide oversight of daily operations. The Emergency Services- Nursing Supervisor will monitor staffing and operations, including off shift and weekend supervision of nursing staff. This position is responsible for supporting a safe and therapeutic work environment. The Supervisor will be clinically oriented to work as a team member in order to provide assistance when unit needs exceed available resources. This clinical work will occur as time allows and as directed by the Manager and/or Director. The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor will function as the operational leader when the Nurse Manager is out of office. 

The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor communicates and collaborates with a variety of staff including nursing leadership, Care Team Leaders (CTLs) and senior team members, medical staff, support staff, case management, social work, and other departments to appropriately plan, direct, evaluate, and review care for patients and their families. This position requires expertise in problem solving, decision making, and communication (written and verbal) skills when interacting with these various disciplines. 

The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor serves as a role model, demonstrating competent patient care, leadership, and professional behavior which promote quality improvement programs.

The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor, under the direction of and in collaboration with the Nurse Manager, is responsible for hiring, performance evaluations, and addressing staff/team performance issues. Additional responsibilities include assisting with budget preparation and oversight, implementation of quality control and improvement, satisfaction of patients, families, staff, and providers, review and revision of policies and procedures, professional and clinical development of staff, outlining orientation plans, staff scheduling, and assisting the Nurse Manager in planning and conducting staff meetings. The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor may be assigned some Administrator on Call (AOC) shifts within the Med Flight operational leadership team.

The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor has educational responsibilities within the disciplines of nursing and the hospital. The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor utilizes an understanding of Magnet principles to ensure standards of excellence are fostered and met. The Emergency Services Nursing Supervisor participates in and may lead performance improvement work in the Emergency Department in a manner consistent with the UW Health Way standard expectations. They also closely work with Nursing and other leaders as applicable to provide orientees with sufficient training and education opportunities to develop and enhance their skills and competence in the care of patients in Emergency Services. 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

•

Interview and select candidates who have appropriate clinical skills and professional characteristics to match patient and department needs in collaboration with the Nurse Manager.

•

Manage performance and communicate with employees regarding standards of practice, standards of care, Respect for People commitments, and department/organization policies and procedures.

•

Support the growth and development of staff in areas such as teamwork, decision making, service recovery, and clinical skills by identifying strengths and areas of growth and assisting with goal setting as well as formal and informal learning and coaching.

•

Actively listens to staff ideas and concerns, assesses the communication styles of others, and adapts to them.

•

Direct staffing and adjust as necessary to reflect changes in care requirements, patient volume, and available staffing resources.

•

Assist with developing budgets based on department and organization direction using variance analysis, performance experience of previous years, and predictors for change in collaboration with aligned leadership and nursing finance partners.

•

Analyze and adjust systems as necessary to meet budget and/or productivity targets for cost-effective, quality care.

•

Analyze financial information and respond as necessary based on findings.

•

Support and promote Primary Nursing as the care delivery model and a decentralized management philosophy by designing and supporting a system that facilitates staff involvement and shared governance.

•

Assure that space is utilized or altered to maximize safety and efficiency.

•

Develop and monitor systems to assure cost effectiveness by participating in the selection and utilization of materials and supplies and monitoring charges.

•

Promote cost-effective behavior in staff through observation, feedback, and education.

•

Utilize improvement processes to identify and remove complex or recurring operational barriers and consult with leadership or medical staff as necessary.

•

Collaborate with the nursing leadership and interdisciplinary team as necessary in the development and implementation of initiatives that affect all services.

•

Assure that patient/family nursing care provided is within the UW Health Nursing Department's established standards and is evidence-based best practice.

•

Support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a patient care delivery system that is patient and family centered, evidence based, culturally sensitive, and encourages professional practice of staff that results in high quality and cost effective care outcomes.

•

Analyze clinical practice and identify opportunities to increase effectiveness and efficiency in collaboration with nursing staff and interdisciplinary team members as appropriate.

•

Partner with Clinical Nurse Specialist to measure and evaluate quality and safety of patient care and the environment.

•

Collaborate with providers, medical directors, and other health care disciplines to facilitate patient and family needs.

•

Identify and establish clinical learning opportunities for students in various health care disciplines. Monitor students' performance in conjunction with nursing and medical faculty.

•

Collaborate with Nursing Education Specialist and utilize subject matter experts as appropriate to assist with staff education, clinical issues, and orientation development.

•

Support the UW Health outreach mission through consultation and/or participation in health promotion, health education, and specialty requests from community agencies.

•

Evaluate current research/literature (i.e. theory, models of care, staff plans) for applicability within department.

•

Apply results of quality assurance studies to identify and design clinical research activities.

•

Utilize consultation from appropriate resources to develop clinical investigation of defined issues.

•

Support the planning of and participate in clinical research as approved by the Department of Nursing, UW Health, and/or the University of Wisconsin.

•

Assist with the development of measurable, reasonable, and market-oriented goals in collaboration with staff, providers and leadership.

•

Identify progress toward goals on an ongoing basis with measurable outcomes.

•

Assist with planning for department changes that involve the necessary individuals and are thorough, time driven, and well communicated; develop a written plan for major or interdepartmental changes.

•

Participate in the development, implementation, evaluation, and revision of policies and procedures, standards of care, guidelines, and interdisciplinary plans of care, particularly those pertinent to the department’s aligned patient population.

•

Participate in strategic planning and utilize available tools to bring the strategic plan to the local level.

ALL DUTIES AND REQUIREMENTS MUST BE PERFORMED CONSISTENT WITH THE UW HEALTH PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

X

Clinical

(Select all that apply)

X

Infants (Birth - 11 months)

X

Toddlers (1 - 3 years)

X

Preschool (4 - 5 years)

X

School Age (6 - 12 years)

X

Adolescent (13 - 19 years)

X

Young Adult (20 - 40 years)

X

Middle Adult (41 - 65 years)

X

Older Adult (Over 65)

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor of Science - Nursing (BSN). An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered but the candidate must be enrolled in a BSN program with a program completion date within 24 months of hire.

Required

3 years

of relevant clinical, ED,  transport, or Charge RN experience.

Required

Demonstrated progressive leadership experience.

Required

5 years

of relevant experience in clinical practice.

Preferred

Management, Supervisory, or charge RN experience with demonstrated success.

Preferred

Registered Nurse license in state of Wisconsin.

Upon Hire

Required

Certification in relevant specialty area.

Preferred

•

Progressive leadership experience with demonstrated success.

•

Skills to plan, organize, and direct operational activities.

•

Interpersonal skills necessary to interact with a wide variety of stakeholders.

•

Must be comfortable with an interdisciplinary culture of collaboration.

•

Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a communication style that is open and fosters trust, credibility and understanding.

•

Decision-making and problem-solving ability to resolve complex clinical, systems, organization, department, and human resource issues.

•

Ability to work under and handle stress.

•

Ability to adapt to and lead through change.

•

Ability to negotiate, resolve conflicts, and build teams.

•

Ability to provide constructive feedback and resolve conflicts.

•

Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize workload when given multiple demands.

•

Ability to effectively collaborative and promote teamwork.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS

☐

Sedentary: Ability to lift up to 10 pounds maximum and occasionally lifting and/or carrying such articles as dockets, ledgers and small tools. Although a sedentary job is defined as one, which involves sitting, a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met.

Up to 10#

Negligible

Negligible

☒

Light: Ability to lift up to 20 pounds maximum with frequent lifting and/or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 pounds. Even though the weight lifted may only be negligible amount, a job is in this category when it requires walking or standing to a significant degree.

up to 20#

Up to 10# or requires significant walking or standing or requires pushing/pulling of arm/leg controls.

Negligible or constant push/pull of items of negligible weight

☐

Medium: Ability to lift up to 50 pounds maximum with frequent lifting and/or carrying objects weighing up to 25 pounds.

20-50#

10-25#

Negligible-10#

☐

Heavy: Ability to lift up to 100 pounds maximum with frequent lifting and/or carrying objects weighing up to 50 pounds.

50-100#

25-50#

10-20#

☐

Very Heavy: Ability to lift over 100 pounds with frequent lifting and/or carrying objects weighing over 50 pounds.

Over 100#

Over 50#

Over 20#

Other - list any other physical requirements or bona fide occupational qualifications not indicated above:

Note: The purpose of this document is to describe the general nature and level of work performed by personnel so classified; it is not intended to serve as an inclusive list of all responsibilities associated with this position.