Quality Nurse Specialist (Salaried/Full-time)

Organization Overview, Mission, Vision, and Values

Our mission is to improve the health of people in the communities we serve through compassionate, high-quality care, prevention, and wellness education. Washington Regional Medical System is a community-owned, locally governed, non-profit health care system located in Northwest Arkansas in the heart of Fayetteville, which is consistently ranked among the Best Places to live in the country. Our 425-bed medical center has been named the #1 hospital in Arkansas for six consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. We employ 3,200+ team members and serve the region with over 40 clinic locations, the region’s only Level II trauma center, and five Centers of Excellence - the Washington Regional J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute; Washington Regional Walker Heart Institute; Washington Regional Women and Infants Center; Washington Regional Total Joint Center; and Washington Regional Pat Walker Center for Seniors. 

Position Summary

Reporting directly to the Director, Quality & Research, the Quality Nurse Specialist supports hospital-wide quality improvement through clinical expertise, data analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This position reviews and interprets clinical performance data while monitoring and maintaining data submissions, in collaboration with other quality team members, for the facility's quality management software. Additionally, the role ensures compliant regulatory reporting to CMS and Joint Commission, as well as fulfillment of value-based care requirements.

The Quality Nurse Specialist partners with providers, nursing leaders, and operational teams to identify opportunities and implement sustainable improvements in clinical processes, patient outcomes, and care delivery.

Essential Position Responsibilities 

• Responsible for supporting and advancing the hospital’s inpatient clinical quality 
• Works in partnership with director of quality, manager of quality, and chief medical officer (CMO) to identify clinical focus points
• Monitors and identifies clinical quality measures, facilitates evidence-based interventions, and evaluates outcomes
• Primary focus on inpatient clinical quality measures including sepsis, total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty, and other measures as determined by director and CMO
• Understands the components of data abstraction as it relates to identified clinical quality measures from a quality department requirement
• Serves as a bridge between clinical practice and quality data
• Maintain assigned clinical quality data to improve quality measures and enhance public reputation. 
• Ensures data is timely, complete, accurate, and consistent with applicable measure definitions, technical specifications, and submission requirements.
• Support inpatient teams in establishing baseline performance, selecting measures, monitoring interventions, and evaluating the effectiveness and sustainability of improvement efforts.
• Participate in clinical case reviews, performance improvement meetings, quality committees, and service-line workgroups as assigned.
• Assist with development and implementation of evidence-based clinical practices, standardized workflows, creating clinical pathways, education, and tools designed to reduce variation and improve outcomes.
• Maintain current knowledge of clinical quality measures,  quality improvement methods, and applicable regulatory and accreditation expectations.
• Support the development of standardized workflows, clinical practices, education, and tools that reduce variation and promote reliable, high-quality care.

 

Qualifications

• Education: Must be a graduate of an accredited nursing program
• Licensure and Certifications:  RN license, required. CPHQ and/or CPPS, preferred.
• Experience: Minimum of 2 years of clinical experience required. Minimum 2 years of experience in Quality Assurance, Risk, Infection Control, Clinical Audit, or Utilization will be considered in lieu of clinical experience. 

Work Environment: This position will spend 80% of time sitting while performing work in a standard office environment. This position will spend 20% of time standing and/or walking while pushing, pulling, lifting, and/or carrying up to 50 lbs.