A registered professional nurse who is accountable for the overall leadership, management, and delivery of high-quality perioperative care in a Critical Access Hospital. Responsible for the nursing process of assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation across the operating room (OR), Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), and related perioperative areas. Provides direct oversight of nursing staff, sterile processing, supply management, and surgeon relations while ensuring safe, efficient, and compliant surgical services. Functions within the Nurse Practice Act of the State of New Mexico and in accordance with hospital policies and procedures.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Provides leadership for planning, organizing, coordinating, and evaluating perioperative nursing practice and the quality of patient care in the OR and PACU.
2. Ensures adequate, competent staffing levels to safely support surgical cases and daily operations.
3. Recruits, supervises, orients, mentors, and evaluates OR and PACU nursing staff.
4. Oversees sterile processing management, ensuring proper decontamination, sterilization, storage, and availability of instruments and equipment in compliance with regulatory standards and best practices.
5. Builds and maintains strong surgeon relationships, collaborating with surgeons to optimize scheduling, address concerns, improve operational efficiency, and support physician satisfaction.
6. Manages operating supply room coordination, including inventory control, par levels, supply ordering, cost management, and collaboration with materials management to prevent outages and control expenses.
7. Assigns responsibilities and delegates authority to promote safe, effective, and efficient care for surgical patients.
8. Develops, implements, and monitors the operational and capital budgets for the perioperative department with strong cost-conscious decision-making.
9. Collaborates with surgeons, anesthesia providers, and other departments to optimize block time, case scheduling, and resource utilization.
10. Leads quality improvement initiatives, infection prevention, regulatory compliance, and patient safety protocols.
11. Maintains readiness for emergency and trauma surgical cases common to a Critical Access Hospital.
12. Promotes positive, harmonious, and efficient working relationships within the perioperative team and across all hospital departments.
13. Communicates regularly with the Chief Nursing Officer regarding departmental performance, staffing needs, equipment requirements, surgeon feedback, and operational challenges.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse license in the State of New Mexico or current Nursing Compact License.
• Current CPR (BLS) and ACLS certification required; PALS and CNOR strongly preferred.
• Minimum of three (3) years of recent OR experience, including scrubbing and circulating.
• Previous leadership or managerial experience in perioperative services preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing standards, surgical supply management, and physician relations.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build effective relationships with surgeons and staff.
• Knowledge of care requirements across all age groups.