Nurse Supervisor Job Description Template

A nurse supervisor, working with her team, points to a clipboard one of her nurses is holding.

When looking for the right-fit candidate to oversee your nursing staff and manage patient care, you’re likely to face a number of challenges, including how to attract highly qualified candidates in such an in-demand field. Not only are registered nurses generally in scarce supply, but RNs with supervisory experience are even more coveted, and likely to remain so with an expected job growth rate of 32 percent.

The nurse supervisor job description below provides sample job responsibilities and required skills and qualifications for nurse supervisor. For more ideas on what to include in your job post, you can look through current job listings for nurse supervisors on Monster.

A nurse supervisor, working with her team, points to a clipboard one of her nurses is holding.

Nurse Supervisor

[Intro Paragraph] Your nurse supervisor job description should begin with a short paragraph or a bullet list aimed at selling your hospital or medical facility to potential candidates. By focusing on what makes your setting special, you will increase your chances of appealing to an RN who is looking for the opportunity you are providing.

Nurse Supervisor Job Responsibilities:

  • Promotes and restores patients’ health by developing day-to-day management and long-term planning of the patient care area.
  • Hires, onboards, directs, mentors, develops, and schedules staff, including communicating job expectations and providing performance reviews.
  • Collaborates with physicians and multidisciplinary professional staff to implement patient care.
  • Provides physical and psychological support for patients, friends, and families.
  • Meets nursing operational standards by contributing information to strategic plans and reviews; implementing production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards; resolving problems; and identifying system improvements.
  • Provides input on annual budget, monitors expenditures, performs research on possible investments in equipment or additional staffing, and identifies variances in departmental costs.
  • Identifies patient service requirements by establishing personal rapport with potential and actual patients and other persons in a position to understand service requirements.
  • Maintains nursing guidelines by writing and updating policies and procedures.
  • Assures quality of care by developing and interpreting hospital and nursing division’s philosophies and standards of care, enforcing adherence to state board of nursing and state nurse practice act requirements and to other governing agency regulations, measuring health outcomes against standards, and making or recommending adjustments.
  • Completes patient care requirements by scheduling and assigning nursing and staff and following up on work results.
  • Establishes a compassionate environment by providing emotional, psychological, and spiritual support to patients, friends, and families.
  • Promotes patients’ independence by establishing patient care goals, teaching and counseling patients, friends, and family to reinforce their understanding of disease, medications, and self-care skills.
  • Provides information to patients and health care team by answering questions and requests.
  • Resolves patients’ needs by utilizing multidisciplinary team strategies.
  • Maintains safe and clean working environment by designing and implementing procedures, rules, and regulations, and by calling for assistance from other health care professionals.
  • Protects patients and employees by developing and interpreting infection-control policies and protocols, and by enforcing medication administration, storage procedures, and controlled substance regulations.
  • Maintains patient confidence and protects operations by monitoring confidential information processing.
  • Maintains documentation of patient care services by auditing patient and department records.
  • Ensures operation of medical and administrative equipment by verifying emergency equipment availability, completing preventive maintenance requirements, following manufacturer’s instructions, troubleshooting malfunctions, requesting repairs, maintaining equipment inventories, and evaluating new equipment and techniques.
  • Maintains nursing supplies inventory by studying usage reports, identifying trends, anticipating needed supplies, and approving requisitions and cost allocations.
  • Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, and participating in professional societies.
  • Maintains a cooperative relationship among health care teams by communicating information, responding to requests, and participating in team problem-solving methods.

[Work Hours & Benefits] Use this section to sell the position the way your opening paragraph sold your workplace. Using a salary tool that allows you to input job title and location, you can either provide a competitive and appropriate salary range or confidently state that the salary is generous for your area. You’ll want to provide information about shifts and patient-to-nurse ratios, and highlight attractive perks, such as signing bonuses, paid relocation, student loan repayment, low- or no-deductible medical benefits, 401(k), and opportunities for professional development.

Nurse Supervisor Skills and Qualifications:

  • Clinical skills
  • Bedside manner
  • Leadership and mentorship
  • Infection control
  • Physiological knowledge
  • Administering medication
  • Teambuilding skills
  • Organizational and Multitasking skills
  • Listening and verbal communication skills
  • Health promotion and maintenance
  • Pain management
  • Patient focus
  • Safety focus

Education, Experience, and Licensing Requirements:

  • Registered Nurse (RN)
  • Active applicable state licensure
  • American Heart Association issued BLS and ACLS

[Call to Action] End your nurse supervisor job description with a call to action (CTA) that encourages interested applicants to fill out an online application or submit a resume and cover letter.

Use Your Nurse Supervisor Job Description to Get Your Job Search Off to a Healthy Start

Now that you’ve formulated the a robust job description for your next nursing manager, extend your reach with a free job listing to find top candidates. Performance-based search can help your find the right fit for your healthcare facility.