A professional who administers nursing program in hospital, nursing home, or other medical facility to maintain standards of patient care, and advises medical staff, department heads, and administrators in matters related to nursing service. Responsibilities include:

• Recommends establishment or revision of policies and develops organizational structure and standards of performance.
• Interprets policies and objectives of nursing service to staff and community groups.
• Promotes working relationships with community agencies and with other establishment departments.
• Assists in preparation of departmental budget.
• Establishes personnel qualification requirements, drafts procedure manuals, initiates in-service programs, installs record and reporting system, and performs other personnel management tasks.
• Initiates studies to evaluate effectiveness of nursing services in relation to their objectives and costs.
• May assist nursing schools with curricular problems.