Evidence Based Practice Nursing Leader

Unity Health Toronto (Unity Health) is one of Canada's largest Catholic healthcare networks serving patients, residents and clients across the full spectrum of care spanning primary care, secondary community care, tertiary care and quaternary care services to post-acute through rehabilitation, palliative care and long term care, while investing in world-class research and education. Unity Health is comprised of St. Michael's Hospital (SMH), St. Joseph's Healthcare Centre (SJHC) and Providence Healthcare (PHC). The Professional Practice Portfolio encompasses practice, education and research, and endeavours to lead and support excellence in Nursing, and contribute to advancements in interprofessional, collaborative care. The Portfolio provides exemplary leadership in Nursing Standards, and the identification and application of evidence based nursing practice that supports and ensures the delivery of safe quality care. The role of the Evidence Based Nursing Practice Leader will appeal to a highly motivated individual who is passionate about excellence in nursing practice, education and patient care, and who has a vision for evidence-based practice integration into professional nursing practice as a key strategy for achieving the best possible patient care.

As a key member of the Professional Practice Portfolio, and reporting to the Manager, Evidence Based Nursing Practice, the primary responsibility of the role of the Evidence Based Nursing Practice Leader is to provide leadership and support in the identification, integration, evaluation and sustainability of evidence based practices consistent with Unity Health's Corporate Strategic Plan and Interprofessional Strategic Plan.

The incumbent will achieve the desired results through activities in the following main areas:

• Design, implement and evaluate mechanisms that support the integration, evaluation and translation of established Best Practice Guidelines (BPGs) and other forms of evidence within and across clinical programs and services
• Oversee and coordinate all aspects of the Registered Nurses¿ Association of Ontario Best Practice Spotlight Organization candidacy and designation
• Evaluate, refine and sustain strategies that support the utilization of nursing performance and patient outcome data at the local unit and corporate level
• Develop, implement and evaluate nursing initiatives in response to Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOH-LTC) and other funding opportunities and priorities

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Evidence Based Nursing Practice Leader will work collaboratively with the Manager, Evidence Based Nursing Practice and other members of the Nursing and Health Disciplines Professional Practice team, Clinical Leader Managers/Patient Care Managers (CLMs/PCMs), program leaders, nurses, Clinical Educators - Nursing, Nurse Practitioners (NPs), and Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) to:

• Establish the annual BPG Communities¿ of Practice (CoPs) with input from Nursing Practice and Education team members and other key stakeholders (e.g., BPG Nurse Champions, CLMs/PCMs, Clinical Educators - Nursing) in order to develop, implement and coordinate knowledge translation and quality improvement activities that contribute to BPG Nurse Champions knowledge and competencies when leading BPG initiatives
• Plan, develop and implement annual communities of practice and education to support the development of Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) Nurse Champions
• Support the preparation and distribution of education and learning materials that support BPSO CoPs and BPSO Nurse Champion development
• Collaborate with the Manager, Evidence Based Nursing Practice in annual review and approvals for new BPSO Nurse Champions and participation in Communities of Practice (CoP);
• Co-facilitate BPG CoPs in order to develop, implement and coordinate knowledge translation and quality improvement activities that contribute to BPG Nurse Champions¿ knowledge and competencies when leading BPG initiatives
• Support and contribute to corporate knowledge translation strategies to profile local unit level BPG implementation, evaluation and sustainability activities (e.g. annual Nursing Week BPG Sustainability Gallery Walk, Shining the Light, My Nursing intranet page
• Design and coordinate the evaluation of corporately offered BPG capacity building interventions (e.g., BPG CoP evaluations)
• Act as a leader, role model and resource for CLMs/PCMs, BPG Nurse Champions, Clinical Educators - Nursing and other nursing roles in the implementation of BPG plans

The Evidence Based Nursing Practice Leader, in conjunction with the Manager, Evidence Based Nursing Practice, will oversee and coordinate all aspects of the RNAO BPSO candidacy and designation in the following ways:

• Participate in the development of project plans, strategies, direction and timelines to support BPSO candidacy, designation, spread and sustainability, ensuring alignment with contractual agreements and agreed upon timelines
• Participate in forums with external partners to share lessons learned, challenges and updates of current BPG work
• Develop formal presentations and prepare for speaking engagements profiling BPSO accomplishments for internal and external audiences
• Attend and contribute to BPSO Report Review meetings with RNAO
• Attend quarterly review meetings with CLMs and teams to review BPG process and outcome indicators
• Conduct a regular internal review of BPG data and consult with corporate and local data owners and potential partners to inform the selection and quarterly report on NQuIRE BPG data indicators to RNAO

Evaluate, refine and sustain strategies that support the utilization of nursing performance and patient outcome data at the local unit and corporate level by:

• Maintaining internal stakeholder relations to support the collection and installation of BPG data indicators on local unit Care Utilizing Evidence (CUE) Dashboards (e.g. CLMs/PCMs, BPG Nurse Champions, Clinical Educators, Resource Nurses, Decisions Support Services)
• Preparing reports summarizing local unit and/or corporate level BPGs indicators and outcomes (e.g. Falls, Delirium, Transfer of Accountability)
• Collaborating with members of Nursing Practice and Education to support the analysis, interpretation and utilization of data for CLMs/PCMs, unit leadership teams and BPG Nurse Champions through quarterly scheduled CUE Dashboard meetings and as requested
• Coordinating and monitoring regular updates to local units (e.g., inpatient/outpatient clinical areas) Care Utilizing Evidence (CUE) Dashboards
• Collaborating with the Manager, Evidence Based Practice Nursing in obtaining process and outcome data (metrics) from Decision Support for corporate best practice guidelines and clinical unit best practice guidelines; prepares electronic presentations for quarterly updates on unit CUE dashboards
• Collaborating with the Manager, Evidence Based Practice Nursing in planning, developing, implementing and maintaining the hospital's BPSO designation on the hospital's intranet/internet
• Coordinating and preparing presentation materials for the hospital's participation in RNAO BPSO conferences and other events (e.g. surveys, conferences, teleconferences) as per BPSO designation requirements

The above described duties are representative but are not construed as all inclusive

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in Nursing and/or Adult Education, required
• Current registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario in the General Class, required
• Minimum five (5) to seven (7) years of previous clinical nursing experience, required
• Experience working in Professional Practice, preferred
• Superior verbal, written communication and presentations skills, required
• Knowledge and experience integrating evidence based practices into clinical environments, required
• Sound knowledge of and experience in quality improvement methodologies, preferred
• Well-developed leadership competencies with skills in negotiation, active listening, participative leadership, analysis, coaching and goal setting, required
• Ability to inspire others to continually support a vision and strategies for practice that is evidence based
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and organize workload in a fast-paced environment
• Proven ability to be an effective team member and leader, as appropriate, to the circumstances
• Ability to forge effective partnerships with multiple, diverse stakeholders
• Advanced computer skills in a variety of software packages and applications
• Demonstrated commitment to, and understanding of, the Mission and Values of Unity Health Toronto
  
• This position will end on October 24, 2025