The career path of a director of nursing services (DNS) is both challenging and rewarding. Long-term care nurses who choose to take on the DNS role can have success with the right resources. Part two of this DNS Career Advancement blog series will focus on tips for competent DNSs and how to advance beyond the basics.
Note: Review Part One of this blog series here.
Tips for Competent DNSs
For DNSs at the competent level, some of the top tips to advance their careers include:
1. Achieve and maintain a certification – Competent DNSs who want to show their employer and themselves that they have the knowledge necessary to succeed in their specialty should plan to work toward achieving and maintaining a certification.
Achieving AAPACN’s Director of Nursing Services—Certified (DNS-CT®) certification shows that you have the management skills and knowledge needed to master the challenges of being a DNS. Your credential indicates that you are a leader and that you know how to improve quality, communication, and resident care throughout the facility.
AAPACN experts suggest six months of DNS experience before taking the DNS-CT. Not sure if you are ready? Review the DNS-CT Candidate Handbook, as well as the Learning Timeline for AAPACN Education and Resources.
2. Enhance your knowledge with continuing education – Competent DNSs understand the basics, but there’s always more to learn. To advance their career, competent DNSs should seek out continuing education to provide further insight into how to impact and improve facility outcomes as well as the care of their residents.
AAPACN suggests the following continuing education courses/programs for competent DNSs:
- Certificate Program for Implementing an IDT Approach to Trauma-Informed Care
- PDPM Documentation Essentials for the IDT
- Comprehensive CAA Training for the IDT
- Targeted Probe and Educate Review
3. Become savvy with tools – Competent DNSs can elevate and improve efficiency in their day-to-day work and that of their staff by utilizing many of the great tools available for their position.
A few tools specific to competent DNSs include:
- Business Case Template
- Maximizing Your Pharmacy’s Benefits Tool
- Past Noncompliance Corrective Action Template
- Policy and Procedure Review and Development Guide Tool
Competent DNSs who are AAPACN members also have access to a full library of free tools to help them in their job. The comprehensive list of AAPACN tools can be found on the Tools webpage here. Discover the full library of tools specific to the DNS role in the “AAPACN Tools for Directors of Nursing Services” blog post, and learn more about AAPACN membership here.
AAPACN also offers additional guides for competent DNSs to help them improve key areas of their job, such as:
- Documentation Toolkit for the Nurse Leader
- The Guide to Enhanced Resident Safety: Incident Management and The Guide to Enhanced Resident Safety: A QAPI Approach to Incidence Surveillance
- Guide to a Successful Restorative Program
- MDS Development: A Toolbox for the NHA and DNS
- QM Rescue Guide
Note: The Learning Timeline for AAPACN Education and Resources has been updated! Explore the education tracks for the director of nursing services (DNS) divided into four levels of expertise—Novice, Competent, Proficient, Expert (and see subsequent pages for timelines for different roles such as nurse assessment coordinator (NAC), nursing home administrator (NHA), therapist, and interdisciplinary team (IDT) member), as well as the additional products and resources to help you plan your next professional development goal!