Clinical Practice Specialist RN Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Children's Hospital Colorado; Aurora (CO); On-site; USD 116,000 - 174,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Bonus program

Education benefit

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Children's Hospital Colorado seeks a Clinical Practice Specialist to optimize neonatal care through evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and clinical innovation. The CPS partners with NICU teams to observe care, identify gaps, and drive improvements aligned with regulatory priorities.

The role focuses on leading practice changes, translating research into clinical care, and mentoring staff, with an emphasis on patient- and family-centered outcomes. Comprehensive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• BSN required and MSN or related field preferred.
• Minimum 5 years clinical NICU experience.
• Current RN license; BLS/ACLS/PALS certifications as required within 12 months of hire.

Responsibilities

• Lead practice changes by evaluating care processes and implementing evidence-based practices.
• Observe care delivery to identify variations and opportunities for improvement.
• Mentor nursing staff in quality improvement and clinical practice standards.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to ensure patient safety and outcomes.
• Participate in committees and governance to advance nursing practice.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Mentor nursing staff

Education

Bachelor's degree in Nursing (BSN)

Master's degree in Nursing or related field

Job description

The Clinical Practice Specialist (CPS) provides advanced clinical, quality, and systems expertise to optimize care delivery and patient outcomes. Maintaining a consistent presence within assigned clinical areas, the CPS directly observes care delivery, identifies practice variation, and partners with interdisciplinary and frontline teams to evaluate care processes and implement evidence-based best practices. Through the integration of evidence-based practice (EBP), research, quality improvement, and clinical innovation, the CPS leads practice optimization aligned with organizational and regulatory priorities. The CPS proactively identifies care delivery gaps, leads and evaluates practice change initiatives, translates evidence into clinical care, and analyzes clinical and outcome data to ensure sustained improvement. The CPS serves as a consultant, mentor, resource, and change leader, promoting professional practice standards, strengthening clinical capability, and optimizing care processes to achieve high-quality patient- and family-centered outcomes.

Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a Level 4, 82-bed regional referral center for the seven-state region with a platinum-level designation for ECMO. We treat neonate, infant and pediatric patients less than 2 years old with conditions including hypoxemic respiratory failure, infections, hematological, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic disorders, single major or multiple anomalies requiring diagnostic work-up and/or surgical intervention. We provide continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), renal dialysis and body cooling for neonates among many other therapies to provide the highest level of neonatal care to infants and their families.

Department Name: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Job Status: full time, 40 hours per week, eligible for benefits
Shift: Monday - Friday, variable daytime hours between 0800 and 1700 based on meetings and unit needs

Location: Aurora

Position Type: Regular

Regular/Temporary: Regular

This position is eligible for relocation assistance, if relocating from 100 miles or greater.

Estimated Close Date: 10/31/2026

Duties & Responsibilities

1. Builds collaborative relationships with multidisciplinary teams to evaluate, design, implement and sustain evidence-based practice standards, guidelines, policies, and protocols that improve quality of care delivery.
2. Continuously assesses clinical practice and the practice environment at the point of care through direct observation, team collaboration, and data analysis to identify gaps, variation, and improvement opportunities; evaluates impacts of interventions on patient and population outcomes using a systematic approach.
3. Identifies and addresses patient safety risks and trends, including those identified through event reporting systems, audits, and direct observation; escalates concerns and leads corrective actions to improve safety outcomes.
4. Monitors and analyzes nursing-sensitive indicators and quality metrics utilizing data collection, analysis, benchmarking, and reporting to drive sustained improvements in patient safety, clinical outcomes, and overall care quality.
5. Designs, leads and evaluates quality improvement and practice change initiatives across priority focus areas, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and regulatory requirements.
6. Serves as a subject matter expert and consultant to nursing and interdisciplinary teams, providing guidance on evidence-based practice, quality improvement methodologies, and implementation of practice changes.
7. Leads evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and research activities, including literature appraisal, project design, and dissemination of outcomes; mentors and develops clinical staff in these areas to strengthen unit and organizational capacity.
8. Leads and actively participates in unit-based and/or organizational committees, councils, and governance structures, influencing clinical practice standards, advancing nursing practice, and contributing to the broader healthcare knowledge base through professional engagement, publications, and/or leadership in professional organizations.
9. Delivers direct patient care consistent with education, license, and documented competencies when needed.
10. Evaluates, educates, and reinforces clinical scope of practice for nursing and unlicensed personnel. Ensures clarity and adherence to scope of practice by evaluating, educating, and reinforcing appropriate clinical roles and responsibilities for licensed and unlicensed personnel.
11. Communicates effectively to ensure alignment between clinical practice, policy, and patient care needs to promote safe, coordinated and high-quality care delivery

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Nursing (BSN) and Master's degree in Nursing or a directly related health care field.

Experience: 5 years clinical experience. Previous NICU RN experience strongly preferred.

Certification(s):

• Advanced Life Support (ACLS, PALS) AND/OR other Certification(s) for specific roles may be required within 12 months of hire according to department requirements.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers from the American Heart Association.
• ANCC or Magnet approved clinical specialty or quality/safety focus certification required.
• Membership in a professional nursing or health care organization.

Licensure(s): Current Registered Nurse (RN).

Salary Information

Pay is dependent on applicant's relevant experience.

Annual Salary Range (Based on 40 hours worked per week): $116,313.28 to $174,469.92

Benefits Information

Here, you matter. As a Children's Hospital Colorado team member, you will receive a competitive pay and benefits package designed to take care of your needs that includes base pay, incentives, paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, company provided life and disability insurance, paid parental leave, 403b employer match (retirement savings), a robust wellness program, and access to professional development tools, including an education benefit to help you advance your career.

As part of our Total Rewards package, Children's Colorado offers an annual employee bonus program that rewards eligible team members based on organizational performance. If organizational goals are met for the year, the bonus is paid out the following April.

Children's Colorado delivers annual base pay increases to eligible team members based on their performance over the previous year.

EEO Statement

It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. Be aware that none of the questions are intended to imply illegal preferences or discrimination based on non-job-related information. The position is expected to stay open until the posted close date. Please submit your application as soon as possible as the posting is subject to close at any time once a sufficient pool of qualified applicants is obtained.

Colorado Residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.