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Ardent Health
Topeka, Kansas

Director of Nursing / ICU

Registered NurseNo nightsFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Join our team as a day shift, full-time, Director of Nursing in Topeka, KS.

Why Join Us?

Thrive in a People-First Environment and Make Healthcare Better

Thrive: We empower our team with career growth opportunities, tuition assistance, and resources that support your wellness, education, and financial well-being.

People-First: We prioritize your well-being with paid time off, comprehensive health benefits, and a supportive, inclusive culture where you are valued and cared for.

Make Healthcare Better: We use advanced technology to support our team and enhance patient care.

Get to Know Your Team

The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus, a part of a rich legacy of compassionate care since 1909, now offers 378 licensed beds, a history of innovation, and strong community support.

Leads clinical and operational oversight of a 16-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 8-bed Progressive Care Unit (PCU), Telemetry Unit, and Critical Care Float Pool, driving excellence in patient care, quality outcomes, employee engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration across critical care services.

Responsibilities

The nurse director is a professional registered nurse with twenty-four-hour responsibility for assigned departments within established standards to achieve the mission and vision of the organization.

The nursing director is responsible for overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the unit/departments and executes supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws.

  • The nurse director provides leadership and mentorship in the development of leaders and staff.
  • The nurse director is responsible for monitoring and evaluating quality, patient satisfaction, and employee satisfaction outcomes to implement strategies for improvement.
  • The nurse director is a change agent and will establish strong collaborative relationships with physicians.
  • Responsible for overall administrative, financial, and clinical activities of assigned departments.

Qualifications

Job Requirements

Bachelors in nursing from an accredited school of nursing required. Effective 9/1/19 if applicant does not have a BSN – must be enrolled in accredited BSN program with scheduled date of completion.

  • Current RN license or current license deemed acceptable by the applicable State Board of Nursing.
  • Minimum of 3 years’ critical care nursing experience of which 2 years must have been in management capacity.

Preferred Job Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in nursing and/or related field
  • Certification in clinical specialty or nursing administration

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Clinical leadershipStaff mentorshipQuality improvementFinancial managementAdministrative managementChange managementPhysician relations

Critical Care Nursing — Registered Nurse Career Context

Ardent Health holds silver-tier status on WeekdayDoc's Top Employers work-life index, composite score 75/100, 43 active listings.

Of the 50 active Registered Nurse listings this role was benchmarked against, 26% are remote, 56% have no call, 74% require no weekends.

Registered Nurse pay on WeekdayDoc is up 4.6% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Kansas is 90.1 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 61.0% of Kansas clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Registered Nurse Jobs

50 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution50 jobs · 41 employers

16
<$105k
14
$105k-130k
14
$130k-155k
6
$155k-180k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks45 jobs · 41 employers

401k / retirement match
89%
CME allowance
31%
Sign-on bonus
20%
Loan repayment
9%
PSLF eligible
4%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

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Sharp HealthCare · California

$64-$84.13/hr
#2

Nurse Educator

Amerita · New York, New York

$60-$80/hr
#3

Director of Nursing DON - Acute Inpatient Mental Health 264

$144k-$165k
#4

Case Manager, RN

$61.21-$78/hr
+ 48 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.2this job 5.1
Better work-life than 80% of Critical Care Nursing (RN) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 39 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No nights

Living in Topeka

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$207k
Typical market rent
$1,285/mo
Residents’ average commute
17 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
88.8
State income tax
Up to 5.7%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Topeka, KS metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

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About Ardent Health

Hospitals and Health Care
Topeka, Kansas
201-500 employees

Benefits & Perks

Paid time off
Comprehensive health benefits
Tuition assistance
Career growth opportunities