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Stanford Health Care
Palo Alto, California

Vice President - Chief Nursing Officer Emergency Services

Registered NurseFull-Time

Listed compensation

$140-$185.19/hr

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

If you're ready to be part of our legacy of hope and innovation, we encourage you to take the first step and explore our current job openings. Your best is waiting to be discovered.

Day - 08 Hour (United States of America)

This is a Stanford Health Care job.

A Brief Overview

The VP-Chief Nursing Officer of Emergency Services is responsible for strategic leadership and direction for the overall, twenty-four-hour operation operations of Emergency Services (ED).

Provides overall strategy and financial direction of patient services offered by the both the Adult and Pediatric ED, Walk-In Clinic Clinical Decision Unit and all future related services.

Responsible for assembling and leading a high-performing team, deploying an exceptional customer-centric approach to patients as well as staff.

Enables Stanford Health Care to achieve its overall strategic and financial goals and is a key leadership role, reporting to the SVP-Chief Nurse Executive and leads the full operational team in collaboration with all SHC and LPCH hospital-based departments.

The VP-Chief Nursing of Emergency Services will proactively innovate, working collaboratively with IT and ASAP colleagues to improve patient flow. The VP-Chief Nursing of Emergency Services position will drive the transformation of Emergency Services to align with the hospital strategic goals and growth.

The VP-Chief Nursing of Emergency Services position provides direction and leadership to implement and oversee nursing/clinical care standards, practice and competencies for neonatal to geriatric patient population.

Assures that the department meets or exceeds expected outcome measures including patient satisfaction, employee/staff safety, employee satisfaction, length of stay, clinical quality and standards.

The incumbent will also collaborate with quality management and external regulatory and accrediting entities to ensure all mandated services and standards are met and exceeded for both adult and pediatric patients that are seen.

A critical aspect of this role involves building and maintaining strong relationships with care site leadership and other collaborative partners within the organization, as well as participating in system and site initiatives to enhance the overall effectiveness of Emergency Services.

Locations

Stanford Health Care

What You Will Do

Employees must abide by all Joint Commission requirements including, but not limited to, sensitivity to cultural diversity, patient care, patients’ rights and ethical treatment, safety and security of physical environments, emergency management, teamwork, respect for others, participation in ongoing education and training, communication and adherence to safety and quality programs, sustaining compliance with National Patient Safety Goals, and licensure and health screenings.

Employees must perform all duties and responsibilities in accordance with the C-I-CARE Standards of the Hospital. C-I-CARE is the foundation of Stanford’s patient-experience and represents a framework for patient-centered interactions.

Responsible for short-term and long-term strategic planning and business development functions.

Actively participates in committees and task forces as appointed: participate in performance improvement activities to facilitate the facilitate the opportunities to improve patient care. Defines strategies to achieve improvement, define process and outcomes measures to monitor impact of changes, and to communicate improvement to the health wide system.

Creates a culture of continuous improvement and establishes metrics to assess effectiveness and outcomes.

Develop and implement new programs and special projects by establishing task forces, committees or the individual approach.

Creates a clear organizational vision and provides leadership in integrating programs and services with the hospital's primary functions by supporting organizational philosophy, goals, policies, mission, priorities and vision, and by delivering optimal quality health care services.

Directs and reviews policies that guide and support the provision of services; ensures that policies and procedures are compatible with the function and goals of SHC and which meet the external regulatory and statutory requirements.

Evaluate ongoing operations and programs for the efficient use of resources and technology for optimal benefit to the patients and staff performing care.

Review and determine when innovative care techniques can be adapted to improve the patient flow, experience and outcomes.

  • Resolves key operational challenges.
  • Plans and develops new services that generate additional sources of profitable revenue.

Effectively assists in providing leadership, direction, and the administration of operations to ensure compliance with established institutional objectives and the delivery of optimal quality and safe health care services.

Ensures that departments/areas comply with or exceed all regulatory requirements including, but not limited to, JCAHO, CAP, OSHA, FDA and compliance with EMTALA regulations.

Integrates department's services with the hospital's primary functions by supporting organizational mission, priorities and goals, and by delivering optimal quality health care services.

Education Qualifications

Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business or other similar fields of study required. Doctorate degree preferred.

Experience Qualifications

Ten (10) years of broad, extensive, and progressively responsible directly related work experience in administrative and/or managerial positions required.

  • Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
  • Ability to interact with C level executives and present strategies for increased efficiencies
  • Ability to align organizational vision, set short and long-term objectives with service line and hospital strategic goals, focus and prioritize resources, and evaluate outcomes
  • Ability to design new programs and lead process improvement projects
  • Ability to drive innovation to improve patient flow, and staff/patient experience
  • Ability to mentor and guide the management team, fostering their professional growth and advancement within the institution.
  • Ability to establish the strategic direction and business plans for a functional group
  • Ability to drive research to lead in the field of Emergency Nursing improvements
  • Ability to function in the Charge RN, Quick Look or Triage when surge occurs
  • Detailed knowledge and expertise across the entire Health Care System
  • Strong executive presence, including communication skills that enable appreciation of others perspectives and the ability to offer compelling insights and recommendations
  • Outstanding management abilities and a demonstrated track record of leadership
  • Expertise and responsibility for large groups of employees is required
  • Ability to serve as both a leader and a coach with demonstrated ability to work as a team or independently

“Change agent” able to be innovative and creative with patient flow

Prepares organizational leadership to recognize and mitigate risks brought on by organizational changes

Ability to successfully function in a fast paced, service-oriented environment

Knowledge of current emergency nursing practices and procedures according as defined by the California Nurse Practice Act, Emergency Nursing Scope of and Standards of Practice, ANA Scope and Standards of Practice and ANA Code of Ethics in coordination with hospital policy and procedure

  • Licenses and Certifications
  • CA-RN (Registered Nurse) required
  • ACLS - Advanced Cardiac Life Support required
  • BLS - Basic Life Support required
  • PALS - Pediatric Adv Life Supp required
  • TNCC - Trauma Nursing Core Course required

CEN - Certified Emergency Room Nurse Required

NEA-BC - Nurse Executive, Advanced Certification by ANCC preferred.

These Principles Apply to ALL Employees

SHC Commitment to Providing an Exceptional Patient & Family Experience

Stanford Health Care sets a high standard for delivering value and an exceptional experience for our patients and families. Candidates for employment and existing employees must adopt and execute C-I-CARE standards for all of patients, families and towards each other.

C-I-CARE is the foundation of Stanford’s patient-experience and represents a framework for patient-centered interactions. Simply put, we do what it takes to enable and empower patients and families to focus on health, healing and recovery.

You will do this by executing against our three experience pillars, from the patient and family’s perspective:

  • Know Me: Anticipate my needs and status to deliver effective care
  • Show Me the Way: Guide and prompt my actions to arrive at better outcomes and better health
  • Coordinate for Me: Own the complexity of my care through coordination

Equal Opportunity Employer Stanford Health Care (SHC) strongly values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination in all of its policies and practices, including the area of employment.

Accordingly, SHC does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity and/or expression, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, or disability, or the perception of any of the above.

People of all genders, members of all racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Qualified applicants with criminal convictions will be considered after an individualized assessment of the conviction and the job requirements.

Base Pay Scale: Generally starting at $140.00 - $185.19 per hour

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training. This pay scale is not a promise of a particular wage.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the strategy, financial direction, and 24-hour operations of adult and pediatric emergency services, including related clinics and future services. Direct clinical standards, quality and regulatory compliance, patient-flow improvements, and organizational initiatives while building a high-performing team and collaborating across hospital departments.

Requirements

A master's degree in nursing, healthcare administration, business, or a similar field and at least 10 years of progressively responsible administrative or managerial experience are required; a doctorate is preferred. Required credentials include a California RN license, ACLS, BLS, PALS, TNCC, and CEN, with NEA-BC preferred, alongside extensive executive leadership, emergency nursing, operational, and improvement expertise.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
10+ years of experience

Key Skills

Emergency Services LeadershipNursing AdministrationFinancial ManagementPatient Flow ImprovementProgram DevelopmentQuality ImprovementTeam LeadershipChange ManagementRisk Mitigation

Emergency Nursing — Registered Nurse Career Context

Of the 40 active Nursing Leadership listings this role was benchmarked against, 15% are remote, 33% have no call, 70% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Nursing Leadership market look like in California?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed paynot listedNursing Leadership median $90k (middle half $76k–$94k)77 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost of livingCalifornia index 110.7US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Nursing Leadership listings in California434 active5,988 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 15% remote · 33% no call · 70% no weekends40 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedCalifornia Registered Nurse listings: 9% state a sign-on bonus (median $9k) · 4% offer loan repayment434 active listings, Oct 2026
Stanford Health Caresilver tier, 71/100Top Employers work-life index54 active listings
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, Top Employers work-life index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

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Annual compensation range

Work-Life Balance Distribution

10 jobs · 5 employers
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1-2
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3-4
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7-8
1
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Higher = better work-life balance

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Work-life snapshot

median 1.5this job 1.5
Better work-life than 30% of Nursing Leadership listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,187 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Stanford Health Care logo

About Stanford Health Care

Hospitals and Health Care
Palo Alto, California
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
Retirement Plan
Paid Time Off

Living in Palo Alto

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$3.28M
Typical market rent
$4,558/mo
Residents’ average commute
21 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
110.4
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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