As a VA professional nurse, your opportunities are endless. The Veterans Health Administration is the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the nation. We also provide many other services to Veterans through the Benefits Administration and National Cemeteries. VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities.

Duties

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards The Step Down Unit (SDU) at SAVAHCS is a 12 bed mixed medical and surgical intermediate care unit. In partnership with the University of Arizona, we have an active medical and surgical training program. Surgical population includes vascular, neuro, urology, cardiothoracic, ENT, and general surgery. The SDU provides cardiac support with continuous telemetry monitoring, rhythm interpretation, and continuous drip medication administration. The unit provides respiratory support for Veterans requiring noninvasive mechanical ventilation via mask or through tracheostomy. Duties include but not limited to: - Staff Development and Education Complete yearly competencies, new evidenced based practice, in-services for the unit. Participant in process improvement projects facilitating more efficient and effective staff. Maintain Huddle Board and Email with current topics of discussion, SAIL measures, new processes/equipment, celebrations, opportunities for improvements, education, etc. Provide direct patient care support to unit staff as needed. Facilitate Participation in Quality and Skills Fairs as well as competency assessments. Daily staff huddles as well as regular Stay Touchpoints Close collaboration and problem solving with ICU leadership and staff - Discharge Planning Participate in the multidisciplinary healthcare team (social workers, case managers, physicians, RT, PT, OT, dietary etc.) to provide quality care to the Veterans. Member of the multidisciplinary healthcare team to provide quality care to the Veterans. Attend daily discharge huddle meeting and facilitate with unit staff to meet Veteran needs. - Scheduling/Staffing the unit appropriately to meet Nursing Hours Per Patient Day (NHPPD) Create a balanced schedule of nursing personnel to meet daily needs of the unit. Readily available to go into direct patient care as needed. Assist unit with patient flow and bed placement. Maintain communication with charge RN, bed control and Senior Clinical Officer (SCO). Update Acustaf in a timely manner to reflect proper workload capture. Complete Timecards in a timely manner to ensure accurate pay for staff. - Customer Service Own the Moment- service recovery. Regularly scheduled Leadership Rounds. - Complete quality assurance and chart audits on a yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, or daily basis and as needed. - Unit representation on committees and workgroups within SAVAHCS. - Maintain equipment inventory. Complete annual inventory of all items in Equipment Inventory List. Enter, maintain, and following up on work orders for faulty equipment on unit. - Environment of Care assessment and maintain unit- readiness for inspections. - Act as a professional mentor for unit staff. - Assist with recruitment actions, employee evaluations, and competency assessments. - Stand in as representative of the manager when manager is unavailable. - Other duties as assigned. Preferred Experience: 2 years Critical Care nursing experience within the last 5 years and progressive supervisory roles (Charge Nurse) or nursing management experience Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory Work Schedule: 7:30AM to 4:00PM Monday through Friday - May be adjusted to meet department needs Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate State-accrediting agency and accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies at the time the program was completed by the applicant: The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of current, full, active and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing. OR The completion of coursework equivalent to a nursing degree in a MSN Bridge Program that qualifies for professional nursing registration constitutes the completion of an approved course of study of professional nursing. Students should submit the certificate of professional nursing to sit for the NCLEX to the VA along with a copy of the MSN transcript. (Reference VA Handbook 5005, Appendix G6) OR In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of a current, full, active and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement for graduation from an approved school of professional nursing. Current, full, active, and unrestricted registration as a graduate professional nurse in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e., Puerto Rico) of the United States, or the District of Columbia. Grade Determinations: The following criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates, and if appropriate, the level within a grade: Nurse I Level I - An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing, with no additional nursing practice/experience required. Nurse I Level II - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 1 year of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a bachelor's degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience; OR a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional nursing practice/experience. Nurse I Level III - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a BSN with approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) or related field with a BSN and no additional nursing practice/experience. Nurse II - A BSN with approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or meets basic requirements for appointment and has doctoral degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience required. Nurse III - Master's degree in nursing or related field with BSN and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience. Note regarding MSN degrees: If your MSN was obtained via a Bridge Program that qualifies for professional nursing registration, a BSN is not required. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-6 Nurse Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: Heavy lifting (45 lbs and over); Heavy carrying (45 lbs and over); Straight pulling and pushing; reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking and standing up to 8 hours; repeated bending; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; hearing aid permitted.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Tucson VA Medical Center 3601 South Sixth Avenue Tucson, AZ 85723 US
• Name: Jamie Hartdige
• Phone: 562-826-5598
• Email: [email protected]