The Nurse Navigator serves as a single point of contact for referring physicians, Veterans, and caregivers to provide resources and assistance to Veterans accessing clinical and supportive care services offered within the Wilmington VA. The Nurse Navigator facilitates appointments both within the VA and with community partners, including those made with specialty physicians, labs, and diagnostic testing.

Duties

The Nurse Navigator is responsible for the assessment of selected Veterans performing health screening, conferring with Veterans and their support systems in person and by phone/electronically, collaborates with others, fiscal office schedulers, eligibility in the VA and community to assure smooth flow of Veteran care consistent with quality care and timely access to coordinated and collaborative services. The Nurse Navigator reports to the Office of Community Care Nurse Manager. The Nurse Navigator facilitates an interdisciplinary approach to high quality, cost effective and customer focused health care. The Nurse Navigator RN III is a nursing leader with demonstrated flexibility and additional duties may be assigned as changes in the health care landscape occur. The Nurse Navigator's responsibilities include assisting Veterans in understanding their diagnosis, treatment options, and the resources available, including educating eligible Veterans about appropriate clinical research studies and technologies. The incumbent provides frontline customer service by utilizing various software systems to determine eligibility, coordinate care with the Veteran, and interact with community providers and Third-Party Administrators throughout the episode of care. He/she provides timely and appropriate notifications to medical center leadership when veterans are transferred to community emergency departments or are directly admitted to a hospital in the community. The Nurse Navigator serves as an essential link between patients and all other care providers and Veteran support systems. He/she serves as liaison to primary care and specialty providers to educate them on changes to the Community Care system, and optimization of referral patterns to improve the Veteran experience. The Nurse Navigator facilitates appointments for consults and support services within established service standards, including social workers, dietitians, rehabilitation specialist, physician, etc. He/she coordinates multidisciplinary planning conferences, develops concise patient summaries for use by the care team, and documents recommendations made utilizing standardized care protocols in accordance with nationally recognized care guidelines. The Nurse Navigator implements patient education programs and tools. He/she follows Veterans throughout the continuum of healthcare services, including inpatient admissions. The incumbent establishes and is responsible for care coordination efforts to establish and maintain positive working relationships with Veterans, and their support systems, key VA and community stakeholders (physicians, office staff, consultants diagnostic staff, nurses, radiology staff, rehabilitation services, social services staff, etc.). Work Schedule: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Telework: May be eligible. Will be determined by Supervisor

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: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech; and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment.

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 Wilmington VA Medical Center 1601 Kirkwood Highway Wilmington, DE 19805 US
• Name: Claudette Edwards
• Phone: (215) 823-5800
• Email: [email protected]