The Employee Occupational Health RN is a professional registered nurse who organizes and coordinates day-to-day operations of the Employee Occupational Health Clinic at Eastern Kansas Health Care System (EKHCS). Has specialized knowledge of Occupational Health Care in health care and acts as an advocate to provide nursing care to patients with occupational related conditions. Plans care, coordinates diagnostic interventions, provides education, and plans services for employees of EKHCS.

Duties

Practice - Provides leadership in the application of the nursing process to client care, organizational processes and/or systems, improving outcomes at the program or service level. Responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks. Leads and organizes delivery of care to assure continuity of care and peer accountability. Uses sound clinical judgment in assessing, planning, implementing, documenting, and evaluating care. Guides staff in the application of critical thinking and process improvement to improve patient care. Anticipates and recognizes medical/surgical/psychiatric emergencies and initiates or leads others to implement appropriate actions. Utilizes advanced clinical knowledge/judgment to promote staff involvement in planning, decision-making, and evaluating outcomes. Functions as an expert in clinical practice and/or areas related to the assigned roles and responsibilities. Systematically evaluates current practice and formulates outcomes for groups of patients and/or organizational processes within area of expertise. Guides, develops, and supports staff from a leadership perspective. Uses professional standards of care, scientific evidence, and practice to evaluate programs/services. Demonstrates grade-appropriate and consistent critical thinking skills. Recognizes the patient has a problem. Manages the problem safely and effectively. Takes the right action for the right reason. Sets up, uses, reprocesses, and maintains all unit/department-specific equipment that is designed by the manufacturer to be reused for multiple patients. Uses equipment appropriately and demonstrates and/or verbalizes the proper use, reprocessing, and maintenance. Ethics - Provides leadership in identifying and addressing ethical issues that impact clients and staff, including initiating and participating in ethics consultations. Practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and uniqueness of every individual. Treats all patients/families with dignity and respect. Listens to and honors patient and family perspectives and choices. Demonstrates leadership in patient advocacy, in protecting the health, safety, and rights of patients. Maintains professional boundaries with patients, families, and employees. Behavior as a role model is transparent and above reproach. Demonstrates leadership by guiding practice in identifying and addressing concerns. Demonstrates leadership by initiating ethical team consultations. Safeguards patient privacy and maintains confidentiality of all patient information. Demonstrates a commitment to EEO principles and applies EEO principles in all decisions and serves as a role model for staff. Maintains confidentiality of all PII, including verbal, electronic and print communications. Resource Utilization - Manages program resources to facilitate safe, effective, and efficient care. Analyzes resources available and identifies risks, including budgetary, staffing, supplies, equipment, and availability of data and information. Effectively manages assigned resources and identifies strategies to increase efficiency. Collaborates with interdisciplinary team to review plan of care and strategize to solve issues. Reviews equipment needs and submits equipment requests. Establishes patient care priorities to ensure patient care can be delivered in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner. Complies with safe work practices and infection prevention practices, such as handwashing and wearing of appropriate PPE. Complies with safety rules and regulations for safe job performance and fire protection. Practices safe body mechanics, uses mechanical devices, and/or requests help when needed to prevent injury to patient, self, or others. Promptly reports all accidents and unsafe or unhealthy environmental situations/conditions. Conserves resources by using supplies and equipment responsibly. Ensures employees follow appropriate SOPs related to equipment, devices, and work practices that have an impact the environment. Considers environmentally recycled products in supply/ordering decisions. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards 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: Full-Time, Monday-Friday, 0800-1630 Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. 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 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). The approving official may authorize a waiver of the requirement for ACEN or CCNE accreditation of any degree in nursing provided the college or university has regional accreditation from an accrediting body recognized by the Department of Education at the time of the candidate's graduation and the composite qualifications of the applicant warrant such consideration. 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. Preferred Experience: RN 1-3 years experience preferred. EOH experience preferred, but not required. 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. Mechanical inpatient lifts are provided. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations, operative/invasive procedures, or home settings. 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 VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System 2200 SW Gage Blvd Topeka, KS 66622 US
• Name: Christopher Jackson
• Phone: 785-350-3111 X53152
• Email: [email protected]