The Registered Nurse must be poised and articulate in communicating with people of varied educational levels and varied ethnic backgrounds. Willing to work cooperatively as a member of a team in all assignments. Incumbent duties will be determined by assignments and competencies. Makes caring for the veteran his/her priority while in the work setting and demonstrates customer service principles in all aspects of work.

Duties

-Takes responsibility for Consult coordination and patient flow management, including appointment management, triage of patients, patient education, monitoring of patient progress toward predetermined goals and timely follow-up - Participates in clinic for setting patients' goals of care as part of the interdisciplinary team. Utilizes the nursing process in managing, developing, implementing, and evaluating each patient's individual plan in collaboration with the interdisciplinary care team to attain specific clinical outcomes in the outpatient specialty clinic settings. - Communicates with Veterans: health care options including local VA, other VA Medical Centers, and the community based on eligibility criteria for community care per National Directives (i.e. MISSION Act). - Works closely with other VA Medical Centers, contracted facilities, and community facilities to remove obstacles that would impede the Veteran from utilizing the services of other VA Medical Centers or community not available at our facility - Participates in the development and implementation of recommended policies and procedures as related to Consult Referral Coordination and/or designated clinical area. - Maintains and upgrades own knowledge base and skills regarding Consult Referral Coordination and/or specific clinical areas and applies this knowledge to nursing practice. - Receives alerts for consults, assists with ordering and coordinating appropriate tests, obtaining reports and communications with the referring provider, private institutions, and physicians, to expedite patient appointments. - Collaborates with clinic staff to ensure patients are given timely appointments and expedites consults. - Assists in the coordination of Care in the Community (CITC) between the VA and outside facilities and physician offices. - Provides documentation to HIMS staff for scanning into the patient's medical record. - Assists in reviewing and approving consults based on established criteria and service agreements. - Communicates with patients and other staff as needed to confirm consult status and care received, triages and applies a collaborative team approach in identifying, analyzing, and resolving patient care problems. - Collects patient data by interview, examination, and review of records systematically; completes data collection forms as required and documents in the electronic health record as needed. - Establishes work priorities to accomplish assignments timely, achieve program and system goals, and meet established criteria. - Demonstrates proficiency in advanced and highly technical skills necessary for the CITC Program specifically related to consults review and approval, appointment verification and obtaining appropriate documentation if needed. - Completes assignment and evaluates data in relation to the health system's goals and objectives.- Initiates, provides, maintains, and analyzes accurate documentation and databases. - Works collaboratively with other services and refers questions about eligibility to appropriate staff, notifies appropriate service when problems or issues occur. - Demonstrates the ability to communicate through role modeling and instruction of positive communication skills to promote an environment of acceptance, openness, and feedback. - Recognizes the need for assistance, clinical and administrative, and requests assistance as appropriate. - Maintains effective working relationship with professionals and support personnel within or outside of the service. Serves as a resource for other team members and participates in planning for program improvements at the local level. - Consults with provider with questions regarding consults and for quality-of-care issues. - Creates consults from Secondary Authorization Requests from Community Providers by transcribing requests to an electronic health record order for VA PCP to sign and authorize care. 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: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday thru Friday Telework: Not Available 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 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: At least 3-5 years specialized RN experience preferred. Multidisciplinary clinical experience. Good oral and written and communication skills. Bachelor's in Nursing or higher level of education preferred. Experience in Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS),Microsoft Officepackage, Consult Tracking Manager(CTM),Health Share Referral Manager(HSRM) 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: The population of male and female veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. AVAHCS is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility, serving medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients. There is a large inpatient/outpatient medical/psychiatric population, with visits to the Emergency Department and admissions for medical co-morbidities. The AVAHCS is also comprised of a large Community Living Center. 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.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the appropriate State agency and accredited by either: a) The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN); or b) The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or 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:

1. ACEN - http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programSearch.htm
2. CCNE - https://www.aacnnursing.org/CCNE-Accreditation/CCNE-Accredited-Programs
3. U.S. Department of Education - 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.

Note: If your school was accredited by Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the ACEN or CCNE website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

Note: Failure to submit supporting documentation may disqualify you for further consideration on this announcement.

Contacts

• Address Thomas E Creek VA Medical Center 6010 Amarillo Boulevard, West Amarillo, TX 79106 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]