The Orlando VA Medical Center is looking for an Assistant Chief Nurse (ACN) for Operations Department who will be responsible for improving and delivering patient care through collaborative strategies with the Associate Director Patient Care Services, Deputy Associate Director Patient Care Services, Chief Nurses, Service Chiefs, and others in the Orlando VA Healthcare System.

Duties

Recruitment/relocation incentive has been authorized for Eligible, highly qualified applicants. The Assistant Chief Nurse (Nursing Operations) will report directly to the Chief Nurse (Nursing Operations) or designee. The Assistant Chief Nurse (Nursing Operations) assists with providing executive leadership and direct supervision to the Nurse Supervisors (NOD) and Nurse Managers who cover Patient Flow Coordinator, Float Pool, Patient Transporters/Safety Companions, Nursing ADPACs, Nursing Recruitment, Staffing Coordinator, Vascular Access Team, and Screening Team. Additionally, the Chief Nurse for Operations will have professional oversight for the VISN Clinical Contact Center nursing staff. The Assistant Chief Nurse (Nursing Operations) establishes and promotes optimal clinical nursing standards of care and aids in the development of policies and procedures for the enhancement of nursing practice supporting evidence-based practice guidelines. The ACN endorses continued mission and accreditation readiness, enhances nursing quality measures and patient safety indicators, and sustains in the development and execution of the organizations strategic plan and healthcare delivery goals. The ACN (Nursing Operations) will oversee Emergency Management functions for the nursing service to include mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery activities from a disaster or emergency event. This includes designing emergency preparedness plans, preparing situation reports, coordinating disaster activities, educating, and ensuring competence of nursing staffs emergency preparedness. He/she will maintain knowledge of current regulations and collaborate with the corporate Emergency Management specialist and assist in facility wide disaster drills and year-round emergency management preparation corporate-wide. This will include collaborating with other Service Chiefs and Nurse Managers in implementing other facility wide programs such as the annual flu program and Covid-19 vaccine program to ensure wide dissemination and compliance. The Assistant Chief Nurse for Nursing Operations executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex patient care. The Supervisory ACN is an expert nurse, with a vast background of experience, who has an intuitive grasp of each situation and focuses accurately on the problem without wasteful consideration of a large range of unfruitful, alternative diagnoses and solutions. They demonstrate performance and leadership that is broad enough to improve the care for a group of patients and they are responsible for the documented outcomes at the program or service level. Program or service level outcomes must be broad and complex and can be demonstrated at any organizational level within a facility, VISN, or VACO. Program is identified as a substantial coordinated group of activities impacting patients and/or employees. Core elements of performance include management of unit program level quality improvement processes and initiatives as well as customer service programs. The Assistant Chief Nurse for Nursing Operations reports directly to and collaborates with the Chief Nurse for Operations and can act as the CN in his/her absence.

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: BSN, with a Master's Degree in Nursing or a related field preferred, with national certification in Nursing Administration strongly preferred. A minimum of five (5) years of full-time professional nursing practice in a variety of nursing settings, including previous supervisory positions in progressively more responsible leadership assignments preferred. Recent experience in managing/overseeing the nursing/clinical operations preferred. Current knowledge and understanding of VA Performance Measures, with a focus on acute care. Evidence of previous active leadership in system re-design initiatives to facilitate Orlando's transition to a more tertiary care delivery model. Demonstrated ability to work effectively as both a team member and leader, with excellent interpersonal skills, strong organizational skills, and excellent oral communication and writing skills, as demonstrated in previous assignments. Specialty certification preferred. 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, kneeling, 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, and able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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 Orlando VA Medical Center 13800 Veterans Way Orlando, FL 32827 US
• Name: Lanza Douglas
• Phone: (352) 284-5218
• Email: [email protected]