This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards The Nurse Practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse that works under a Scope of Practice and has prescriptive authority to diagnose and treat acute and chronic health problems. The NP follows established guidelines to provide coordinated health care to the adult and geriatric population. The Float (Gap) Nurse Practitioner will provide short or long-term coverage for a panel of patients in the primary care service. This will require intermittent and often frequent travel to various locations. When the NP is not temporarily assigned to a panel of patients, he/she will provide walk-in coverage, assist with performance improvement activities to improve quality metrics, conduct virtual care visits to other locations, or assist with other clinical duties as assigned.The NP performs independently or in collaboration with the provider to carry out the plan of care for the Veteran. He/she appropriately delegates to other Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members, but is responsible for diagnosing and treating medical problems, care coordination to higher level of care, and making complex clinical decisions. The NP will serve as the leader of the PACT teamlet, that consists of an RN, LPN/Clinical Associate, and Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA).The NP optimizes care delivery and provides care to patients with acute problems, patients undergoing transitions of care, and patients with chronic conditions who would benefit in developing and performing self-management skills for chronic conditions especially diabetes, hypertension, CHF, hyperlipidemia, pain, and depression.The NP utilizes motivational interviewing techniques to facilitate patient development of patient driven goals for health optimization and will be required to attend a formal Motivational Interviewing course. The NP must demonstrate leadership in delivering and improving holistic care by utilizing health promotion and disease prevention and whole health strategies.The NP uses face to face, telephone, and video virtual care visits, and secure messaging, to provide care to patients. The NP develops the appropriate plan of care and tracks patient outcomes to determine if interventions are effective.The NP will document timely, appropriately, and effectively in the medical record; ensure the patient's care plan contains medical recommendations for clinically indicated care; and communicate test results and plans of care to patients or ensure this is accomplished by clinical support staff in a timely and effective manner.The NP performs clinical assessments; triages face to face or virtually; in collaboration with the patient to identify goals for optimizing health; provides patient/family education to improve outcomes, evaluates patient's progress or lack of progress toward achieving goals; and performs case management activities and care coordination activities for those patients assigned to the team who require those services.The NP will participate in team performance improvement and sustainment activities to optimize team efficiency and care delivery; provide leadership to the PACT including shared delegation of appropriate care and care processes to appropriate team members.The NP will report directly to the Primary Care Director and/or Associate Chief of Staff of Primary Care. Work Schedule: Standard options are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 pm, but other options may be needed or negotiable. Schedule agreed upon may vary based on needs of the service. Work on some evenings and/or weekends and travel may be required based on the needs of the service. Compressed/Flexible: Not available Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact Tammy Coates at , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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. 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. Master's or Doctoral Degree from a program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing or the Commission (ACEN-Formerly NCLAC) or the Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). 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. Nurse Practitioners must be licensed or otherwise recognized as a nurse practitioner in a State and maintain full and current certification as a nurse practitioner from the American Nurses Association or another nationally recognized certifying body. The certification must be in the specialty to which the individual is being appointed or selected. Preferred Experience: At least 2 years CRNP experience 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 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 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 year's 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 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 year's 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. Physical Requirements: Satisfactory physical examination as determined by the Employee Health Unit upon appointment only. The population of male and female veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. The VA Medical Center is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility, serving medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients. There is a large outpatient psychiatric population, with admissions for medical co-morbidities. This position requires visual acuity (glasses permitted), keen hearing (hearing aid permitted), clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking (up to 8 hours), standing (up to 8 hours), stooping, sitting, bending (up to 8 hours), pulling, and pushing. Light lifting under 15 lbs. Light carrying 15-44 lbs. 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. Use of rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously. 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. 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.

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 Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: Julie Boston
• Phone: 228-229-6027
• Email: [email protected]