The Registered Nurse (RN) assigned to the Mental Health Clinic (MHC) is a professional nurse with a broad-based clinical knowledge that enables him/her to effectively provide psychiatric nursing care to a Veteran population with widely diverse mental health diagnoses and symptoms. The RN utilizes the nursing process when assessing, planning, implementing, evaluating, and documenting individualized nursing plan of care.

Duties

You are responsible for the clinical programming and daily operations as assigned. Understand the interdisciplinary services which are available to meet Veteran-specific mental health needs and successfully directing and communicating this information to the Veteran and family. Administer medications and assist with medication management. Clinical monitoring of Veteran's response to medications. Timely documentation of all medication administration and management assistance. Management of all medical clinic documentation and organization. Cover the duties and responsibilities of the nurse in the area they may be assigned within the mental health coverage area. Provide medical assessment, psychological care, and the promotion and maintenance of health and prevention of illness based upon the nursing process. Systematic data gathering, assessment, appropriate nursing judgment, and evaluation of human responses to actual or potential health problems through such services as case finding, health teaching, health counseling, provision of care supportive to or restorative of life and well-being and executing medical regimens. Assume responsibility for the coordination of care for patients, including triage of and care for patients with emergency medical or psychological issues. Assess, plan, implement, supervise, teach, evaluate and document patient care. Serve as an integral member of the treatment team and influences care outcomes by collaborating with other members of the interdisciplinary team. Work in collaboration with both Primary care providers and PCMHI mental health staff in the management of the veteran's mental health clinical needs. Administer medications and procedures per established policies and guidelines. Assist patients in identifying and securing appropriate services. Demonstrate leadership and initiative in delivering quality, age-specific healthcare. Ensure compliance with the mission, vision and values of the medical center and/or VISN. Utilize critical thinking skills and sound clinical judgment to ensure positive patient outcomes. Demonstrate strong ethical practice. Participate in performance improvement activities and established quality improvement studies and/or activities to ensure performance measures are met and/or exceeded. Skill in basic Psych emergency management. Implement provider care orders in a timely and accurate manner. Document nursing process including patient/family/significant other education. Conduct self-assessment of performance and identifies own learning needs. Implement an ongoing educational plan to support own professional development. Participate in customer service programs and initiatives.Collaborate with veterans and team members in the development of a strengths-based plan of care to assist the veteran in achieving his/her identified goals. 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; 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc 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 Bargaining Unit: This position is bargaining unit.

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. HPTs who are on track to graduate/complete the requirements should respond as if they have met the requirements. Provide details in the narrative sections of the assessment. 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: -Participation as a member of a multi-disciplinary treatment team providing a full range of Mental Health services to patients. -Experience in maintaining appropriate clinical records and follow-up data on patients. -Comfortable in providing Mental Health care through Telehealth modalities. -At least 1-year experience working with adults in an outpatient/inpatient psychiatric and mental health population. -Experience in effectively communicating with and educating patients and/or their families/loved ones. 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 position requires moderate to heavy lifting (15-44 pounds and over), pushing (1 hour), walking (4-6 hours), standing (4-6 hours), repeated bending (0.5 hours), both legs required, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, ability to distinguish basic colors, ability to distinguish shades of colors, hearing, mental and emotional stability, strong legs, and no skin allergies

Education

The Associate Degree Nursing (ADN), Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN), or Master of Science degree in Nursing (MSN) must be fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission On Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Verification of accreditation may be obtained from http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm or https://directory.ccnecommunity.org/reports/accprog.asp

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

If your school was accredited by ACEN or CCNE at the time of graduation, but is no longer listed on the websites, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

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.

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 Central Texas Health Care System 1901 Veterans Memorial Drive Temple, TX 76504 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]