The Nurse Practitioner/APRN is a professional, independent practitioner with advanced education and appropriate experience who provides evidence based care for a specific population of patients. Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex client care.

Duties

The Nurse Practitioner/Advance Practice Nurse (NP/APRN) is an EXPERT nurse, "with an enormous background of experience, who now has an intuitive grasp of each situation and zeros in on the accurate region of the problem without wasteful consideration of a large range of unfruitful, alternative diagnoses and solutions" (Benner). The NP/APRN registered nurse demonstrates performance and leadership that is broad enough to improve the care for a group of patients. The NP/APRN is responsible for the documented outcomes at the prog ram 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 defined as a substantial coordinated group of activities impacting patients and/or employees. Career path roles may include, but are not limited to clinical nurse leader, clinical nurse specialist, nurse coordinator, nurse educator, expert clinician, nurse manager, nurse practitioner, nurse recruiter, or researcher. The NP/APRN demonstrates: (a) Leading and organizing delivery of care to assure continuity of care and peer accountability for practice, including access to care and discharge planning; (b) Using advanced clinical knowledge/judgment to promote staff involvement in planning, decision making, and evaluating outcomes, (c) Functioning as an expert in clinical practice and/or areas related to the assigned roles and responsibilities, (d) Systematically evaluating current practice, and formulating outcomes for groups of patients and/or organizational processes within an area of expertise, (e) Guiding, developing, and supporting staff from a leadership perspective, and (f) Using professional standards of care, scientific evidence, and practice to evaluate pro grams and/or service activities. The primary purpose of the nurse practitioner (NP) is to practice to the full ext ent of their education, training and certification, without the clinical supervision or mandatory collaboration of physicians, as a licensed independent practitioner to provide specified medical or other patient care service. The NP collaborates with othe r disciplines to develop, implement, and coordinate a system of patient care delivery that promotes communication, teamwork, high quality care, patient satisfaction, positive outcomes, appropriate utilization of resources and cost effective services. Clinical privileges will guide advanced practice beyond basic education and are renewed every two years. The NP has prescriptive authority for a panel of patients or program. Core functions include performing history and physical examinations, diagnosing , treating, and managing acute and chronic health care problems, ordering appropriate testing and consults, performing adult care check ups, prescribing medication and treatments, and teaching health promotion and disease prevention to patients. Responsible and accountable for all elements of the nursing process when providing and/or supervising direct patient care. Assesses, plans, implements and evaluates care based on age specific components. Assumes responsibility for the coordination of care focused on patient transition through the continuum of care, patient and family education, patient self management after discharge, and supporting factors that impact customer satisfaction. Considers all characteristics of the individual, including age and life s tages, state of health, race and culture, values, and previous experiences. Administers and/or orders medications and procedures per established policies and guidelines. Influences care outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team. 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: 6:00 am to 4:30 as indicated below: Compressed/Flexible: Four 10-hour Days; Tuesdays Off Telework: Yes - as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authoriized 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. A nurse practitioner must be licensed or otherwise recognized as a nurse practitioner in a State, possess a master's degree from a program accredited by the NLNAC or CCNE, 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: Master of Science Degree in Nursing (MSN) 2-3 Years RN Experience Experience with APRN License and Certification (Current and in good standing) 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 potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, and sitting. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing. 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. In the performance of duties, the incumbent may be required to drive and/or ride in GSA-vehicles.

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 Danville VA Medical Center 1900 East Main Street Danville, IL 61832 US
• Name: Antionette Sneed-Clay
• Email: [email protected]