This will be a dual position functioning as the CLC Screening Coordinator RN and as Hospice Palliative Care case manager that provides coordination and services to the GEC service line to improve timeliness of services offered. Facilitates communication between CLC and acute care. The RN can attend Hospitalist morning meeting to relay clinical feedback generated during CLC reviews and provide feedback as well assess referred vets at bedside for eligibility, evaluate hospice needs.

Duties

The RN will assist with coordination and effectiveness of telehealth consults for HPC team; round with HPC providers and assist with communication between HPC Veterans and family members; provide phone calls to home hospice patients to ensure services are set up appropriately and if the Veterans have additional needs; will contact and receive calls from local hospice agencies, Veterans, family members, and nursing homes to more accurately determine the Veterans condition and likely need for VA hospice services. The RN will track down records and the pertinent information about the hospice diagnosis; help with HPC daily report along with helping triage urgent consults for the HPC providers. Help with Quality Improvement Measures including Smart Goals for the HPC team; the RN can help participate in family meetings as needed with HPC providers. Demonstrates leadership in the education and support of the patient, family/significant other and health care team members. Functions as a bridge between the patient and health care teams; communicates with the referring teams, including providers and nurses, to ensure the patient' s palliative care needs are addressed. Provides outreach to patients and families of patients with life limiting illness. Includes explaining Palliative Care and/or hospice services and roles involved, providing psychosocial support and addressing concerns about medical care and symptom management. Facilitates communication between providers. Includes working with the patient's care team, attending departmental meetings, developing working relationships with multiple departments, and ensuring patient and family needs are identified and addressed in a timely manner. Collaborates with other service team members during the patient's medical course. Coordinates appointments, reviews medical records and ensures the patient's palliative needs are met. Also ensures timely follow-up appointments are made. Provides education for patients and families. May include addressing questions regarding procedures, treatments, symptoms, and terminology; and discussing, explaining and reviewing recommendations of the Palliative Care Team. Provides psychosocial support. Includes regularly assessing the state of mind of patient and family, addressing identified problems, using motivational interviewing, problem solving, and assisting with necessary consults as appropriate to other services (i.e. Mental Health, Social Work, Chaplain and Dietary). Monitors and manages symptoms. Includes identifying symptoms and working with patients, providers and resources to manage them appropriately. Identifies and recommends resources. Shares knowledge of helpful resources for patients, including local support groups and classes; assists patients and families with accessing these resources. Documents coordination of care provided in CPRS and other appropriate resources; manages alerts in CPRS. Identifies potential emergency/crisis situations and provides appropriate interventions. Assist providers as needed in clinic and between clinic visits with order entry, follow-up and general coordination of care issues. Assist with outpatient needs (in person, through consults or by phone), based on input from Palliative providers. This may include coordination of home health services, arranging clinic appointments, collaboration with hospice agencies, setting up travel, etc. Assist with inpatient needs based on input from Palliative Care providers. This may include communication with hospice agencies, assisting Veteran and family with discharge planning needs, collaboration with bedside nurses to monitor interventions recommended by the Palliative Care team, etc. The HPC RN will provide coverage for the CLC Admissions Coordinator to cover leave, absences, etc. The RN will primarily be stationed at Bowling campus but will be required to cover needs at Sousley campus when warranted Identifying Increase CLC census to increase by properly identifying individuals eligible for Hospice. Centralizes intake among all disciplines. 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 Pay Scale: NF23 Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00am-3:30pm or 7:30am-4:00pm or 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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: Knowledge of CLC process Knowledge of Hospice Philosophy Case Management BSN 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: The population of male and female veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. Lexington VAMC is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility, serving medical, surgical, neurological, and psychiatric inpatients and outpatients. There is a large outpatient psychiatric population, with visits to the Emergency Department and admissions for medical co-morbidities. 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

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 Lexington VA Health Care System 2250 Leestown Road Lexington, KY 40511 US
• Name: Gemma Hess
• Phone: (310) 478-3711 X44783
• Email: [email protected]