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 Registered Nurse - ED is a registered nurse who assesses, implements, and evaluates care for the patients in the Emergency Department at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. The ED RN is primarily responsible and accountable for assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating direct/indirect nursing care. In addition he/she will be responsible for identifying outcomes for patients in the emergency/urgent care setting. He/she will coordinate patient care delivery to ensure quality care according to established policies, standards of care, and standards of practice. The practice of this nurse is characterized by leadership in improving patient care. Additional he/she is responsible for assuring continual professional development. The nurse progressively assumes charge and triage nurse responsibilities as assigned, under the close supervision of the Nurse Manager or designee. The Medical Emergency Department (ED) is a split-flow ED with a 10-bed Main and 4-bed Fast Track. The Registered Nurse (ED) is responsible for care of patients within this setting. The Medical ED takes care of ~15,000 annually with enhancements of care delivery to our aging population. VACHS is a Level 1a major interdisciplinary teaching facility with service-lines serving medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients, with a Level III Emergency Department, and multiple community-based outpatient clinics (CBOC). There is a large outpatient psychiatric population, with admissions for medical co-morbidities. The Northeastern Blind Rehabilitation Center provides services in a residential setting. Home-Based Primary nursing care is also provided. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Consistently performs comprehensive physical, psychological and social assessments. Detects early clinical changes in patient's condition. Effectively prioritizes actual and potential problem/needs. Develops realistic and measurable outcomes for identified patient needs and evaluates patient's progress toward outcomes. Revises the plan of care when appropriate. Is self-directed in providing and managing safe, therapeutic care for groups of patients. Effectively intervenes in critical patient care situations. Demonstrates knowledge and/or required safety skills in area of assignment and, when appropriate, in the following: emergency preparedness plan, hazardous materials, fire plan, equipment failure emergency plans, and utility outage response procedures for this area. Consistently documents and reports patient care that reflects the critical thinking process. Effectively guides all levels of nursing and ancillary staff assigned to the work unit. 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: Evenings or Nights -This position potentially requires flexibility in schedule and assignments, as this is a 24/7 hospital and assignments based in Veteran, caregivers and/or family needs. Compressed: Authorized Telework/Virtual/Remote Work: Not Authorized Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact Hannah Neilson at [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by a special rate. Selectee may be required to work at any VA Connecticut Healthcare System campus, as needed. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is in the Excepted Service. The salary is based on the grade and step approved for the selected candidate. The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will recommend the grade and salary for new appointments based on the candidate's education and experience. For internal selectees being promoted, the board will determine grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

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: Bachelor's Degree in Nursing preferred; Current or Recent Emergency Nursing experience or Critical Care Nursing experience; Certified Emergency Nurse 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: Registered Nurses should be physically and mentally capable to perform duties of the position. Position requires standing, walking and sitting for periods up to 8 hours per day.

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.

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.

Contacts

• Address West Haven VA Medical Center 950 Campbell Avenue West Haven, CT 06516 US
• Name: Dawn Langston
• Phone: (203) 932-5711 X8238
• Email: [email protected]