The Cardiovascular Patient Navigator (CPN) is a RN-Case Manager/Case Coordinator who will work in close coordination with all members of the Cardiology Section, including on-station fee basis physicians, as well as the members of the Cardiothoracic Surgery program to ensure the timely and effective coordination of management of cardiovascular patients requiring or being considered for diagnostic or therapeutic cardiovascular procedures or cardiovascular surgery.

Duties

Under the supervision of the lnterventional Cardiologist, the CPN will participate in the Heart Team discussions and follow up on the execution of management decision such as consultations, referrals, scheduling (clinic, testing, and procedures), transfer coordination both locally and nationally, frailty assessments, risk score calculations, CART (Cardiovascular Assessment, Reporting and Tracking system) data entry, and the tracking through care completion of patients with a spectrum of cases including high risk angioplasty, Chronic Total Occlusion(CTO) angioplasty, MitraClip, lmpella-supported coronary intervention, lead extractions, complex implants/ablations, device recalls, and non-VA and out of state VA referrals, among others. This will also include support to the heart transplant coordinator. The cardiovascular navigator will provide support for transferring patients and completing all require documents for patients in need of hospital to hospital transfer either locally or to the Mainland. The model of patient navigation was introduced in 1990 to improve outcomes in vulnerable populations by overcoming barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment of patients with chronic conditions as they traverse the complex and often fragmented health care continuum. Initially implemented for cancer patients, the navigation approach has been increasingly applied to other conditions, including for patients with heart failure and after myocardial infarction. The spectrum of patient with cardiovascular disease at the VACHS includes coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, rhythm disorders, and others, with a range of manifestations from the chronic to the acute. In the trajectory from diagnosis to treatment to secondary prevention, these patients often require diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedural interventions offered on-station, as non-VA community care, or in a US mainland VA or non-VA facility. As the complexity of disease and diversity of procedural options has increased, so has the vulnerability of these patients. Work with the National Cardiac Device Surveillance Program (NCDSP), registering patients and activating remote monitoring for those patients who agree and can be monitor remotely. This includes registering all the cardiac devices into the NCDSP soon after implantation, and register all those patients who are being followed at the electro & pacing clinics into the surveillance program. In addition, review the alerts send on a daily basis from the NCDSP, and documenting the disposition and recommendations of those alerts in the medical record. Some of this alerts may include calling the patient and/or referring the patient to the emergency room or device clinics. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am to 430pm Telework: Not 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

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/09/2023. 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. Must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d). Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate State-accrediting agency and accredited 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). 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. Must be proficient in written and spoken English Preferred Experience: Knowledge of cardiac procedures PCI, Cardiac implants, EP studies and Complex high risk interventional procedures, preferred. Knowledge of cardiac devices and monitoring of National Cardiac Device Surveillance Program (NCDSP), preferred. Experience with the coordination of patient transfers between hospitals and community, preferred. Experience with the coordination of care between VA facilities, preferred. Experiences with the coordination of TAVR and Mitra-Clip patients, preferred. Spanish proficiency, proficient in spoken Spanish, 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 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. 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 involves lifting, moving and transporting patients, assist with transferring patients from wheelchair to to stretcher or radiology suite table and vice versa. Also assist with transferring patients to wheelchairs and/or may need to escort a patient to other areas. This position involves exposure to blood borne pathogens, fine manipulation, standing, walking, bending, crouching and reaching patients. It requires dealing with the acutely ill, with patients who may display disturbed behaviors, and with stressful situations. Moving patients and weighing patients in excess of 50 kg. or more. Wearing of a respirator may be required at times in the performance of the duties of this position. When required to use respirator, employee cannot have facial hair or any condition that interferes with the face to face piece seal or valve function of the respirator. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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 San Juan VA Medical Center 10 Calle Casia San Juan, PR 00921 US
• Name: Luis Burgos-Pena
• Email: [email protected]