The Registered Nurse for the Specialty Clinics must be poised and articulate in communicating with people of varied educational levels and varied ethnic backgrounds. Willing to work cooperatively as a member of a team in all assignments. Makes caring for the veteran his/her priority while in the work setting and demonstrates customer service principles in all aspects of work. Self-motivated in the pursuit of meeting professional work standards.

Duties

The duties and responsibilities for the Registered Nurse, Specialty Clinics includes but are not limited to the following: Uses the nursing process and evidence-based practice to collaborate with the Teamlet and larger Team to meet patient care needs. Provides patient and family health education with a focus on self-management, prevention, wellness, and Whole Health, based on the patient's goals. Demonstrates advanced clinical knowledge in assessing planning, implementing, documenting, and evaluating care for a designated group of patients. Educates patients regarding clinic procedures and what to expect during the procedure. Assists with clinic procedures and monitors patient for any adverse effect. Triages and applies a collaborative team approach in identifying, analyzing, and resolving patient care problems; documents own interventions. Monitors progress using clinical standing orders, analyzes variations, and initiates appropriate actions. Maintains current knowledge of multidisciplinary resources, programs, and services. Refers patients for community resources as deemed necessary. Reviews options with patients and families, alternatives, risks/benefits, and services. Educates the patient and family on disease processes, resources, plan of care, treatments, and /or procedures. Screens patients for social service, home care, and other community care needs; and coordinates or makes referrals as appropriate; and seeks consultation when indicated. Ensures the patient's provider is aware of patient progress, issues, and/or problems. Evaluates needs and facilitates the patient's ability to learn the principles of self-care; utilizes appropriate resources if the patient is unable to grasp the knowledge/skills needed for self-care through the use of motivational interviewing. Utilizes approved Standing Orders and Guidelines to facilitate autonomy in providing care. Promotes cost effective use of resources and effective strategies including non-face-to face approaches (including telehealth). Maintains privacy and confidentiality of all patient information, including electronic, print, and conversations. Applies skills, such as motivational interviewing to promote patient self-management. Adheres to policies, procedures, and standards to promote evidence-based patient-driven care. Completes and documents secure messaging within 72 hours. Surrogate is always identified. Escalation of secure messaging must be maintained at 10% or less. Routes messages to appropriate care lines as needed. Performs other tasks as requested by providers or supervising nursing personnel within the scope of training and abilities. Demonstrates flexibility and adapts to work demands or adjustment of assignments. Performs as a role model in the provision of excellent customer service Reviews Message Manager and assists Team to address/complete pending alerts communicated throughout tour of duty to facilitate care and address needs of the caller within 48 hours or before being cognizant of the Veteran awaiting response. Completes and documents Nursing Notes in CPRS, as applicable, in a timely manner and closes the Encounter Notes for patients not seen by a provider. Notes will be closed by the end of tour of duty daily. Areas to be addressed include: Encounters: reasons for visit- Service Connection; Primary Assignment-Service connected conditions under the Diagnosis tab; Procedures, ACSC conditions, etc. Other duties as assigned 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: Monday- Friday, 8:00am- 4:30pm Telework: Ad-Hoc (Occasional or Irregular basis) 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

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: Case Management experience within last 5 years. Direct patient care within last 5 years. Ambulatory Clinic experience within the last 5 years. Charge Nurse experience within the past 5 years. 1-3 years experience with Electronic Medical Records and other applications. 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 may require potentially long periods of continued Moderate lifting of 15-44 pounds, Moderate carrying of 15-44 pounds, Straight pulling for .5 hours, Pushing for .5 hours, Reaching above shoulder, Walking for 5.3 for hours, Standing for 5.3 hours, Repeated bending for 5.3 hours, Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, Depth perception, Ability to distinguish basic colors, Hearing (aid may be permitted).

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.

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 TX Valley Coastal Bend HCS 2601 Veterans Drive Harlingen, TX 78550 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]