Duties

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 Registered nurses assigned to a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) Model are members of a teamlet assigned to a panel of patients. The RN functions as a member of a team consisting of the patient, the patient's primary care provider, the teamlet LPN, the teamlet clerk and other professionals including Clinical Pharmacists, Dietitians, Psychologists, and others. Optimizes patient care delivery and patient outcomes by providing Case Management, Care Coordination and Telephone Management. Provides care to patients with acute problems, patients undergoing transitions of care and patients with chronic conditions especially high-risk patients who would benefit from case management. Utilizes motivational interviewing techniques to facilitate development of patient driven goals for health optimization. Performs independently in collaboration with the provider to carry out the plan of care for the veteran. Delegates to other team members but is responsible for providing case management and care coordination activities, clinical triage and making complex clinical decisions. Utilizes various platforms for visits including face to face, telephone visits, Video Connect Visits, secure messaging, and possible inpatient visits to patients assigned to the teamlet. Provides backup for other teamlet RN staff. Tracks patient outcomes to determine if interventions are effective. Follows established guidelines to provide and coordinate health care to a defined population. Responsible for patients assigned to a team and is responsible for working with and/or leading other team members to ensure quality care is delivered timely by the appropriate person. Complete tasks assigned to the LPN, but much of the role encompasses performing nursing activities that include the core of the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning and evaluation) and that requires specialized nursing knowledge, judgment and/or skill. Performs nursing assessments: triages face to face, Video/Virtual visits or by telephone; in collaboration with the patient and provider identifies goal for optimizing health. Provides patient/family education to improve outcomes, evaluates patient's progress or lack of progress toward achieving goals; and performs case management activities and care coordination activities for those patients assigned to the team who require those services. Provides direct nursing care to individual and groups of patients and assists with the direction and supervision of other assigned clinical and/or clerical staff. Mental Health: Skilled in basic Psychiatric emergency management. Completes initial assessment/history on all clients entering treatment Evaluates medication effects and determine course of action Effectively coordinates medications needs including refills, samples, prior authorizations, etc. Knowledge of current medications and use. Knowledge of potential side effects and educates veteran and co-workers. Ensure compliance with the mission, vision, and values of the medical center and/or VISN.Lab: Performs venipuncture for blood draws, prepares specimens for transport and processing (centrifuge and serum separation), transcribes orders, accessions label, provides patient education about lab tests, etc. Demonstrates knowledge and ability to access lab software, review lab orders, and ensure lab results are communicated to the patient within established guidelines. Work Schedule: Standard options are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 pm, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm but other options may be negotiable. Schedule agreed upon may vary based on needs of the service. Some evenings and/or weekends may be required based on the needs of the service Travel: 50% or less travel required to provide gap coverage at community clinics as needed to meet the needs of the service line. Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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. 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. .Physical Requirements: Satisfactory physical examination as determined by the Employee Health Unit upon appointment only. The population of male and female veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. The VA Medical Center is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility, serving medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients. There is a large outpatient psychiatric population, with admissions for medical co-morbidities. This position requires visual acuity (glasses permitted), keen hearing (hearing aid permitted), clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking (up to 8 hours), standing (up to 8 hours), stooping, sitting, bending (up to 8 hours), pulling, and pushing. Light lifting under 15 lbs. Light carrying 15-44 lbs. 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. Use of rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously. 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. 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.

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 Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: Julie Boston
• Phone: 228-229-6027
• Email: [email protected]