Nursing educators are registered nurses who serve as role models of effective patient centered care and in sharing their expertise and offering support, they enable nurses to become competent practitioners. Nursing educators must demonstrate to nurses as well as established nurses both responsiveness and flexibility. Nurse educators play an integral role in better patient outcomes, lower mortality, lower readmission rates and shorter lengths of stay.

Duties

The Specialty Procedural Nurse Educator provides orientation, specialized training, and advanced education for staff in the perioperative or procedural arena of patient care. The incumbent will demonstrate the ability to utilize the educational process to assess needs, prioritize, plan, develop, implement, and evaluate educational activities to assist staff to attain and maintain the knowledge and skill necessary to achieve competence in role expectations, and to improve the quality of perioperative care provided to our Veterans. The Nurse Educator will utilize formal and informal assessment methods and a variety of sources to identify staff and leadership needs. The Nurse Educator will prioritize educational needs based on patient and staff safety, clinical competence, current evidence-based research, changes in practice, available resources, current organizational and departmental goals, and system wide objectives and requirements. He/she will design individual and group educational activities to incorporate principles of adult learning and will ensure the content is accurate, evidence-based, current standards of care, and in compliance with all regulatory and accrediting requirements. The Nurse Educator may also be assigned to provide direct patient care and or educational instruction to patients who may also be on isolation or have tested positive for a communicable disease while training staff members of the organization. The Nurse Educator must have a well-rounded background and clinical expertise within the perioperative arena of clinical care. This role will promote and support nursing research, foster communication, and collaborative practice with members of the healthcare team, and adeptly implement educational programs to meet assessed learning needs of staff. The PNE will be knowledgeable of The Joint Commission, AORN, APAN, VHA Directives, applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations, the Mission, Vision, and Core Values of the VA as a High Reliability Organization, and all other regulatory and accrediting agency requirements, including any academic affiliation or national program office mandates pertaining to trainees. The Nurse Educator will coordinate and plan the clinical experience and specialty rotation with all new staff and will maintain training and competency with current staff. The role will maintain liaison with management, administration and departmental representatives in planning educational programs and activities pertinent to the perioperative area and needs of the Professional Staff Development department. The PNE will work with health professions trainees and students as well as VA employees. The PNE will maintain accurate educational records of staff and will participate in selected committees, projects, and performance improvement activities when needed. He/she will maintain membership in appropriate professional organizations and seek out external professional and clinical training activities for self-development growth. The Nurse Educator is responsible for demonstrating and maintaining full competency in the use, pre-cleaning and/or reprocessing of reusable medical equipment. The employee must ensure that the appropriate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and manufacturer's instructions are followed for any step in the use of RME (pre-cleaning, reprocessing, disinfection, sterilization, maintenance) in which he/she is involved. The healthcare field is a dynamic setting which requires constant updating of knowledge. Therefore, it is important the applicant participates in continuing education that will enhance healthcare skills and knowledge. Lastly, other duties may be assigned in support of the facilities mission. 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, 7:30am-4:00pm, 8:00am-4:30pm 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 Pay Schedule: NF96

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: Basic Life Support Certification (BLS) 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: It is VA policy to ensure that all selected applicants and employed personnel are physically, mentally and emotionally fit to perform the duties of the position to which assigned. A pre-placement physical examination is required for all fulltime, part-time and intermittent employees identified by VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The pre-placement physical examination shall be completed prior to appointment to determine the physical and mental fitness for candidates for appointment in VA. The examination will be concerned with the mental and physical ability of the applicant to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment and will include requisite laboratory and other screening as required by Federal regulatory agencies. 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. This position requires that you are able to lift at least 50 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. 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 organizational needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual Influenza vaccination, TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Memphis VA Medical Center 1030 Jefferson Avenue Memphis, TN 38104 US
• Name: Sean Shepherd
• Phone: 615-695-2251
• Email: [email protected]