The Registered Nurse, Palliative Care, is an essential link for meeting the immediate needs of Palliative Care Clinic outpatients, both during clinic visits and as new needs arise between visits. The nurse triages phone calls, facilitates medication refills, and coordinates with other disciplines to meet the ever-changing needs of the Veteran at the end of life.

Duties

One of the most important duties of the RN, Palliative Care, is to educate other nurses and staff about end-of-life care. This education is expected and required. Planning and executing these educational activities is a major responsibility of the Palliative Care Nurse position. Duties include but are not limited to: Participate in Palliative Care Consult Team by making visits (independently or with other members of the consult team) to Veterans (in acute hospital, urgent care, CLC) and their families to assess their end of-life care needs, provide education re VA Palliative Care Services, hospice referral, end-of-life contracts, etc. Plan and provide comprehensive end-of-life education for VA staff, community hospice staff, Veterans and families. This area of education has been of particular importance in recent OIG reports. All VA staff who work with Veterans at the end of life are expected to have the appropriate education. Planning, coordinating and executing these trainings is a time-consuming but vital task. Provide ongoing support (medication refills and other symptom management issues) for Palliative Care Clinic outpatients as their needs arise. Evaluate patients for admission to inpatient Palliative Care unit. Coordinate admissions. Assist Palliative Care Physician in conducting daily, morning rounds of Palliative Care inpatients. Identify Veterans in CLC, acute hospital, urgent care who are in need of Palliative Care Services. Collaborate with PACT teamlets to identify Veterans appropriate for Palliative Care Consults. Complete Nursing assessments with Veterans at their Palliative Care Clinic visits. Identify and implement nursing measures to address current problems and concerns. 9. Coordinate with Palliative Care Physician to orient and instruct medical residents and physicians' assistant students re Palliative Care concepts, practices and procedures. Participate in monthly Palliative Care Team meetings to plan and coordinate activities of Team. Coordinate and conduct Palliative Care Treatment Team Meetings. Assist CLC with performance improvement projects. Assists CLC with Ascellion surveys and action plans. Acts as liaison for infection control in the CLC. Nurse for Palliative Care and Geriatric clinic. Assists SPH coordinator with fall prevention strategies/rounds on units to ensure fall prevention interventions are being carried out 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, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available at Supervisory Discretion Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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: 3 years experience in Palliative/Hospice preferred. Certification in Hospice and Palliative Care preferred. 5 years long term care experience preferred. BSN 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: 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. Transferring patients and objects may be required. Mechanical inpatient lifts are provided. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations, operative invasive procedures, or home settings. 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. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment. The incumbent who provides care in home settings or other off site locations may be required to drive and/or ride in GSA XII.

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 Danville VA Medical Center 1900 East Main Street Danville, IL 61832 US
• Name: Maria Thornton
• Phone: 317-709-4017
• Email: [email protected]