This Licensed Practical Nurse position is in Connected Care services at the VA Boston Healthcare System, located at the West Roxbury campus location. This position is a full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

Primary responsibilities of the incumbent include: teaching, educating, and supporting Spinal Cord Injury team members and Veterans in clinical telehealth encounters for the patient and provider locations (includes SCI West Roxbury inpatient unit, Brockton SCI Long Term Care Unit, SCI Outpatient services, remote sites, Veterans at home, Contract Nursing Home or other Long Term Care facilities, SCI spoke sites) by serving as the an expert for telehealth within scope of practice, functioning as an expert imager and clinical data manager for telehealth store and forward applications, overseeing the management of real time clinical telehealth events, regularly updating established instructions for patients, and providing technical and administrative support of telehealth operations. Additional responsibilities will include: providing expert technical support, mentorship, and precepting to end-users, scheduling of simple and complex intra-facility and inter-facility telehealth appointments of SCI team, providing support, mentorship, and precepting for all SCI staff with installing, configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting technology, and performing a variety of program support duties as assigned. Preferred Experience: 1 Year Experience as a GS6 LPN TCT in the SCI WX site required Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: F06816 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Compressed/Flexible:Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service. This position is a AFGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by a special rate. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held May be required to travel to other VA Boston campuses.

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. Must be proficient in spoken and written English. Must be a graduate of practical or vocational nursing approved by the appropriate State accrediting agency and/or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing at the time the program was completed by the applicant. Health care education in the military service or training in the military service which is accepted by the licensing body in the jurisdiction in which the individual is licensed as qualifying for full LPN/LVN licensure will be accepted as meeting the education requirements for VHA employment. Must possess a current, full and unrestricted registration as practical/vocational nurse in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth (i.e. Puerto Rico) of the U.S. or in the District of Columbia. Must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the LPN GS-6 Applicant must also address the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities in their resume, CV, or supplemental document of their creation: (a) Knowledge and skills necessary to carry out more specialized patient care duties, including assignments in selected, more complex inpatient and/or outpatient care settings. Knowledge base promotes the incorporation of current patient care data in actively contributing to the development of the patient's overall health plan and in carrying out assigned nursing interventions. Positions at this grade level require broader knowledge and skills because supervision is more general and employees are expected to be involved to a greater degree in the development and modification of treatment plans. (b) Ability to assist RN and/or MD/DO to appropriately prioritize overall patient care needs and adjust plans for care delivery. Makes astute observations of subtle, less obvious changes, both physical and emotional, in patient's condition, and accurately and thoroughly documents care delivered and patient's response to care that could require immediate modification of the patient's care plan. Appropriately seeks assistance and guidance by informing RN or MD/DO of changes in patient's condition requiring higher-level intervention. At this grade level, the LPN/LVN is expected to participate to a greater degree in prioritizing, and, as appropriate, modifying patient care treatment. They must also possess the ability to observe more subtle physical and emotional changes in patients and demonstrate taking appropriate action based on those observations. (c) Ability to proactively assist the RN or MD/DO in addressing patient's needs for medication/treatments, accurately administering prescribed medications/treatments according to established policies/procedures and appropriately recording administration and patient's response to medications/treatments received. (This may include restricted medication locally authorized for administration by employees at this grade level.) Demonstrates the knowledge and ability to readily recognize the more subtle signs and symptoms of potential or actual drug reactions, promptly inform the RN or MD/DO of observed changes in patient's condition and initiate appropriate, prescribed interventions. Employees at this grade level demonstrate broader knowledge and skill with respect to these responsibilities than employees at lower grade levels. (d) Knowledge and skill to promptly recognize potential urgent or emergent patient care situations, seek assistance of the RN and/or MD/DO for appropriate team intervention and effectively intervene, as directed, to assure the continuation of optimal, safe and therapeutic patient care delivery. At this grade level, the LPN/LVN must have a broader knowledge of the patient treatment process and exercise judgment that demonstrates the ability to effectively intervene when appropriate. (e) Assists individuals or groups of patients and their families to take an active role in promoting healthy lifestyles for more positive patient outcomes. Exercises skill in influencing and communicating with unusually difficult to care for or communicate with patients and/or family members who may exhibit problems with lack of self-control, resistant or abusive behaviors, or impediments in their ability to understand or follow instructions. This includes the ability to effectively deal with the above types of patients under very general supervision. (f) Exhibits skill, creativity and initiative in contributing to the improvement of overall care delivery and patient and/or family satisfaction levels through active participation in committees/task forces, research projects or in developing educational materials/media. Actively promotes and effectively incorporates established customer service standards in all aspects of their practice. (g) Possesses comprehensive practical nursing knowledge and skills in specialized procedures and practices to serve as a resource person for other staff in organizing and implementing more complex/specialized patient care. Serves as a role model and mentor to other nursing staff in the application of more complex technology, effectively guiding and directing their continuing practice in these areas. (h) Supports the RN or MD/DO in monitoring the practice of unlicensed nursing or non-medical staff in patient care delivery. Promptly reports any deviations from normal practice patterns to the RN or MD/DO. In addition to responsibilities at the lower grade level, the LPN/LVN is responsible for monitoring the practice of non-licensed nursing and medical staff. (i) Work of considerable difficulty and responsibility is performed under general supervision. Individuals in these positions are, to a considerable extent, expected to exercise independent technical judgments and to possess and apply a comprehensive working knowledge of the principles, art and science of practical nursing. The staff mix is such that employees at this grade level are expected to perform practical nursing duties of considerable difficulty and responsibility under very general supervision. (j) Actively seeks out educational opportunities to enhance nursing knowledge and skills, and providing leadership in assisting other staff improve and advance their nursing practice. References: VA Handbook 5005; Appendix G13 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 Veterans and objects may be required. Mechanical inpatient lifts are provided. The incumbent may be exposed to infected Veterans and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations, operative/invasive procedures, resident rooms, exam rooms, or inpatient wards. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to Veterans 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. The incumbent who provides care in home settings or other off-site locations may be required to travel.

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 VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Solymar Torres
• Email: [email protected]