The LPN assigned to Primary Care is an active member of a multidisciplinary healthcare team that provides care to veterans at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center (JHQVAMC). The GS-7 LPN possesses the necessary skills to readily recognize acute and subtle changes, potentially acute and emergent situations in the Veteran's condition, documentation is professional, timely and adequately reflects the care delivered to the Veteran as well as the Veteran's response to care received.

Duties

The GS 7 LPN must demonstrate an exceptional degree of practical nursing knowledge and skills necessary for concentrated effort and self-direction to provide care for medically complex Veteran population. Employee exhibits independent technical judgment, critical thinking skills, and the use of independent judgment to carry out their assigned duties which include ability to prioritize and coordinate the care of medically complex Veteran population with minimal supervision. The GS 7 LPN will be working in Primary Care. This area is designed to treat all Veterans presenting with a large variety of non-emergent needs. These needs could be as simple as a medication refill, wound care, or vital sign check's to more complex patients seeking management of chronic diseases and the ongoing follow up. Clinical Nursing Practice: Provide care in a safe and cost-effective manner. He/she will follow all policies/procedures pertaining to own personal safety including the use of standard precautions. The LPN will maintain a safe environment using appropriate equipment, devices, and safety measures for all patients. Ensure proper identification of patient/resident per policy before administering care. Assist co-workers willingly without being asked and work well as a team member. Contribute to the evaluation of Fall Risk patients and implement appropriate preventative measures. Implement care for Primary Care patients independently utilizing broader knowledge and skills with less direct supervision. Demonstrate keen observation skills with accurate reporting and recording of significant changes in patient condition and record any-action taken. Demonstrates proficiency in initiating, performing, and completing assigned duties while providing care to diverse patient populations. Maintains knowledge and ability to carry out patient care determined by the patient's condition utilizing judgement in selecting appropriate orders, procedures, and treatments; and recognizing, reporting, and recording relevant patient information to include urgent and emergent situations. Administration: Demonstrate ability to serve as a responsible member of the clinic and interact with patients, family members, professional and supportive personnel who provide patient care, and with members of other services. Assist with answering the phone, conveying timely messages to the appropriate staff, placing calls/pages as needed. Participate in evaluation of nursing care through attendance and input at team conferences and communication with the Nurse Manager. Further, participates in team conference development and implementation, by presenting a patient for team conference discussion when need identified. Report to the NM/designee any failure to comply with established policy or procedure. Make recommendations for assignments of volunteers, work study students, etc. Have the option to participate in planning program presentations for clinic in-service education. Research: Have the option to participate in the accurate collection of data as instructed by the Nurse Manager or designee. Have the option to make recommendations for the application of current research findings to practice as well as applying those findings as assigned by the Nurse Manager or designee. Have the option to participate in performance improvement activities at the clinic level. Education: Have the option to conduct and document teaching activities as assigned and according to pre-established teaching plan. Initiate and reinforce patient and family teaching. Evaluate various educational activities and recommend changes for improvement Receive education related to special knowledge and skills needed to care for the adult and geriatric patient annually at the unit level. Reusable Medical Equipment (RME): Be responsible for knowing what reusable instruments, equipment, medical devices, or supplies (inventory) are used in their assigned area. Be familiar with which items are cleaned locally (in clinic) and which items are sent to sterile processing service.(SPS) for reprocessing and/or sterilization. If items are to be transported for reprocessing, he/she must be aware of the initial decontamination steps that must be taken prior to transport of item and the appropriate method of transport. Be responsible for following the local Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) drafted in accordance with the manufacturer's written recommendations. SPS and Infection Prevention and Control should be consulted when clarification of written instructions are needed. No one should be reprocessing any reusable medical equipment based on vendor's verbal instructions alone; this is not an adequate practice. Pay Schedule: V0Q2 Work Schedule: 7:45am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday Telework: Not Available Travel: 50% of the time. Travels to affiliated ROC's (Remote Outpatient Clinics) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. 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. Education - Graduate of a school of practical or vocational nursing approved by the appropriate State agency and/or accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) at the time the program was completed by the applicant. Exceptions include 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 OR granted a license by a jurisdiction that does not require graduation from an approved school AND have at least one year of successful practice as an LPN/ LVN. Licensure - Active, full, current and unrestricted licensure as a Graduate Licensed Practical or Vocational Nurse in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth (i.e., Puerto Rico), of the United States or the District of Columbia. Grade Determination: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. GS-07: The GS-07 grade level is for select, complex LPN/LVN positions, as established by each health care facility. To be advanced, employees must meet all of the following standards, provided the standard is part of their assignment. Completion of at least one (1) year of additional qualifying experience at the GS-06 level or equivalent, fully meeting all of the performance requirements for the GS-06 LPN/LVN. The following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) must be met: Provide care in a safe and cost-effective manner. He/she will follow all policies/procedures pertaining to own personal safety including the use of standard precautions. The LPN will maintain a safe environment using appropriate equipment, devices, and safety measures for all patients. Ensure proper identification of patient/resident per policy before administering care. Assist co-workers willingly without being asked and work well as a team member. Contribute to the evaluation of Fall Risk patients and implement appropriate preventative measures. Demonstrate ability to serve as a responsible member of the clinic and interact with patients, family members, professional and supportive personnel who provide patient care, and with members of other services. Assist with answering the phone, conveying timely messages to the appropriate staff, placing calls/pages as needed. Have the option to participate in the accurate collection of data as instructed by the Nurse Manager or designee. Have the option to make recommendations for the application of current research findings to practice as well as applying those findings as assigned by the Nurse Manager or designee. Have the option to conduct and document teaching activities as assigned and according to pre-established teaching plan. Initiate and reinforce patient and family teaching. Preferred Experience and Certifications 3 - 5 years' LPN experience. Dependability and experience in a variety of clinical settings such as Primary Care, internal medicine, or other outpatient clinic experience. Knowledge and ability to participate actively in teaching the patient, family and/or significant others. Ability to function in outpatient clinics with minimal supervision. Ability to recognize and respond to potential emergent patient situations. Electronic medical record experience. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. NOTE: Current GS-0620 LPN/LVN employee of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) who were converted to an appointment under 38 U.S.C. 7401(3) in implementation of Public Law 98-160, enacted November 21, 1983, or who was converted to an appointment under 38 U.S.C. 7405 in implementation of Public Law 99-576, enacted October 28, 1986 are considered to have met the Education requirement. The waiver does not apply to persons appointed under 38 U.S.C. 7401(3) or 7405 after these conversions. Physical Requirements: The population of male and female veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JHQVAMC) 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, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, lifting more than 10 pounds, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The LPN 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 LPN may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The LPN must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. The employee may on occasion, be assigned to other Veteran care areas.

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 James H Quillen VA Medical Center Corner of Lamont Street and Veterans Way Mountain Home, TN 37684 US
• Name: Robert McNeal
• Phone: 205-933-8101 X337579
• Email: [email protected]