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The Registered Nurse on the 7 West Inpatient Medical/Surgical Telemetry unit provides prescribed medical treatment and personal care services to ill and injured veterans. The nurse must have knowledge and actively participate in unit/program level quality improvement processes and initiatives as well as customer service programs. The Inpatient Medical/Surgical Registered Nurse is able to deliver technically competent care to patients with complex needs independently and with assistance from mentor/preceptor.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Documenting observations, assessments, and changes in patient's condition.
• Managing telemetry patients.
• Collaborating with health team members to facilitate positive patient care outcomes.
• Providing a full range of nursing care to patients with a variety of complex physical and/or behavior problems.
• Possess the ability to analyze critical conditions, recognize appropriate monitoring and critical thinking skills to provide the patient population with the correct medical treatment plan.
• Administers medication and procedures per established policies and guidelines.
• Active participation in staff and interdisciplinary care meetings.
• Identifies the application of research based material to implement best practices within the unit.
• Caring for patients before and after invasive procedures in which patients receive moderate sedation or anesthesia such as cardiac catheterization or general surgical procedures.

Work Schedule: 40 hours every 2 weeks. Day/Night rotation, evening rotation 12s/8s. Schedule includes rotating weekends and holidays.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan reimbursement program. To participate in the program, you must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA Policy 1021 and submit your application within four months of appointment. The final award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) is determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services office.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination

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.
• Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate State-accrediting agency and accredited 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). 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.

Note: New graduates will be considered for the position if education and licensure are obtained prior to the hire date.

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 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 year's 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 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 year's of nursing practice/experience.

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.

Preferred Experience:

• ACLS
• BLS

Physical Requirements: 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 mental health inpatients and outpatients. 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.Must be able to lift at least 45 pounds. 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 patient needs.
This position requires heavy lifting (45 lbs and over), Heavy Carrying (45 lbs and over), Strait pulling (1 hour), Pulling hand over hand (2 hours), Pushing (2 Hours) reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both arms/hands required or the equivalent required, walking 8-12 hours, standing 8-12 hours, crawling 0.5 hours, kneeling 1 hour, repeated bending (4 hours), climbing, legs only (0.5 hours), both legs required or the equivalent required, twisting (2 hours), ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, stooping, stretching (2 hours), near vision correctable at 13 to 16 to Jaeger 1 to 4, specific visual requirement (read medication label and equipment manuals), both eyes required, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted) adequate to hear medical alarms/whispered voice, ability to perform Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior, patient lifting (mechanical assistance available), sitting (8-12 hours), ability to perform Basic Life Support, emotional and mental stability. Environmental factors include: outside and inside, dust, electrical energy, working around machinery with moving parts, working with hands in water, working closely with others, working alone, protracted or irregular work hours and repetitive use of hand hygiene.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: Candidate's education and length of nursing practice (experience) will be considered by a Nurse Professional Standards Board in determining the grade and salary of the applicant selected. The recommended salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy.

Experience as an RN will be evaluated to determine if the experience is of an acceptable level of quality with regard to the following four dimensions of nursing: Practice, Professional Development, Collaboration and Scientific Inquiry. Each dimension of practice has criteria that demonstrate essential core competencies for VHA Nursing Personnel.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.