Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to all US Citizens.

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The Nurse Educator/Education Specialist is accountable to the Chief, Nursing Education.
Duties of this position may include but are not limited to the following:

• Utilizes innovative teaching strategies, assessment skills, and evaluation of outcomes.
• Assumes responsibility for the coordination of education focused on staff education, self-management, and customer satisfaction throughout the healthcare continuum.
• Follows procedures per established policies and guidelines.
• Influences care outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team.
• Responsible for providing competent, evidence-based education to staff.
• Provides educational instruction and training for nursing staff in clinical and non clinical areas, with an emphasis on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Populations.
• Performs Prevention and Management of Aggression Training as needed.
• Having knowledge and understanding of instructional design, implementation, and application related to education and training.
• Performs learning needs assessments, develops educational trainings for clinical staff within organization.
• Assists with the orientation of new employees, evaluation of their progress in the orientation process, and development and implementation of a learning plan for improving identified deficiencies.
• Supports nurse residency programs including the development of curriculum utilizing strategic learning methodologies such as simulation, lecture case studies and virtual reality.
• Develops proficient level coaching and mentoring skills.
• Supports and assists with Nursing Staff competency.
• Supports Scholarship, I LEAD, Nursing School Affiliations, TTP, VA -Step and PMDB programs, as assigned
• Evaluates current practice, formulate outcomes for groups of patients and/or organizational processes within area of expertise.
• Collaborates with other Clinical Nurse Educators and interprofessional healthcare teams in the ongoing clinical education activities including in-services, training, competency assessment, and evaluations of both current and new staff nursing skills. Reviews current nursing literature for new trends and changes based on evidence-based research with the ability to propose practice and documentation revisions based on evaluation of outcomes. Collaborates with leadership and unit managers to identify educational training needs for staff, while supporting activities that foster competence, critical thinking, and decision making. Provides consultation and collaboration through the participation within organizational committees and councils. Ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate data to determine outcomes and changes related to educational programs.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f), 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 the appropriate 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); OR Individuals attending a master's level bridge program in nursing who have completed coursework equivalent to a bachelor's level degree in Nursing may have opportunity to become registered as a nurse with a state licensing board prior to completion of the bridge program. Upon achievement of a State license, the individual may be appointed on temporary basis and later converted to a permanent appointment upon successful completion and graduation from the bridge program. (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 to warrant an appointment as a Nurse who has completed an associated degree/entry level Nursing education program. Credit for foreign nursing education higher that associate degree/entry level requires a formal degree equivalency validation from a recognized equivalency evaluation accepted by VA such as International Consultants of Delaware (ICD).
• 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. Graduate Nurse Technician (GNT) Exception: Candidates who otherwise meet the basic education requirements, but do not possess the required licensure, may be appointed at the entry step of the grade and level applicable to the completed nursing education as a GNT on a 120-day temporary appointment while actively pursuing licensure (may be extended up to two years on a case-by-case-basis.)

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, resume, 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, scope, and length of nursing practice (experience) will be considered 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 five dimensions of nursing: Practice, Veteran/Patient Driven Care, Leadership, Professional Development, and Evidence/Based Practice/Research. 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.