Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) - Primary Care

Veterans Health Administration • Oxford, AL

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Nurse Practitioner (NP) provides primary care to adult and geriatric Veterans at the Birmingham VA Medical Center and related care settings. Working under a Scope of Practice with prescriptive authority, the NP diagnoses and treats acute and chronic health problems, independently or in collaboration with providers, and carries out coordinated plans of care. The NP serves as leader of a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) teamlet consisting of an RN, LPN/Clinical Associate, and Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA), delegating appropriate care while remaining responsible for diagnosis, treatment, care coordination, and complex clinical decisions.

The NP provides care for patients with acute problems, transitions of care, and chronic conditions, particularly diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, hyperlipidemia, pain, and depression. The role uses motivational interviewing to support patient-driven health goals, and requires attendance at a formal Motivational Interviewing course. The NP demonstrates leadership in holistic care, health promotion, disease prevention, and whole-health strategies.

Care is delivered through face-to-face, telephone, and video virtual visits, as well as secure messaging. The NP develops care plans, tracks outcomes, performs clinical assessments and triage, educates patients and families, evaluates progress toward goals, and conducts case management and care coordination as needed. The NP documents in the medical record and ensures that recommendations, test results, and care plans are communicated accurately and promptly. The NP also participates in team performance improvement and sustainment activities to improve team efficiency and care delivery.

The position is based at the Birmingham VA Medical Center, a regional referral center serving Veterans in Alabama and neighboring states. The facility provides a range of medical and surgical specialties and operates community-based outpatient clinics across North Alabama. The NP reports directly to the Primary Care Director and/or Associate Chief of Staff of Primary Care. The stated schedule is Monday through Friday, either 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. or 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; it may change based on agency needs.

Requirements

• Post-master’s certificate, master’s degree, or doctoral degree as a Nurse Practitioner.
• Graduate of a professional nursing school approved by the appropriate accrediting agency and accredited by ACEN or CCNE when the program was completed; qualifying foreign education must be validated through a recognized degree-equivalency evaluation agency.
• Active, current, full, and unrestricted APN license to practice as an NP in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• Maintain full and current board certification as an FNP, ANP, AGPCNP, or GNP from ANCC, AANPCB, or another nationally recognized certifying body in the NP’s area of academic preparation.
• For Nurse II, meet the basic education requirement; no experience is required.
• For Nurse III, meet the basic education requirement and have one year of specialized APN (NP) experience equivalent to Nurse II.
• U.S. citizenship, except non-citizens may be appointed when qualified U.S. citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• Proficiency in basic written and spoken English for direct patient care.
• Males born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with Selective Service.
• Pass required pre-employment screening, including background/security investigation, drug testing where applicable, and physical evaluation; complete online onboarding and required application documentation.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Be physically and mentally able to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Responsibilities

• Diagnose and treat acute and chronic health problems within the NP Scope of Practice and prescriptive authority.
• Provide coordinated care to adult and geriatric Veterans, independently or in collaboration with providers.
• Lead the PACT teamlet and delegate appropriate care and care processes to team members.
• Provide care for patients with acute problems, during transitions of care, and for chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, CHF, hyperlipidemia, pain, and depression.
• Use motivational interviewing to help patients develop health-optimization goals.
• Apply health promotion, disease prevention, holistic care, and whole-health strategies.
• Provide care through face-to-face, telephone, and video visits, and secure messaging.
• Develop care plans and track patient outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
• Perform clinical assessments and face-to-face or virtual triage in collaboration with patients to identify health goals.
• Provide patient and family education and evaluate progress toward health goals.
• Perform case management and care coordination for assigned patients who require those services.
• Document timely, appropriately, and effectively in the medical record.
• Ensure care plans include clinically indicated medical recommendations and communicate test results and care plans promptly to patients, or ensure support staff do so.
• Participate in team performance-improvement and sustainment activities to improve team efficiency and care delivery.
• Report directly to the Primary Care Director and/or Associate Chief of Staff of Primary Care.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), subject to eligibility and approval, with a potential award of up to $200,000 over one to five years.
• Competitive salary, regular salary increases, and potential performance awards.
• 50 days of paid time off per year: 26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting.
• Federal 401(k), with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level