Nurse (High Reliability Organization Specialist)

Veterans Health Administration • Portland, OR

35d • Onsite

About The Position

The High Reliability Organization (HRO) Specialist Nurse executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex patient care. The HRO Specialist Nurse demonstrates performance and leadership that is broad enough to improve the care for a group of patients. The HRO Specialist Nurse is responsible for the documented outcomes at the program or service level. VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) is a Level 1A major interdisciplinary teaching and quaternary facility with service-lines serving primary care, emergency medicine, medicine, surgery, specialty, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, dentistry, geriatrics and extended care inpatients and outpatients throughout Oregon and Southwestern Washington. In addition to the two main divisions located in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington, VAPORHCS operates nine community-based outpatient/outreach clinics (CBOC) and is a consulting and referral center for many patient care specialties not offered at other VHA medical centers within VISN 20.

Requirements

• 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.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• 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.)
• Note: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the standard (1/29/2024) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/certification.

Nice To Haves

• An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 1 year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I, Level 1 ; OR a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional professional nursing experience required.
• An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 2 years of professional nursing experience in which one year is equivalent to Nurse I, Level 2; OR a BSN and 1 year of professional nursing experience equivalent to the Nurse I, Level 2; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) and no additional professional nursing experience; OR a Master's degree in a related field with a BSN and no additional professional nursing experience.
• A BSN with 2 years of professional nursing equivalent to Nurse I, Level 3; OR an MSN with one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I, Level 3; OR a Master's degree in a related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I, Level 3; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with no professional nursing experience; OR a Doctoral degree in a related field with a BSN with no additional professional nursing experience.
• MSN and 2 years of specialized nursing experience, one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Master's degree in related field with BSN and two years of specialized nursing experience, one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in a related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the proposer, promoter, and implementer of strong, safe clinical processes across the Health Care System.
• Supporting executive leadership in planning, coordinating, implementing, and monitoring activities to assure high reliability.
• Uses quality improvement, patient safety, and systems redesign (Lean) skills to foster the development of a High Reliability Organization (HRO) at the unit/service/health care system level.
• Engages clinical care areas and works with individual staff, teams, and services to improve safety, quality, and efficiency of care.
• Strengthens patient care but also promotes the development of a just culture at the unit/service/health care system levels.
• Major areas of focus include a robust patient safety program, a culture of safety and culture of continuous process improvement.
• Serves as the high reliability consultant to the facility senior leadership team.
• Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex client care.
• Oversees the facility's high reliability program and is responsible for collaborating with executive facility leadership, nonclinical and clinical services, the HSA, VISN, and the National High Reliability Workgroup and National Center for Patient Safety to develop, implement, and sustain high reliability processes and outcomes.
• Serves as a role model and demonstrates leadership in the core competencies of the High-Performance Development Model such as personal mastery, interpersonal relationships.

Benefits

• Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards
• 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree