Nurse Practitioner (Pulmonology)

Veterans Health Administration • Reno, NV

9d • Onsite

About The Position

The Nurse Practitioner practices as a licensed independent practitioner to provide specified medical and other patient care services, working to the full extent of their education, training, and certification. The role collaborates with other disciplines to develop, implement, and coordinate patient-care delivery that promotes communication, teamwork, patient satisfaction, and positive outcomes.

The position coordinates care for pulmonary and sleep patients across outpatient and inpatient settings, including evaluation, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, triage, and collection of baseline and follow-up data. It provides direct care in pulmonary/sleep clinics, including patient histories and physical examinations, treatment planning, referrals, consultations, and follow-up. The practitioner also educates patients and families, consults with multidisciplinary staff on complex care plans, develops or uses practice guidelines and clinical pathways, and serves as a consistent point of contact for patients.

The role collaborates with physicians and other clinical and support professionals, facilitates patient participation in clinical research, and participates in quality-improvement activities, including monitoring treatment guidelines. Other duties may be assigned. The position is not virtual. Ad-hoc telework may be available with supervisor approval. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Requirements

• Post-master's certificate, master's degree, or doctoral degree as a Nurse Practitioner.
• Graduate of an appropriately approved school of professional nursing accredited by ACEN or CCNE, subject to the stated provisions for foreign education and equivalent degrees.
• Active, current, full, and unrestricted APN license to practice as a Nurse Practitioner in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• Maintain current basic board certification in an accepted Nurse Practitioner specialty from ANCC, AANPCB, or another nationally recognized certifying body in the area of academic preparation.
• For Nurse Practitioner III qualification, at least one year of specialized APN (NP) experience equivalent to Nurse II; no experience is required for Nurse II.
• Proficiency in basic written and spoken English.
• U.S. citizenship, except where appointment of non-citizens is permitted under VA policy.
• Pass the required pre-employment physical evaluation and, for testing-designated positions, urinalysis screening.
• Meet applicable background/security, onboarding, identification, influenza vaccination, and annual employee health requirements.
• Be able to meet the physical requirements of the position, including visual acuity, keen hearing, clear speech, manual dexterity, and periods of walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing; patient or object transfers may be required.
• Be able to work effectively in stressful situations, shift priorities based on patient needs, and respond appropriately to potential exposure to infected patients, contaminated materials, protective-clothing situations, and occasionally combative patients.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate pulmonary/sleep patients and multidisciplinary staff in complex outpatient and inpatient care, including evaluation, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, triage, and collection of baseline and follow-up data.
• Provide teaching to patients and families as needed.
• Consult with multidisciplinary staff to initiate and implement problem-solving strategies for patients with complex care plans.
• Develop and use practice guidelines or clinical pathways to streamline multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment for pulmonary/sleep patients.
• Serve as a consistent point of contact for pulmonary/sleep patients throughout the outpatient process.
• Provide direct care in outpatient pulmonary/sleep clinics, including histories and physical examinations and assisting with treatment plans.
• Make assessments and referrals to address the needs of the specialized patient population.
• Facilitate consultations and participate in pulmonary/sleep patient care and follow-up.
• Collaborate with physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians, chaplains, and cancer program staff to address patients’ multidisciplinary needs.
• Facilitate patient participation in ongoing clinical research in collaboration with study coordinators and research nurses.
• Participate in quality-improvement activities, including monitoring treatment guidelines.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• Potential performance awards
• 50 days of paid time off per year, comprising 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 contributions by VA
• 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