Nurse Practitioner- General Surgery

Veterans Health Administration • Fort Wayne, IN

4h • Onsite

About The Position

The Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) in the Surgery Service provides comprehensive, timely, high-quality care in support of the Department of Veterans Affairs mission. The Nurse Practitioner (NP) delivers advanced clinical practice, consultation, and patient management to the full extent of their education, training, and certification. The NP maintains prescriptive authority for an assigned patient panel or designated programs, as appropriate to the position.

The NP is a licensed independent practitioner with advanced education and national certification who provides evidence-based care for a patient population. The role involves independently managing patients with acute and chronic health conditions, promoting health and preventing disease, and developing individualized plans to support optimal health and disease management. The NP collaborates with an interdisciplinary team, evaluates and adjusts care plans, and provides patient and family education.

This is a part-time position scheduled Monday through Friday, three days per week (24 hours per week). Compressed or flexible scheduling, telework, and virtual work are not available. Relocation and recruitment incentives and permanent change of station are not authorized. The position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

Requirements

• Post-master's certificate, master's degree, or doctoral degree as a Nurse Practitioner.
• Graduate of an appropriately accredited school of professional nursing; accepted accrediting bodies include ACEN and CCNE. Foreign nursing education must be validated through a recognized degree-equivalency evaluation agency.
• 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.
• Basic board certification as an Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (AGCNS-BC), Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), or appropriate certification from ANCC, AANPCB, or another nationally recognized certifying body in the area of academic preparation.
• U.S. citizenship, except that non-citizens may be appointed when recruiting qualified citizens is not possible under VA policy.
• Proficiency in basic written and spoken English.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Must undergo a background/security investigation and, if tentatively selected for a testing-designated position, urinalysis screening for illegal drug use.
• Must complete the online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical evaluation or examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is required for VA Health Care Personnel.
• May be required to serve a probationary period and must complete all application requirements in the announcement's Required Documents section.
• For Nurse Practitioner III qualification, at least one year of specialized APN (NP) experience equivalent to Nurse II is required. Nurse II is the entry grade and requires no experience when basic education requirements are met.
• Physical capacity for direct patient care activities that may include walking, standing, stooping, bending, sitting, reaching, pushing, pulling, and moderate lifting or carrying up to 35 pounds, using safe patient-handling guidelines.
• Adequate vision to perform assigned duties, distinguish basic colors, and assess patients and the environment safely; ability to hear sufficiently to perform duties, with hearing aids permitted.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage a panel of patients with acute and chronic health conditions, emphasizing health promotion and disease prevention through evidence-based practice.
• Develop and implement individualized plans to achieve optimal population health and disease management.
• Demonstrate leadership and collaborate with the interdisciplinary team.
• Order and interpret laboratory tests, other tests, and diagnostic studies.
• Prescribe pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions.
• Initiate referrals and consultations to specialty services.
• Educate patients and their families.
• Assess and adjust plans of care as needed to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
• Exemplify the ICARE core values of Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence.

Benefits

• Competitive salary, regular salary increases, and potential performance awards.
• 50 days of paid time off per year for a full-time schedule: 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: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level