Registered Nurse - Wound Care RN

Veterans Health Administration • Chicago, IL

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Registered Nurse, Wound Care RN, provides specialized wound consultation and collaborates with providers, peers, and other healthcare professionals to develop, implement, and maintain continuity of individualized treatment plans throughout the continuum of care. The nurse is responsible and accountable for the nursing process in direct or supervised patient care, assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating care according to skin and wound etiology. The role coordinates patient education, self-management, and customer satisfaction, administers medications and procedures according to established policies, and collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to influence care outcomes.

Serving as an expert clinician and patient/resident advocate in wound management, the nurse may also address ostomy and continence care. The position provides interprofessional leadership to implement effective treatment strategies; coordinates with quality, safety, pressure-injury, and specialty teams to monitor and report wound-related data; and identifies steps to reduce pressure-injury risks and incidence. The nurse also supports clinical staff education, monitors its effectiveness, and ensures that educational content reflects current evidence-based care.

The schedule consists of variable 8-hour shifts with occasional weekend coverage. Telework is not available, and the position is not virtual. The role may require flexibility in schedule and assignments. Physical duties may include direct patient care, extended periods of walking, standing, or sitting, moderate lifting, repeated bending or kneeling, and use of safe patient-handling and mobility protocols.

Requirements

• Proficiency in basic written and spoken English.
• Graduation from an appropriately accredited school of professional nursing, or qualifying education through an approved bridge program or foreign nursing education pathway.
• Current, full, active, and unrestricted registered nurse license in a U.S. State, Territory, or Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia; a specified Graduate Nurse Technician exception may apply to otherwise qualified candidates pursuing licensure.
• Meet the education, experience, and grade-determination criteria applicable to the assigned Nurse grade and level.
• Meet pre-employment conditions, including U.S. citizenship unless an exception applies, required background/security investigation, drug testing for selected applicants in testing-designated positions, and pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Ability to meet the physical demands associated with nursing duties, including direct patient care and potentially prolonged walking, standing, or sitting, moderate lifting, repeated bending, or kneeling.

Nice To Haves

• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).
• Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB) certification.
• Four to five years of nursing practice and wound/ostomy care experience.
• Previous experience in program development.
• Demonstrated leadership, self-direction, and rational problem-solving skills.
• Experience gathering data and preparing reports using Microsoft Office Suite, including Word and Excel.
• Ability to apply analytical and evaluation techniques.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of quality and performance management, patient safety, and evaluation principles.
• Leadership in improving and sustaining the quality and effectiveness of care.

Responsibilities

• Provide and/or supervise direct patient care and be accountable for all elements of the nursing process.
• Assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care based on skin and wound etiology.
• Coordinate care focused on patient education, self-management, and customer satisfaction throughout the continuum of care.
• Administer medications and procedures in accordance with established policies and guidelines.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary team members to influence patient-care outcomes.
• Serve as an expert clinician and patient/resident advocate in wound management, which may include ostomy and continence care.
• Provide interprofessional leadership to support effective wound-care treatment strategies and decisions.
• Coordinate with quality management/improvement and safety teams, the Interprofessional Pressure Injury/skin Committee, and specialty service lines to monitor and report pressure-injury and wound data and quality reports.
• Identify programmatic steps to reduce the risk and incidence of pressure injuries.
• Participate in educating clinical staff on current evidence-based care, monitor the effectiveness of education, and ensure educational content remains current.

Benefits

• 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 and federal 401K 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: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree