Registered Nurse (Specialty Care)

Veterans Health Administration • Salisbury, NC

8d • Onsite

About The Position

The Registered Nurse (Specialty Care) provides and/or supervises direct patient care in Ambulatory Care and Specialty Care Clinics, with this assignment located in the Surgery Clinic. The nurse is responsible and accountable for all elements of the nursing process and provides competent, evidence-based specialty care to assigned patients. The role includes oversight of licensed vocational nurses and nursing assistants as appropriate to the clinic setting, and administration of medications and procedures in accordance with established policies and guidelines.

The nurse provides patient care, care coordination, health promotion, health education, and coaching on wellness, disease prevention, and chronic care management. The position also assists with nursing education, orientation, competencies, quality improvement, and outcomes utilization. It requires applying specialty-care knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment; setting goals independently to manage complex outpatient situations; and validating the rationale for specialty-care processes and decisions.

Care must be appropriate to patients’ age and cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation. The nurse assesses and interprets patient-status information to identify age-specific needs, collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to influence care outcomes, and actively participates in unit- or program-level quality improvement and customer-service initiatives. The role requires managing competing priorities, demonstrating specialty-care competence and critical-thinking skills, and performing other related duties listed in the functional statement.

This is a full-time, non-telework position with a stated schedule of 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. 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 nursing education under the stated VA provisions.
• Current, full, active, and unrestricted registered-nurse licensure in a U.S. State, Territory, or Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia; a stated Graduate Nurse Technician exception may apply while pursuing licensure.
• Meet the education, experience, and dimension criteria for the grade and level assigned.
• Ability to perform nursing duties involving direct patient care and potentially extended walking, standing, or sitting, moderate lifting, repeated bending, or kneeling.
• U.S. citizenship, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Pass a pre-employment physical evaluation or examination.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Meet applicable pre-employment screening, background/security investigation, onboarding, and application-document requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Two to three years of nursing experience in a Medical/Surgical Specialty area.
• Demonstrated experience changing dressings and assisting with minor surgical procedures.

Responsibilities

• Provide and/or supervise direct patient care and complete all elements of the nursing process in the Ambulatory Care/Specialty Care Surgery Clinic.
• Provide competent, evidence-based specialty care to assigned patients.
• Oversee licensed vocational nurses and nursing assistants, as appropriate to the clinic setting.
• Administer medications and perform procedures in accordance with established policies and guidelines.
• Provide patient care, care coordination, health promotion, health education, and wellness, disease-prevention, and chronic-care-management coaching.
• Assist with nursing education, orientation, competency development, quality improvement, and outcomes utilization.
• Apply specialty-care knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment, and independently set goals to manage complex outpatient situations.
• Validate understanding of the rationale for specialty-care processes and decisions.
• Assess and interpret patient-status information to identify requirements and age-specific care needs; provide care appropriate to patients’ age and cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary team members to influence care outcomes.
• Participate in unit- or program-level quality improvement processes and initiatives, as well as customer-service programs.
• Manage competing priorities and use deliberate planning and critical-thinking skills in specialty-care practice and decision-making.
• Perform other related duties listed in the functional statement.

Benefits

• 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.
• Competitive salary, regular salary increases, and potential performance awards.

What This Job Offers

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