Advanced Practice Registered Nurse-Surgical Service

This job is also being posted in other disciplines:
Physician Assistant - must apply to announcement number: 11898993

The APRN position is located in Surgical Service at the West Haven campus. This position is full time at 40 hours per week.

Qualifications:

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), 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 State-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). In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of current, full, active and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing. OR The completion of coursework equivalent to a nursing degree in a MSN Bridge Program that qualifies for professional nursing registration constitutes the completion of an approved course of study of professional nursing. Students should submit the certificate of professional nursing to sit for the NCLEX to the VA along with a copy of the MSN transcript. (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.
• 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.
• Nurse Practitioners. A nurse practitioner must be licensed or otherwise recognized as a nurse practitioner in a State, possess a master's degree from a program accredited by the NLNAC or CCNE, and maintain full and current certification as a nurse practitioner from the American Nurses Association or another nationally recognized certifying body. [The certification must be in the specialty to which the individual is being appointed or selected.]

Preferred Experience:
Certification required from American Academy of Nurse Practitioners(AANP) or American Nurses Credentialing Center(ANCC)

Grade Determinations: The following criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates, and if appropriate, the level within a grade:

• Nurse I Level I - An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing, with no additional nursing practice/experience required.
• Nurse I Level II - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 1 year of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a bachelor's degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience; OR a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional nursing practice/experience.
• Nurse I Level III - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a BSN with approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) or related field with a BSN and no additional nursing practice/experience.
• Nurse II - A BSN with approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or meets basic requirements for appointment and has doctoral degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience required.
• Nurse III - Master's degree in nursing or related field with BSN and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience.

Note regarding MSN degrees: If your MSN was obtained via a Bridge Program that qualifies for professional nursing registration, a BSN is not required.

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-6 Nurse Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Physical Requirements: Advanced Practice Registered Nurses should be physically and mentally capable to perform duties of the position. Position requires standing, walking and sitting for periods up to 8 hours per day.

Responsibilities:

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards

Surgical Service is recruiting for a full-time Advanced Practice Registered Nurse for Orthopedic Surgery. This position is half inpatient and half outpatient care. The APRN will provide improvement care for inpatient service as well as improve access to care for out patients considering very high demand as well as the high cost in the community care who are referred to outside hospital. The duties include but are not limited to:

• Provide daily care for orthopedic surgery inpatients, including receiving daily sign-out from the residents, evaluation and assessment of patients, collaborating with consulting services, and coordinating discharge services. The role also includes admission and discharge planning, and education of patients and their families.
• Function as the primary contact for VA physicians and outside providers during standard work hours while the attending and residents are in the operating room or in clinic. This includes primary evaluation of patient consults in the inpatient and urgent settings.
• Be the "first call" for all in-house patients during working hours. This would include returning pages from nurses, pharmacists, social workers, care coordinators, other services, the SICU team, etc.
• Evaluate common post-operative conditions (e.g., neurologic/orthopedic exam changes, fevers, incisional pain) for all in-house patients.
• Initiate the appropriate workup (e.g., labs, imaging studies) and notify the resident within a time frame commensurate with the urgency of the situation.
• Implement care plan changes, with input from the resident and attending.
• Evaluate patients in orthopedic surgery clinic under the supervision of the attending.
• Manage surgical dressings and drains for orthopedic surgery inpatients.
• Call consults for orthopedic surgery inpatients (e.g., cardiology consult for arrhythmias).
• Assist with care coordination issues for orthopedic surgery inpatients, completing discharge paperwork, discharge summaries, and ensuring appropriate outpatient follow up is scheduled.
• Work with the surgical care coordinator to ensure that all necessary outpatient pre-operative workups (e.g., labs, imaging, and medical clearance) have been completed prior to elective surgical admission.
• Helping with routine orthopedic surgery inpatient and ED consults (e.g., fractures, degenerative joint disease, minor trauma), including formulating a plan, contacting the attending, and writing a consult note.
• Review of all upcoming surgical cases involving admission with the rest of the orthopedic surgery service, including the attending, residents and surgical coordinator.
• The incumbent will attend the outpatient clinic in WHVA on Tuesdays and Thursdays to increase the number of patients we have in our clinics.

Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards
Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Notifications:

• This position is a Bargaining Unit position.
• Selectee may be required to work at any VA Connecticut Healthcare System campus, as needed.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• The salary is based on the grade and step approved for the selected candidate.
• The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will recommend the grade and salary for new appointments based on the candidate's education and experience. For internal selectees being promoted, the board will determine grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

Salary : $95,224 - $162,890