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Veterans Health Administration is Hiring a Registered Nurse - Per Diem Dialysis Near West Haven, CT

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 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). The approving official may authorize a waiver of the requirement for ACEN or CCNE accreditation of any degree in nursing provided the college or university has regional accreditation from an accrediting body recognized by the Department of Education at the time of the candidate's graduation and the composite qualifications of the applicant warrant such consideration. 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.

Preferred Experience:

• Acute and Chronic Hemodialysis experience
• Peritoneal Dialysis experience
• Enthusiasm for continuing change, performance improvement, and excellent customer service
• Ability to function well within a fast-paced environment
• Team-player
• Willingness to be on-call

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: Position is subject to a pre-employment physical and medical examination. This position requires: lifting, carrying; reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; walking (8 hours); standing (8 hours); repeated bending; working alone; protracted or irregular hours of work and occasional emotional strain.

Responsibilities:

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

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Responsible and accountable for providing and directing effective dialysis nursing care to individual and groups of patients for an aging, adult population.
• Clinically and administratively accountable to the Dialysis Unit Nurse Manager.
• Documents observations, assessments, and changes in patient's condition.
• Collaborates with health team members to facilitate positive patient care outcomes.
• Provides a full range of nursing care to patients with a variety of physical and/or behavior problems.
• Demonstrates clinical practice and skills, problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills.
• Considers all characteristics of the individual, including sex and sex role identification, age and life stage, state of health, race and culture, socio-economic status, values and previous experience with similar events, in order to assist each patient to identify and meet basic health needs and improve his/her health status to the individual's maximum.
• Demonstrates knowledge of VA policies, procedures and clinical protocols.
• Influences outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team. Core elements of performance includes knowledge and active participation in unit / program level quality improvement processes, initiatives, and customer service.
• Takes initiative in developing and evaluating unit level and/or disease specific to standards of care, policies, procedures and nursing programs that guide nursing practice and/or measure performance.
• Manages Acute and Chronic Hemodialysis treatments.
• Set up and checks dialysis equipment and ensure it is operating properly, making or reporting necessary corrections to appropriate personnel.
• Provides and documents in electronic medical record patient education.
• Initiates and discontinues dialysis treatment for patients with perm catheters, fistulas, grafts, and temporary accesses per Provider instructions.
• Must be poised and articulate in communicating with people of varied educational levels and varied ethnic backgrounds.
• Responsible for ensuring his/her actions contribute to a mode of continued accreditation readiness regarding Joint Commission (TJC), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), VA surveyors, Laboratory College of American Pathologists (CAP), and other survey teams.
• Consistently protects printed and electronic files containing sensitive data in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 and other applicable laws, federal regulations, statues and policy, and VHA policy.

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: Intermittent, 7:00am - 5:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized by Supervisor
Telework: This is not a telework position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
EDRP Authorized: This position is eligible for the EDRP, a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of your start date. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Contact Hannah Neilson hannah.neilson@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions or assistance on how to begin the application process. Learn more.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Notifications:

• This position is a Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by a special rate.
• 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.

Job Summary