This Advanced Practical Nurse (Lung Transplant Specialty Service Nurse Practitioner) position is located in the Specialty Care Service at the Boston VA Healthcare System's West Roxbury location. The position is full-time at 40 hours per week.
Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) Basic Requirements Education: A post-master's certificate or master's or doctoral degree as a Nurse Practitioner. (Applicants pending the completion of educational requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until the education requirements are met.) Must be a graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate 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). NOTE: Foreign Education. Graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing programs, the nurse practitioner degree equivalency must be validated through an Agency recognized degree equivalency evaluation agency, such as the International Consultants of Delaware (ICD). Candidates with equivalent nurse practitioner masters or doctorate level degrees who possess current, full, active, and unrestricted registration and certification will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing to warrant appointment. License - All APN (NPs) must possess and maintain an active, current, full, and unrestricted APN license to practice as an NP in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. Basic Board Certification - All APN (NPs) must maintain full and current basic board certification in one of the following: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP), Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP), Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP), Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP), or Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (GNP) from one of the following: the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB), or other nationally recognized certifying body in the area in which the Nurse Practitioner is academically prepared. NOTE: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and an APN (NP) assignment that are also performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the standard (1/29/2024) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/certification. The following Scope, Education and Experience, and Dimension criteria must be met to qualify for Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) II: Exception to Licensure for Graduate Nurse Technicians. Candidates who otherwise meet the basic requirements, but do not possess the required licensure and/or certification, may be appointed at the entry step of the Nurse II, as a Graduate Nurse Technician - Nurse Practitioner on a temporary appointment up to any period not-to-exceed one year and a day under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(B). Scope: Demonstrates leadership in delivering and improving holistic care through collaborative strategies with others Education and Experience Requirement: Meets basic education requirement for APN (NP). Nurse II is considered the entry grade level for APN (NPs); no experience is required. Dimension Requirement: APNs (NPs) at level II are expected to meet the following dimension requirements: Clinical Practice. Delivers evidence-based health care, demonstrating proficiency in the ability to manage a patient panel, population, or program. Outcome Focus. Utilizes research and evidence-based practice to evaluate the patient care delivery system within a patient panel or program, presents findings and contributes to changes that enhance the quality and timeliness of veteran/patient care. Leadership. Works effectively as a leader within a team/unit/group and seeks interdisciplinary collaboration as appropriate to enhance patient care. Professional Development. Acquires knowledge and skills to develop expertise in area of practice. Professionalism/Collegiality. Demonstrates effective communication skills and professional behavior, promoting cooperation and teamwork. Participates in interdisciplinary teams and processes that positively impact patient outcomes. The following Scope, Education and Experience, and Dimension criteria must be met to qualify for Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) III: Scope: Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex client care. Education and Experience Requirement: Meets basic education requirement for an APN (NP) AND one year of specialized APN (NP) experience equivalent to the Nurse II grade level. Dimension Requirement: APN (Nurse Practitioners) at grade III are expected to meet the following dimension requirements: Clinical Practice. Influences and models the delivery of evidence- based health care, demonstrating expertise in the ability to manage a patient panel, population, or program. Outcome Focus. Leads and implements changes that enhance the quality and timeliness of Veteran/patient care applying research and evidence in the delivery of healthcare for patient populations. Leadership. Initiates and leads interdisciplinary teams informed by structured approaches and processes to improve outcomes that positively impact care for a patient panel, population, or program. Professional Development. Acquires knowledge and skills, then disseminates acquired information within and/or outside the medical facility. Professionalism/Collegiality. Initiates and leads interdisciplinary teams developing systems that positively impact outcomes at the panel, population, or program level. Demonstrates effective communication skills and professional behavior, promoting cooperation and teamwork Physical Requirements: All applicants must be physically able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position. A pre-placement physical examination shall be completed prior to appointment. Preferred Experience: 1 year critical care or lung transplant experience preferred.
Major duties include, but are not limited to: Assists with review and care plan implementation for patient referrals. Coordinates the testing, consultations, and other assessments required as part of the transplant evaluation process. Reviews results with transplant physicians and surgeons and communicates next steps in care plan with patient as appropriate. Communicates with patients, referring providers, and other involved parties as appropriate to relay results of evaluation and plan of care. Participates in patient education activities, support groups, and group education sessions as appropriate. Acts as liaison between members of inpatient care team, including physicians, trainees, nurse practitioners, inpatient care coordination team, inpatient nurse coordinator, and outpatient coordinators. Facilitates access to and efficiency of outpatient care by direct patient management in clinic setting in conjunction with attending physicians, documentation in outpatient medical record, and integration of inpatient and outpatient services. Participates in monitoring patient progress by facilitating transfer of communication with patient/family, other team members, providers, and agencies. Facilitates interactions of multi-disciplinary care team, including physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical and administrative care coordinators, social work, pharmacist, nutrition support, and outside consultants. Assumes primary responsibility for continued coordination of patient and family education in the outpatient setting with physicians, nutrition, social work, and pharmacist. Participates in and coordinates patient/family education programs. Participates in development and implementation of patient teaching materials. Meets regularly with Program/Surgical/Medical Directors and Social Work to improve upon existing and to introduce new patient education/support initiatives. Meets regularly with Program/Surgical/Medical Directors to facilitate quality and process improvement initiatives. Implements and assesses agreed-upon initiatives and summarizes results/feasibility for team. Meets regularly with Program/Surgical/Medical Directors to initiate and develop community outreach programs. Meets regularly with Program/Surgical/Medical Directors to identify potential transplant patients. Initiates and maintains communications with referring physicians to determine patient status and provide clinical updates. Attends Lung Transplant clinic and sees patients independently in the outpatient setting, formulates a plan of care, and reviews and discusses with supervising MD. Helps in outpatient procedures such as bronchoscopies as needed. Helps coordinate outpatient medical therapy with consulting services; Other duties as assigned. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards 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: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May Be Available Telework: Available, as determined by the agency policy (Ad-Hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized This position is in the Excepted Service 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 will be posted via two announcements for two different occupational series which can be considered to fill this vacancy. Qualified applicants from both announcements will be referred to the service for consideration but only one of the announcements will result in an applicant filling the position. The second job announcement for this vacancy is: Physician Assistant, vacancy number: CBTD-12779992-25-CB