Duties

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• Demonstrates sound clinical judgment and leadership in improving patient care using the nursing process for patients requiring specialized or complex care independently. Provides patient care in the surgical specialty clinics as needed.
• Provides surgical care coordination from the point of decision for surgery until patient post-op tenure is completed or they are returned to PACT/Primary Care provider for continued follow-up.
• Meets and collaborates with an interprofessional team to discuss and determine a plan of care for surgical patients prior to surgery and any necessary follow-ups post-surgery. Assists the surgical team in monitoring surgical patients requiring ongoing surgical care until the surgeon releases the patient back to primary care.
• Applies the nursing process(assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation) to all aspects of patient care. Serves as a subject-matter resource for multiple surgical specialties as assigned.
• Helps veterans navigate through the pre-op process, including necessary consults, appointments, testing, education, etc.
• Coordinates surgical case scheduling with clinical support staff, physicians, social workers, case managers, etc., to ensure timely surgical patient care.
• Collaborates with clinic nurses and other employees to help coordinate clinic visits, pre-surgical medical studies(radiology, nuclear medicine, labs, etc.), consults and clearances from other specialties, treatments, and/or procedures for surgical patients.
• Communicates the needs of the surgical team, including equipment, implants, and supplies to successfully perform scheduled procedures.
• Ensures all surgical patients are medically cleared prior to the planned/scheduled surgery date.
• Functions as a liaison between all members of the Surgical Specialty team (attending surgeons, residents, and fellows), administrative support staff ( AS, MSAs, etc.), surgical clinic staff, Ambulatory Service Unit (ASU), Operating Room (OR), inpatient nursing units, etc.
• Provides excellent customer service as a liaison between patients and families to support education, emotional support, and surgical care coordination within the medical facility or non-VA contract facilities.
• Triages and addresses phone messages, secure messages, and consults as needed. Serves as the primary contact for scheduling surgical patients for surgery.
• Maintains all mandatory and clinical competencies required for the position.
• Coordinates patient referrals for surgical risk stratification, completion of evaluation, and surgery date selection.
• Addresses the psychological needs of pre and post operative patients as needed.
• Triages all surgical requests for urgency of scheduling.
• Optimizes the use of the surgical block schedule for available operating room time. Collaborates with surgical attendings, fellows, and chief residents to maximize OR surgical time.
• Completes surgical planning worksheets.
• Coordinates surgical case entry into DSS (PeriOp Live) and ensures correct information is entered at least 72 hours prior to surgical procedure.
• Notifies the Operating Room NM/ANM and Operating Room Schedulers of any changes to surgical requests and any future block time/surgical time that will not be utilized by the service (minimum of two weeks in advance for unused surgical time).
• Coordinates requested implants, equipment, instrumentation, and supplies required for surgery with the attending surgeons, residents, vendors, implant coordinator, operating room unit coordinator, and sterile processing leads.
• Collaborates with Surgeons, Anesthesia team, and Operating Room to coordinate urgent/emergency surgical scheduling.
• Maintains a surgical referral database.
• Reviews the qualifications and competence of privileged providers/staff who provide patient care services.
• Addresses customer complaints with optimal Service Recovery techniques.
• Collaborates with multiple disciplines and departments to improve surgical efficiency and delivery of patient care.
• Arranges transportation, home-care needs, and lodging as needed.
• Demonstrates an ability to be flexible, organized, and function under stressful situations, adjusting to the uneven workflow and changing priorities of the surgical suite.
• Recognizes and responds to patients in emergency and physically stressful situations as appropriate.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

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

Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory

Work Schedule: Full time

Compressed/Flexible: N/A

Telework: N/A

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f), 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 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); OR Individuals attending a master's level bridge program in nursing who have completed coursework equivalent to a bachelor's level degree in Nursing may have opportunity to become registered as a nurse with a state licensing board prior to completion of the bridge program. Upon achievement of a State license, the individual may be appointed on temporary basis and later converted to a permanent appointment upon successful completion and graduation from the bridge program. (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 to warrant an appointment as a Nurse who has completed an associated degree/entry level Nursing education program. Credit for foreign nursing education higher that associate degree/entry level requires a formal degree equivalency validation from a recognized equivalency evaluation accepted by VA such as International Consultants of Delaware (ICD).
• 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. Graduate Nurse Technician (GNT) Exception: Candidates who otherwise meet the basic education requirements, but do not possess the required licensure, may be appointed at the entry step of the grade and level applicable to the completed nursing education as a GNT on a 120-day temporary appointment while actively pursuing licensure (may be extended up to two years on a case-by-case-basis.)

NOTE: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and 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.

Grade Determinations: The following Scope, Education and Dimension criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates, and if appropriate, the level within a grade. The Dimension requirements (Practice, Veteran/Patient Driven Care, Leadership, Professional Development and Evidence-Based Practice/Research) are detailed for each grade and level within the online assessment: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/[redacted].

Grade/Level

Scope

Education

Nurse I, Level I

Delivers fundamental, knowledge-based care to assigned clients while developing technical competencies.

An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing, with no additional professional nursing required.

Nurse I, Level II

Demonstrates integration of biopsychosocial concepts, cognitive skills and technically competent practice in providing care to clients with basic or complex.

An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 1 year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I, Level 1 ;OR a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional professional nursing experience required.

Nurse I, Level III

Demonstrates proficiency in practice based on conscious and deliberate planning. Self-directed in goal setting for managing complex client situations.

An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 2 years of professional nursing experience in which one year is equivalent to Nurse I, Level 2; OR a BSN and 1 year of professional nursing experience equivalent to the Nurse I, Level 2; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) and no additional professional nursing experience; OR a Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and no additional professional nursing experience.

Nurse II

Demonstrates leadership in delivering and improving holistic care through collaborative strategies with others.

A BSN with 2 years of professional nursing equivalent to Nurse I, Level 3; OR an MSN with one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I, Level 3; OR a Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I, Level 3; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with no professional nursing experience; OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN with no additional professional nursing experience.

Nurse III

Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience and creative approaches to management of complex client care beyond the immediate practice setting.

MSN and 2 years of specialized nursing experience, one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Master's degree in *related field with BSN and two years of specialized nursing experience, one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III.

*Note: Foreign education programs/degrees are not creditable as related degrees.

Preferred experience:

• Minimum of 2 years current experience as an RN care manager/care coordinator in surgical nursing, operating room or, Medical Surgical inpatient care.
• Demonstrated surgical specialty experience providing patient management, care coordination, and discharge/disposition planning for surgical patients in inpatient and/or outpatient settings.
• Knowledge of VA surgical clinic workflows and/or VA appointment scheduling processes (e.g., surgical case scheduling, block time management, pre-op and post-op coordination).
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate care across the continuum, from decision for surgery through pre-operative workup, intraoperative scheduling coordination, and post-operative follow-up back to Primary Care/PACT.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit