Registered Nurse - Chief Nurse (Acute Care)
What you'd do
The Nurse IV, Chief Nurse, Acute Care provides executive oversight for daily clinical and administrative operations, with supervision of the Nurse Managers over the following areas: Medical/Surgical units, Acute Care Telemetry, Inpatient Wound Team, and IV Team. Collaborates across care disciplines to assess, design, plan, implement, and evaluate interdisciplinary programs within the service and medical center.
Major duties
The Chief Nurse, Acute Care provides senior leadership within nursing as directed by the Associate Director for Patient Care Services (ADPCS). They are responsible for the practice of nursing 24/7 and ensuring compliance with policies and procedures, standards of patient care, treatment and services, nursing practice standards, staffing plans, functional statements, and standards to measure, assess, and improve patient outcomes. Functions or scope of assigned duties include, but are not limited to: Provides executive input in the strategic planning, budget, mission, operational planning, and policy development for the specified service. Collaborates with Chief Nurses across the health care system, Deputy Nurse Executive, and Associate Director for Patient Care Service to develop goals and objectives that support the strategic plan, meet the needs of veteran patients, satisfy staff, and result in positive clinical and administrative outcomes. Demonstrates substantial and continuous responsibility for directing, supervision, and managing the specified Service. Aggregates data and demonstrates leadership in the budget process to plan for current, emerging, and future resource requirements (financial, human, material and/or informational) for the specified Service. Identifies outcomes and stop gates that can be improved and leads the performance improvement process to improve and/or sustain clinical and administrative outcomes. Identifies and develops and/or initiates programs to ensure a safe and therapeutic environment for patients and staff. Manages time and leave as well as knowledge and oversight of FMLA, Advanced leave, and other special leave. Models the Veterans Customer Experience, Ease, Effectiveness, and Emotions of the VA Way. (The VA Way combines our ICARE Values, WECARE behaviors, the SALUTE service recovery model, and the Own the Moment Guiding Principles). Supports VHA's High Reliability Journey as a leader. Provides leadership in maintaining standards of nursing and initiatives for system improvements Assists with initiatives for transforming and sustaining the culture of the health system to a "culture of safety". Responds to internal and external communications to ensure a high level of patient satisfaction. Promotes and contributes to an environment that is free from discrimination. Knows, understands, ensures, and consistently complies with VA information security and privacy policies, procedures, rules, and regulations individually and within the specified service. Leads the development and administration of service-related administrative and clinical programs, utilizing the nursing process as appropriate. Executes collaborative leadership characterized by substantial and continuous responsibility and accountability for population groups or integrated programs that cross service and/or discipline lines and influence organizational mission and healthcare. Ensures all staff under their supervision understand and follow accreditation and regulatory compliance. 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: Flexible daytime hours, Monday - Friday with rotation to off tours and weekends as needed. Coverage areas to include Gainesville and Lake City in Florida. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
What you need to qualify
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. The following Scope, Education and Dimension criteria must be met to qualify for Nurse IV: Scope: Executes leadership that is characterized by substantial and continuous responsibility and accountability for population groups or integrated programs that cross service and/or discipline lines and influence organizational mission and health care. Education: Master's degree in Nursing (MSN) and 4 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse III and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse IV; OR Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and 4 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse III and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse IV; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing and 3 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse III and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse IV; OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN and 3 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse III and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse IV. *Note: Foreign education programs/degrees are not creditable as related degrees. Dimensions: Leadership. Leads health care delivery by leveraging evidence-based practices, industry-leading research, and innovative care models. Drives a shared vision and successfully leads change to improve performance and attain measurable outcomes at the program or service level. Business Acumen. Transforms health care by implementing new processes, technology, informatics, and data analytics using business models and fundamental concepts of resource management at the program or service level. Inspiring an Industry-Leading Lifestyle. Employs an industry leading, shared decision-making lifestyle. Cultivates a workforce that serves Veterans, families and caregivers of all backgrounds and builds trust, lifestyle competencies and catalyzes dynamic teams at the program or service level. Communication and Relationship Management. Directs the effective use of relationship management principles to achieve positive customer service experiences that are consistent with professional organizational values, beliefs and practices at the program or services level. Professional and Social Responsibility. Operationalizes a lifestyle of holistic care, health advocacy and health equity. Applies ethical principles in decision-making at the program or service level. Advances nursing knowledge through health science research and the translation and dissemination of evidence into practice to maximize the value to Veterans and the community. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: This position includes a level of physicality normally associated with duties performed by nurses such as direct patient care, and potentially long periods of walking, standing, sitting, moderate lifting, repeated bending, or kneeling. Examples may include but are not limited to: Significant amounts of time standing assisting assigned patients; utilization of safe patient handling and mobility protocols.
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