Nurse (Nursing Officer of the Day)

Summary

*** Recruitment or Relocation incentive authorized for eligible - highly qualified candidates! *** The Nursing Officer of the Day works in Patient Care Services and delivers position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership - experience - and creative approaches to the management of complex patient care. The incumbent will also demonstrate the ability to direct and organize the delivery of care to assure continuity of care and peer accountability for practice.

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/12936415
• 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: Three years of Medical-Surgical experience and a combination of experience with Mental Health - substance abuse and skilled nursing
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Duties

• Duties include but are not limited to: Collaborates with the Administrative Officer of the Day (AOD) and other members of the interdisciplinary team as needed for decisions related to on-going patient care and actions taken in emergency situations and disasters
• Provides programmatic outcomes to nursing leadership to assist with improving organizational processes and the delivery of patient care
• Manages the care of patients - while organizing and prioritizing patient care needs - and ensuring assigned tasks are completed
• Functions as an emerging leader in providing direction to staff to identify - implement and evaluate patient care needs
• Provides and directs others in Veteran/patient driven care that optimizes the patient's experience - satisfaction - and/or safety for a team of patients
• Maintains professional boundaries to protect patient vulnerabilities and act in the best interest of the patient
• Educates colleagues and/or students and serves as a preceptor or mentor
• Recruits' peers to participate in unit level performance improvement activities
• Provides the Veteran's family - caregiver and/or significant other - the Veteran's representative - visitors to VA facilities - all VA staff - and other customers with consistent information according to establish policies and procedures
• Handles conflict and problems in dealing with any consumer group appropriately and in a constructive manner
• Gathers and provides units with equipment that is needed on the off tours
• Documents in scheduling system (Acustaf) for overtime - callouts - pulls - mandation
• Responds to CODEs/Rapid responses on the off tours - holidays - and weekends
• 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) Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): A recruitment/relocation incentive of $7 -500 is authorized
• 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: Various tours including 3:30pm - 12:00am - 12:00am - 8:00am with rotation to weekends and holidays
• Weekend shifts are 12 hours and could include 7:30am - 8:00pm - 7:30pm - 8:00am or 11:30am - 12:00am
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized THIS OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT ESTABLISHES A STANDING REGISTER OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS - which closes on July 20 - 2026
• The first cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be - May 6 - 2026 with subsequent reviews every two weeks until positions are filled.