Nurse - Palliative / Hospice Care Unit

Summary

The Palliative Care Registered Nurse is a professional Registered Nurse (RN) who provides skilled clinical care, demonstrates advanced assessment, coordination with interdisciplinary teams, and advocates for patient dignity and end-of life care. He / she is accountable for adhering to established policies, standards of care and standards of practice.

Duties

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The Palliative RN assumes the following major duties and responsibilities :

1. Collects comprehensive data pertinent to the patient's health and / or the situation.

2. Analyzes the assessment data to determine the patient's diagnosis or issues.

3. Identifies in partnership with the interdisciplinary health care team, expected outcomes for a plan individualizes to the patient or situation.

4. Develop a plan that defines strategies and alternatives to attain expected outcomes.

5. Advocate at the CLC / Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Care Team meetings, ensuring the continuum of care is addressed and readdressed based on the patient's need.

6. Implements the identified plan.

7. Evaluates progress towards attainment of outcomes.

8. Responsible for physical care, including the patient's physical condition and comfort, yet must also possess some level of expertise in psychosocial and spiritual aspects of care, to address the patient and family from a holistic perspective.

9. Documents using the CARIBOU software system.

10. Educates the patient and family regarding physician care, which includes such things as medication administration, equipment uses, skin care, nutrition, catheter care and transfers.

11. Participating in continuous unit performance improvement, performance, and quality measures as well as CLC compare and CLC Sail data.

12. Knowledge of the Long-Term Care Survey, CARF and Joint Commission requirements and standards.

13. Identifies and addresses learning opportunities with educational in-services and performance improvement plans.

14. Performs other tasks / duties as assigned.

Preferred Experience : One year of experience in LTC / SNF / Rehabilitation or hospice care is preferred.

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 : Monday - Friday 0700-1930 / 1900-0730 Tour subject to change depending on the needs of the facility.

Telework : Not available

Virtual : This is not a virtual position.

Relocation / Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) : 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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• 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 dentification 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).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements :

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 / 12796032.

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

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

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

Reference : For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https : / / www.va.gov / ohrm / QualificationStandards / .

Physical Requirements : Heavy Lifting (45 lbs and over); Straight Pulling, Pushing, Walking, Standing, Repeated bending (8 - 12 hours); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands and legs required; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20 / 20 and 20 / 40 in the other; Both eyes required; Depth perception; Ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of colors; Hearing (aid permitted); Emotional / Mental stability; Keyboarding and reading computer screen (8-12 hours intermittently over scheduled shift).

Education

IMPORTANT : A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note : Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here : http : / / ope.ed.gov / accreditation / .

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit : http : / / www.ed.gov / about / offices / list / ous / international / usnei / us / edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration / Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA / OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.