Registered Nurse - Contract Nursing Home

About the role

This Registered Nurse - Contract Nursing Home position is located in the Nursing, Geriatrics Extended Care Service at the Portland, ME location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

What you'll do

Duties include but are not limited to: Conduct Regular Site Visits: Perform routine and unannounced visits to contract nursing homes to assess the quality of care provided to Veterans. Monitor Compliance: Ensure that the nursing home consistently meets VA, federal, and state regulatory standards for resident care and facility operation. Patient Assessments: Regularly review the health status and care plans of Veterans to confirm that individual needs are addressed and care is appropriately documented. Review Incident Reports: Monitor and investigate incidents such as falls, medication errors, injuries, or complaints, ensuring appropriate follow-up and resolution. Clinical Record Audits: Evaluate clinical documentation and medical records to verify accuracy and adequacy of care provided. Resident Advocacy: Serve as an advocate for Veterans, addressing concerns or grievances related to their care and living conditions. Staff Training Validation: Confirm that nursing home staff receive required training in areas such as infection control, fall prevention, and VA policies. Coordinate with Interdisciplinary Teams: Collaborate with VA social workers, medical providers, and nursing home staff to support continuity and quality of care. Quality Improvement Activities: Identify trends, recommend corrective actions, and monitor progress to improve care and facility performance. Reporting and Documentation: Maintain detailed records of oversight activities, findings, and follow-up actions, and report outcomes to VA leadership as required. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position This position is in the Excepted Service This position is covered by a special rate Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. 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. 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 VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards

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.) Preferred Experience: Experience in long-term care or skilled nursing facility settings, demonstrated experience providing nursing care to the geriatric population, familiarity with quality improvement methodologies (e.g., PDSA cycles, Root Cause Analysis), experience with Electronic Health Records (EHR) and data analytics 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/13041254. Grade/Level Scope Education Nurse I, Level I Delivers fundamental, knowledge-based care to assigned clients while developing technical competencies. An Associate Degree

Requirements

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 evaluation. 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. May be subject to satisfactory completion of our credentialing process.

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