Advance Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner)-Primary Care

Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

The Primary Care (PC) Nurse Practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse who utilizes critical thinking in the application of advanced clinical health care knowledge and skills, in conducting comprehensive history and physical examinations to Veterans. Performs medical record reviews and clinical interviews, Performs medical assessments & evaluations, makes diagnoses/renders medical opinions, and develops a comprehensive treatment plan to include appropriate diagnostic testing, medication management/therapy, and specialty/subspecialty care referral where appropriate.

Major duties and responsibilities of the position but not limited to:

• Maintain an integrated delivery system through expansion of clinical practices. Maintain operational efficiencies through emphasis on safe practices and national safety.
• Implements Lean principles, supports quality improvement projects and promotes a culture of continuous quality improvement.
• Identifies symptoms and classifies them by acuity based upon collected data.
• Demonstrates basic triage knowledge in making appropriate clinical assessments.
• Relies on intuitive and systematic approaches (protocols) to make health assessments.
• Demonstrates knowledge regarding VA Administrative regulations such as entitlements, healthcare access points and local policies and procedures related to these elements.
• Educates and instructs clients on how symptoms can be treated.
• Contracts verbally with the client to carry out the treatment plan recommended and or advised within set limits.
• Provides health teaching to clients as appropriate.
• Provide information about desired outcomes.
• Performs documentation on all visits in accordance with VA policies and procedures.
• Demonstrates flexibility with job assignments in order to meet patient care needs within the settings of Primary Care.
• Evaluates Veterans physical and mental health, family and social history to identify health care needs.
• Orders and interprets diagnostic tests.
• Prescribes medications in accordance with scope of practice.
• Maintains expected workload panel of patients, assuring their continuity of care, health maintenance, and meeting performance measures area priority
• Completes all relevant clinical reminders and participates in performance and quality improvement activities
• Uses the Telephone Record Manager Plus (TRM+) and the electronic health record "CPRS" to document all patient triage, visits, evaluations, assessments, care plans; and orders, drugs and devices
• Collaborates with team members to provide continuity of clinical care and implements a treatment plan.
• Participates In medical and/or nursing research and quality improvement
• Fosters the practice of nursing triage by using sound clinical judgment, patient teaching activities, addressing ethical issues that impact clients and staff and will demonstrate leadership and mentoring of staff, which may include ethics consultations.
• Coordinate and implement patient care specific to the age of the patient population served (adult and geriatric).
• Evaluates and uses analysis findings of group process to identify, analyze and resolve care problems.
• Practice according to established policies, standards of care, and standards of practice, and is responsible to ensure that patient care and operations are compliant with all applicable local, V1SN, or National Standards, policies, statutes and regulations.
• Initiate interdisciplinary projects to improve organizational performance.
• Clinical expert and consultant: reviews quality of care for documentation, phone activity, case reviews, chart reviews, etc.
• Identifies educational needs of staff and ensures that these needs are addressed.
• Encourages staff in team building.
• Makes sustained contributions to health care by sharing expertise within and/or outside the medical facility.
• Engages in implementing an educational plan to meet changing program or service needs for self and others.
• Participates in nursing, medical center or Health Care System committees promoting task accomplishment through interaction and problem solving with group members and other stakeholders.
• Provide leadership in identifying and addressing ethical issues that impact veterans and staff including initiating and participating in ethics consultations.

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: M - F 7:30- 4:00

Telework: Ad-hoc only