Registered Nurse - Patient Flow Coordinator

Summary

The RN Patient Flow Coordinator is located at John Cochran Medical Center in the VA Saint Louis Health Care System. The RN provides indirect and/or direct nursing care to patients with complex needs as related to transfers, admissions, telephone triage, and discharges. The RN collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to validate and/or collect initial patient information such as Veteran benefit eligibility, insurance status, Veteran travel eligibility, and bed availability at the VAMC.

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Duties

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The RN - Patient Flow Coordinator is located at John Cochran Medical Center in the VA Saint Louis Health Care System. The RN provides indirect and/or direct nursing care to patients with complex needs as related to transfers, admissions, telephone triage, and discharges. The RN collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to validate and/or collect initial patient information such as Veteran benefit eligibility, insurance status, Veteran travel eligibility, and bed availability at the VAMC.

Duties include, but are not limited to :

1. Facilitates the transfer process by working with the interdisciplinary team to establish appropriateness of admission and provider coverage based on review of medical information.
2. Assists with travel arrangements as needed and facilitates nursing report.
3. Facilitates bed control, placing patients on the most appropriate unit using established bed control monitor devices, i.e., Bed Management System (BMS), Emergency Department Integrated System (EDIS), Capacity Management.
4. Coordinates care with multiple providers across all levels and sites of care, assuring services interface within the VA and community programs to provide continuity of care to patients.
5. Participates in interdisciplinary care rounds and/or conferences to review treatment goals, optimize resource utilization, and recommends alternate levels of care when acute care is not required or recommended.
6. Effectively communicates census and bed availability on all patient care units, and resolves bed utilization issues.
7. Processes admission requests from providers, clinics, and other VA or community hospitals.
8. Educates internal and external customers on the VAMC admission/transfer process.
9. Monitors the efficiency of transfers and discharges.
10. Works with Environmental Management Services (EMS) to prioritize the need for rooms to be cleaned.
11. Acts as a resource across departments/services to provide help and training as needed to both clinical and non-clinical staff.
12. Participates on interdisciplinary committees/teams/task forces focused on the facilitation of patient flow and organizational performance.
13. Collaborates in the development, implementation, evaluation, and revision of policies, procedures, and/or guidelines to ensure the delivery of safe, efficient, and effective evidence-based care.
14. Demonstrates performance and leadership that is broad enough to improve the care for a group of patients.
15. Provides peers with formal or informal constructive feedback for improvement.
16. Supports colleagues and other nurses through knowledge sharing to provide safe, quality nursing care.
17. Fosters a safe and supportive environment conducive to the professional development of health care professionals.
18. Evaluates outcomes of evidence-based decisions and practice changes for individuals, groups, and populations.
19. Responsible for the documenting broad and complex outcomes at the program or service level, that can be demonstrated at any organizational level within a facility.

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: Full Time. Mon-Fri. Start and end times will be between the hours of 6:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. The exact schedule will be determined based on operational need and is subject to change based on the needs of the healthcare system.

Telework: Ad hoc per agency policy.

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.
• 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 ( 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 physical 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.

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:

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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

Preferred Experience :

1. BSN / MSN preferred
2. Previous Utilization Management / Patient Flow / Nursing Supervisor / Case Manager experience
3. Prior Med Surg / Step Down / ICU / ED experience

Physical Requirements: This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, and sitting. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must comply with any Employee Health requirements as a condition of employment. This includes but is not limited to moderate carrying/lifting; walking and/or standing for up to six hours at time; and kneeling and repeated bending throughout shift.

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.

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.

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