Nurse Anesthetist

Summary

The VA NWIHCS is hiring one full‑time Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. VA NWIHCS is an integrated system that serves over 148,000 Veterans in 101 counties across Nebraska, western Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. It includes a tertiary medical center in Omaha, two larger clinics in Lincoln and Grand Island (which includes a Community Living Center), five community‑based outpatient clinics, and one contract clinic.

Responsibilities

• The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers.
• Employee role includes operating in a Whole Health model with three core elements, creating personalized health plans for each Veteran, fostering healing relationships and environments, and connecting Veterans to their community.
• Aligns with the Veterans Health Administration Mission Statement to honor America’s Veterans through exceptional health care.
• Provides comprehensive anesthesia for Surgical Care across multiple specialties: general surgery, vascular surgery, ophthalmology, audiology, cardiology, dentistry, orthopedics, podiatry, and urology.
• Offers special procedure anesthesia care to other service lines.
• Ensures quality and timeliness of services, customer satisfaction, and compliance with accrediting standards such as the Joint Commission and the Inspector General’s Combined Assessment Program.
• Performs routine duties on a continuous basis, including provisioning care in the most complex surgical procedures.
• Conducts pre‑anesthetic evaluations, orders necessary consultations and diagnostic studies, and collaborates with anesthesiologists for advanced work‑up.
• Initiates planned anesthetic techniques—general, regional, MAC, or local anesthesia.
• Administers fluids, medications, ventilator support, maintains homeostasis, and manages pain relief and anesthesia side‑effects.
• Manages airway during induction of general anesthesia and endotracheal intubation for surgical or procedural cases.
• Places endobronchial tubes or blockers for one‑lung ventilation, central lines, pulmonary artery (Swan‑Ganz) catheters, peripheral nerve blocks, central neuroaxial blocks, epidural blood patches, and adjusts anesthetic drugs for maintenance.
• Conducts sedation for field blocks or MAC as specified, manages emergence from anesthesia, and transitions patients to the post‑anesthesia care unit.
• Provides anesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy, routine eye surgery not requiring general anesthesia, elective cardioversions, ICD checks, and may participate on the Code Blue Team to manage airway and other tasks as directed.
• Performs emergency airway management following the ASA Difficult Airway Algorithm and department protocols; administers sedation or local anesthesia for urgent intubations; places IV lines; manages epidural catheters for post‑op pain within the anesthesiologist’s protocol; places arterial lines as requested.
• Maintains anesthesia equipment readiness, cleans equipment per hospital, SOP, manufacturer, and CDC guidelines, prepares drugs for anesthesia administration, and ensures compliance with OR/anesthesia safety and infection control policies.
• Complies with Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals and VA documentation requirements; is eligible to take weekend call when criteria are met.

Compensation and Benefits

Pay: Competitive salary with regular increases and potential performance awards.

Paid Time Off: 50 days per year (26 days annual leave, 13 days sick leave, 11 paid federal holidays).

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401(k) with up to 5% matching.

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long‑term care insurance (eligible to carry into retirement).

Work Schedule & Location

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 07:00–15:30.

Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Licensure

Requires one full and unrestricted license from any US state or territory.

Incentives

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized.