Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (1 to 5 years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Duties

This position is the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Nocturnist for Direct Care. The APRN provides independent overnight medical management for all admitted and residential patients at North Little Rock (NLR) and /or Little Rock campus, including but not limited to acute rehab, subacute rehab, dementia unit, geriatric psychiatry, acute psychiatry, residential rehabilitation, domiciliary, and Community Living Center in NLR and Inpatient services at JLM. Duties include but are not limited to:

• Independently manages a panel of patients with acute and chronic health conditions with an emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention using evidence-based practice.
• Develops and implements an individualized plan to achieve optimal population health and disease management.
• Orders and interprets labs, tests, and diagnostic studies.
• Prescribes pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions.
• Initiates referrals and consults to specialty services.
• Provides education to patients and their families.
• Assesses and adjusts the plan of care as needed to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
• Provide NLR facility wide medical oversight after hours, serving as the primary medical decision maker for urgent and emergent issues across inpatient, residential, and designated outpatient areas.
• Promptly respond to requests from nursing staff for evaluation and treatment of patient care concerns, including reviewing electronic medical records, in-person assessment of patients, entry appropriate orders and documentation, and closed loop communication with nursing staff.
• Promptly respond to all code blue events. In NLR serve as the code team leader. coordinate resuscitative care; direct team roles; and collaborate with NOD on EMS activation and transfers.
• Collaborate with NOD to resolve any escalated issues involving nursing staff or patient care, and to arrange transportation to Emergency Department (ED) for patients that require work-up or stabilization beyond NLR facility capabilities.
• Understand limitations of evaluation and management at NLR after hours and how to expeditiously arrange for transport of appropriate patients to ED.
• Provide warm handoff to providers on patients transferring to ED and MICU.
• Provide call coverage of other VHA policy mandated duties including but not limited to handling of after-hours critical lab values for patients.
• Provide call coverage for VHA mandated duties, including follow up on critical after-hours laboratory values for clinic or inpatient Veterans.
• Evaluate patients that wish to discharge for safety of their discharge plan, and facilitate plan for those patients with capacity to include medication fills and discharge summary with alert to primary team.
• Patients that lack capacity may be held either by surrogate decision maker authorization or by 72 hour hold per VHA policy, in which case provider facilitates implementing these holds per VHA policy.
• Perform history & physicals and write admission orders as needed for patients admitting to services where after hours admissions are permitted.
• Rapidly evaluate all reported falls and document accordingly as per VHA fall policy.
• Provide admission-related orders where orders have been lost due to user error or system limitation.
• Meaningfully participate in Joint Patient Safety Review reporting processes, Peer Review reporting processes and Root Cause Analysis as appropriate.
• Participate in facility peer review process, OPPE review process, and other assigned chart review processes.
• Duties may require extended periods of walking, standing, bending, lifting/carrying light items, donning PPE, and rapid mobility during emergent responses.

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: 7 days on / 7 days off. Wednesday - Monday, 7:00pm to 7:00am, and Tuesday, 11:00pm -7:00am. Schedule subject to change based on the needs of the service.
• Compressed/Flexible: Available
• Telework: Not Available
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.
• Contact lashala.goodman@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Requirements

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. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(f), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. 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 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

Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) Basic Requirements Education: A post-master's certificate or master's or doctoral degree as a Nurse Practitioner. (Applicants pending the completion of educational requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until the education requirements are met.) Must be a 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). NOTE: Foreign Education. Graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing programs, the nurse practitioner degree equivalency must be validated through an Agency recognized degree equivalency evaluation agency, such as the International Consultants of Delaware (ICD). Candidates with equivalent nurse practitioner masters or doctorate level degrees who possess current, full, active, and unrestricted registration and certification will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing to warrant appointment. License - All APN (NPs) must possess and maintain an active, current, full, and unrestricted APN license to practice as an NP in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. Basic Board Certification - All APN (NPs) must maintain full and current basic board certification in one of the following: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP), Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP), Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP), Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP), or Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (GNP) from one of the following: the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB), or other nationally recognized certifying body in the area in which the Nurse Practitioner is academically prepared. NOTE: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and an APN (NP) assignment that are also 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.

Preferred Experience

At least 2 years of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse experience. At least 1 year of inpatient hospital medicine experience.

Physical Requirements

Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment

Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

Additional information

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. 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. 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 window Learn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits 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.