Registered Nurse - Neurology - Telestroke Coordinator - Clinic Support

Neurology Registered Nurse Position

The New Mexico VA Health Care System (NMVAHCS) in Neurology is seeking qualified applicants to join our team. The Registered Nurse (RN) is responsible and accountable for all elements of the nursing process when providing and/or supervising direct patient care. Responsible for overall planning, coordination, implementation, management, and evaluation of clinical applications of telestroke within the facility organization. Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates care based on age-specific components. Assumes responsibility for the coordination of care focused on the National Telestroke Stroke Program (NTSP), local stakeholder education, and customer satisfaction throughout the continuum of care. Follows procedures per established policies and guidelines. Duties include but not limited to the following:

• Responsible for providing competent, evidence-based care to assigned patients.
• Collaborates with NTSP, Veterans Integrated Systems Network (VISN), facility leaders, and staff to incorporate new concepts and programs into extant systems.
• Serves and/or represents the facility on various NTSP telehealth groups.
• Engages in outreach planning and activities, including simulation activities annually and working with local stakeholders and quarterly telestroke workgroup meeting.
• Maintaining policies and procedures according to NTSP guidelines.
• Monitors and enters local stroke response data into a nationally maintained database.
• Ensures functional linkages across the telestroke continuum.
• Advocates for telestroke program needs at the facility and brings matters requiring higher level intervention to the attention of facility leadership.
• Facilitates communication across care lines and facilities to achieve maximum fulfillment of telestroke program goals and objectives.
• Assures that the facility establishes and utilizes appropriate Veterans Health Administration (VHA) workload reporting and data management systems for telehealth programs.
• Monitors core quality and performance measures for all telestroke programs.
• Serves as a consultant to the various facility telehealth staff to assure that best practices, appropriate clinical technology applications and successes are shared amongst telestroke programs and implemented.
• Ensures that the implementation and maintenance of telestroke equipment and is coordinated by working closely with the NTSP, the facility, and Information Technology (IT) personnel.
• Supports all of the outpatient Neurology clinic veterans and providers with a special emphasis on the neuroimmunology (MS) veterans and clinic.
• Provides clinical support to the outpatient lumbar puncture clinic as needed as well as other outpatient procedures (i.e. BOTOX clinic) as needed.
• Answers veteran calls regarding medication or other medical issues and dispositions the veteran to the next level of care if appropriate.
• Administrative duties may include service representation for PATS-R queries and support of the RCT process.
• Demonstrates leadership in delivering and improving holistic care through collaborative strategies with others.
• Evaluates practice in an ongoing process, based on best evidence.
• Provides peers with informal constructive feedback for improvement.
• Fosters a safe and supportive environment conducive to the professional development of healthcare professionals.
• Contributes professional nursing perspective in discussions with the interdisciplinary team.
• Partners with others to affect change and produce optimal outcomes.
• Supports colleagues through knowledge sharing to provide safe, quality nursing care.
• Shares educational findings, experiences, and ideas with peers.
• Questions clinical practices for the purpose of providing evidence-based care.
• Participates in activities and strategies to sustain evidence-based-practice.

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: 7:30am to 4:00 pm M-F
• Telework: Not Authorized
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized
• EDRP: May be Authorized
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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 examination.
• 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.
• 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: