Nurse

Summary

Registered Nurse - Shared Governance and Pathway to Excellence Coordinator. Functions as an expert clinician and executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches based on the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Pathway to Excellence (PTE) and Magnet Recognition programs to maintain nursing excellence throughout the facility.

Duties

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties include, but are not limited to: Fosters positive professional practice environments by building, supporting, and creating alignments for nursing excellence and steering innovation through collaboration and stakeholder engagement across the facility, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and enterprise. DIMENSIONS OF NURSING PRACTICE: PRACTICE: Expertise in professional practice using the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation) with improved evidence-based and/or data-driven outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Expectations: Leads and organizes delivery of care to ensure continuity of care and peer accountability for practice in alignment with the ANA Standards of Nursing Practice. Applies advanced clinical knowledge/judgment to lead staff involvement in planning, decision-making, and evaluating outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Applies nursing expertise to lead improvement, with demonstrated outcomes, beyond the immediate practice setting. VETERAN/PATIENT DRIVEN CARE: Leads initiatives to improve Veteran/patient experience, satisfaction, and/or safety beyond the immediate practice setting. Expectations: Leads initiatives to improve the Veteran experience, i.e., care coordination, timeliness to resolve issues, negative trends, or environment of care concerns, beyond the immediate practice setting. Leadership in patient advocacy by protecting the health, safety, and rights of patient population groups beyond the immediate practice setting. Models high reliability principles and I CARE values to improve the consistency of care delivery and patient outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. LEADERSHIP: Communicates and collaborates as an effective leader of the interprofessional team, at the expert level, with improved evidence-based and/or data-driven outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Expectations: Positive, effective communication skills, professional behaviors, and leadership that promote a commitment to excellence, improving nursing practice, and fostering collaboration among customers beyond the immediate practice setting. Makes sustained contributions to healthcare by actively participating in healthcare facility or service-level committees or councils, establishing active relationships and demonstrating leadership in improving care beyond the immediate practice setting. Leads with emotional and social intelligence. Demonstrates resilience in coping with challenging and stressful situations to assist others in increasing their self-determination and competence beyond the immediate practice setting. Initiates and leads interdisciplinary teams that utilize critical thinking to improve nursing practice beyond the immediate practice setting. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Enhances knowledge base and practice evaluation, at the expert level, with improved outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Expectations: Leads educational initiatives that expand knowledge to improve outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Accountable for personal and professional career goals with outcomes that have an impact beyond the immediate practice setting. Advances nursing practice through contributions to knowledge development or education beyond the immediate practice setting. EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE/RESEARCH: Leads the identification and integration of evidence-based practice/research with clinical expertise to improve quality of care and resource utilization at the expert level with improved outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Expectations: Expertise in evidence-based practice/research resulting in improved outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Expertise in performance improvement by leading initiatives and sharing outcomes beyond the immediate practice setting. Expertise in integrating patient preferences into care delivery decisions and sharing knowledge and outcomes with peers beyond the immediate practice setting. Other Duties as assigned. 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 U.S. state or territory Work Schedule: M-F 7:30 am - 4:00 pm or as determined by the supervisor. Compressed/Flexible: This may be authorized at the supervisor's discretion. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Requirements

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 (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/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 and evaluation

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. NOTE: Candidate's education, scope, and length of nursing practice (experience) will be considered in determining the grade and salary of the applicant selected. The recommended salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy. Experience as an RN will be evaluated to determine if the experience is of an acceptable level of quality with regard to the following five dimensions of nursing: Practice, Veteran/Patient Driven Care, Leadership, Professional Development, and Evidence/Based Practice/Research. Each dimension of practice has criteria that demonstrate essential core competencies for VHA Nursing Personnel. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 08/26/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13034544. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date. 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.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes: License Resume Transcript Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link: https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field. Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field. The following documents are accepted and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) Professional Certification Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Veterans' Preference Note: Preference-eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualifications of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days, you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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.