Registered Nurse (Nurse Manager/Cottage Guide)

Duties

Duties:
The Nurse Manager/Cottage Guide is responsible for providing managerial, operational and clinical direction for resident care in the Cottages and Geriatric Extended Care setting. The Cottage model is based on the premise of a de-institutionalized care that restores individuals to a home setting within the VA community, maximizing both privacy and the positive experiences of living in a community. The Guide serves as a coach and mentor in the empowerment of staff, self-managed work teams and clinical support. The primary role of the guide is the direction, oversight and supervision of all aspects of operations of the cottage homes. The guide will demonstrate servant leadership in the administrator role. The Cottage guide utilizes small homes modes, such as the Green House Model, to create an environment that facilitates the delivery of holistic and quality of life care to residents.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience managing and/or leading groups of professional and non-professional nursing staff. Experience developing, implementing, and managing programs that cross service and/or discipline lines. Evidence of professional nursing practice in progressively more responsible leadership assignments in clinical, administrative, educational, and/or discipline lines. Demonstrated excellence in interpersonal relationship skills and skills in all aspects of oral and written communications. Long Term Care/Geriatrics nursing experience. Experience with Long Term Care surveying agencies, such as Long Term Care Institute, and The Joint Commission.

Functions:

Nurse Manager/Cottage Guide - has first-line authority, responsibility, and 24/7 accountability for their unit/program, ensuring that subordinate nursing personnel provide timely nursing care which complies with accepted standards of clinical practice. This includes the authority to accept, amend, or reject the work of subordinates. He/she has continuing responsibility for all the following functions:

(1) planning work to be accomplished by subordinates and preparing schedules for completion of work;

(2) assigning work to subordinates based on priorities and selective consideration of the difficulty and the requirements of the assignments, and the capabilities of subordinates;

(3) evaluating the performance of subordinates;

(4) making recommendations for appointments, advancements or reassignments of subordinates;

(5) giving advice, counsel, or instruction to subordinate personnel on work and administrative matters;

(6) hearing and resolving complaints of subordinates and referring more serious complaints not resolved to higher level supervisors;

(7) recommending and/or taking disciplinary action where appropriate; and

(8) identifying developmental and training needs of subordinates and providing or making provision for such development and training.

Additional Tasks:

• The incumbent is also responsible for performance improvement, customer service/patient satisfaction, patient and employee safety, interviewing applicants, employee relations, standards of care and practice, the work environment, and accreditation and regulatory standards.
• He/she actively develops and manages collaborative partnerships with physicians and other clinicians. The Nurse Manager is responsible for staffing their unit/program, and working with other Nurse Managers to identify and share resources. He/she is responsible for time scheduling of the unit, coaches staff, deals with employee conduct and performance issues, and completes recurring reports and performance evaluations in a timely manner.
• The Nurse Manager participates on service and medical center committees and task forces to improve nursing practice and patient care. He/she identifies educational needs of staff and ensures that these needs are addressed.
• The Nurse Manager has an integral role in supporting and facilitating student nurse clinical experiences, as well as orienting new Nurse Managers.
• He/she works in partnership with the union and adheres to EEO principles.
• In the absence of a Nurse Manager, a cross-covering Nurse Manager will be designated to handle administrative and clinical issues, such as staffing coverage, granting leave, and patient and/or staff issues.
• The incumbent supports facility and service initiatives, including cultural transformation and patient centered care.

Qualifications

Qualifications - Basic Requirements:

(1) Citizen of the United States.

(2) Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate State-accrediting agency and accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies at the time the program was completed by the applicant: The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

(3) Current, full, active, and unrestricted registration to practice as a Nurse in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e., Puerto Rico) of the United States, or the District of Columbia. In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of current, full, active and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing.

(4) Must be proficient in spoken and written English.

(5) Applicants must meet physical standards for the position described in VA Directive and Handbook 5019. A physical examination prior to placement may be required. Basic physical requirements are: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don personal protective equipment. 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.

(6) This is a drug testing designated position. Employees in drug testing designated positions will be subject to random drug testing.

Applicant's education and length of nursing practice (experience) will be considered by a Nurse Professional Standards Board in determining the grade and salary of the applicant selected. Experience as a RN will be evaluated to determine if the experience is of an acceptable level of quality with regard to the following four dimensions of nursing: Practice, Professional Development, Collaboration and Scientific Inquiry. Each dimension of practice has criteria that demonstrate essential core competencies for VHA Nursing Personnel. The criteria are defined as follows:

Practice:
Practice - Uses an analytical framework, such as the nursing process, to create an environment that facilitates the delivery of care. Coordinates and evaluates integrated programs or demonstrates clinical excellence in management of population groups.
Ethics - Provides leadership in addressing ethical issues that impact clients and staff in or beyond the organization and the local health care community.
Resource utilization - Designs, modifies, and implements systems compatible with professional standards and with the mission and goals of the organization to improve the cost-effective use of resources.

Professional Development:
Performance - Implements standards of professional practice and accrediting bodies and applicable regulations.
Education/Career Development - Develops staff for career progression. Forecasts new knowledge needs for changing practice environments/population groups. Plans, implements and evaluates strategies to meet those needs.

Collaboration:
Collaboration - Demonstrates leadership in developing productive working relationships with groups in other programs, services, academic settings, and community agencies.
Collegiality - Contributes to the professional growth and development of colleagues and other health care providers at the local, regional, state or national level.

Scientific Inquiry:
Quality of Care - Provides leadership in improving and sustaining the quality and effectiveness of care in diverse or complex programs.
Research - Collaborates with staff, other disciplines, faculty and peers in developing, conducting and evaluating research activities and programs.

Preferred Qualifications:
Experience managing and/or leading groups of professional and non-professional nursing staff. Experience developing, implementing, and managing programs that cross service and/or discipline lines. Evidence of professional nursing practice in progressively more responsible leadership assignments in clinical, administrative, educational, and/or discipline lines. Demonstrated excellence in interpersonal relationship skills and skills in all aspects of oral and written communications. Long Term Care nursing experience.

Bachelors degree in Nursing.

Education

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.

In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of current, full, active, and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing.