Career Center

This position is in the Office of Quality Management (QM) Section organizationally aligned under the Office of Medical Center Director (MCD) at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Jackson, MS. In this capacity, the Registered Nurse (RN) Quality Management Specialist, he/she is responsible for the coordination and management of quality management issues or concerns for all assigned programs and services including preparing reports for the facility. Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), 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 State-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). 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. OR The completion of coursework equivalent to a nursing degree in a MSN Bridge Program that qualifies for professional nursing registration constitutes the completion of an approved course of study of professional nursing. Students should submit the certificate of professional nursing to sit for the NCLEX to the VA along with a copy of the MSN transcript. (Reference VA Handbook 5005, Appendix G6) OR 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. 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. Preferred Experience: Bachelor's Degree in Nursing or higher At least five years clinically relevant nursing experience Clinical expertise in healthcare accreditation within VHA Experience interpreting and implementing accreditation and regulatory standards Experience planning, coordinating and executing TJC, OIG, CARF, and LTCI site visits Experience developing interdisciplinary action plans Excellent organizational, communication, writing and time management skills Excellent interpersonal skills and works independently as well as collaboratively with multiple service lines Demonstrated computer literacy and skill in the use of Microsoft Word, Power point, and Excel Experience Leading Workgroups or Teams. Direct experience working in either a Quality Management or Quality Assurance role Preferred Characteristics Ability to be flexible, adaptable and prioritize multiple tasks with competing deadlines Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with facility-wide staff at all levels including communication with VHA contacts, and TJC, OIG surveyors and Network contacts Ability to facilitate Performance Improvement interdisciplinary teams across the organization Ability to effectively work collaboratively with others to achieve desired outcomes Organized and detailed oriented for data tracking and monitoring deadlines and benchmarks Ability to maintain confidentiality with sensitive assignments and/or facility reports Grade Determinations: The following criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates, and if appropriate, the level within a grade: Nurse I Level I - An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing, with no additional nursing practice/experience required. Nurse I Level II - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 1 year of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a bachelor's degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience; OR a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional nursing practice/experience. Nurse I Level III - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a BSN with approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) or related field with a BSN and no additional nursing practice/experience. Nurse II - A BSN with approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or meets basic requirements for appointment and has doctoral degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience required. Nurse III - Master's degree in nursing or related field with BSN and approximately 2-3 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 year's of nursing practice/experience. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-6 Nurse Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. This position requires potentially long periods of continued Heavy lifting (45 pounds and over), straight pulling (4 hours), pulling hand over hand (4 hours), pushing (4 hours), reaching above shoulders, use of fingers, walking (8 hours), standing (8 hours), kneeling (4 hours), repeated bending (4 hours), both legs required, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at (13" to 16") to (1 to 4), far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, hearing (aid may be permitted), sitting up to 8 hours per day, stooping 4 hours per day, and ability to don PPE. The incumbent will be exposed to environmental factors such as: working closely with others, working alone, exposure to infected pts, exposure to contaminated, risk to work around combatants, work within stressful environment. Physical Demands: The population of male and female veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. Jackson VAMC is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility, serving medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients. 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 protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. 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. ["VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards Coordination and management of quality management issues or concerns for all assigned programs and services including preparing reports for the facility. Serves as QM Liaison for all assigned programs and services including serving as a consultant for internal and external regulations, standards, and requirements. This consultancy will involve managing and facilitating interdisciplinary teams, serving as team leader, or as a liaison between the team and the service chiefs or process owners. Educating medical center staff on Joint Commission (JC), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veteran's Integrated Service Network (VISN) standards as relevant to assigned programs and services. Monitors and assesses specialized treatment plans and goals, and electronic medical record patient documentation for numerous clinical problems to ensure documents are compliant with VHA, JC, OIG, VISN, or local policies and negotiates with Program Leaders and Service Chiefs for any identified changes. Serves as a Joint Commission and OIG Subject Matter Expert with comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of the Joint Commission, OIG, and other regulatory standards and survey process; providing guidance, instruction, direction and leadership across multiple clinical teams for achieving quality outcomes for patients and successful accreditation surveys. Provides guidance and oversight to assigned services/programs to implement corrective actions and ensure ongoing compliance with JC and other survey or site visit findings. Provides interdisciplinary staff education and teaching of JC, OIG, PACT, Access, and VHA, VISN, or facility standards across assigned services/programs utilizing a wide array of learning strategies to maximize and improve learning outcomes. Evaluates, identifies, investigates, and brings forward issues of potential concern or opportunity related to operational performance and access and develops Performance Improvement tools to meet specific operational needs of assigned services/programs. Serves as a Joint Commission and OIG subject matter expert often serving as a facilitator for Performance Improvement work groups; works collaboratively with SAIL Coordinator, EPRP Coordinator, and Systems Re-Design Coordinator to assist the facility in performance improvement initiatives. Serve as an active participant for numerous Medical Center Committees, or Collaborative Workgroups most relevant to assigned services/programs or clinical expertise. Complete daily Occurrence screens, tracers, action items, Fact Findings, other investigations related to OIG or other complaints, and other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]