Registered Nurse - Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP)

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 (one to five 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

• These Registered Nurse - Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program positions are located in Mental Health Service located at the Togus location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. Included but are not limited to: Establish therapeutic relationships to enhance a trauma-sensitive experience using therapeutic interventions and help eliminate barriers to recovery services by incorporating person-first language. Create and maintain a safe, therapeutic, recovery-oriented environment in collaboration with Veterans and other healthcare providers. Assess and identify health-related illness using nursing assessments which follow the national standards for nursing assessments. Provide education and health teaching (individual or group settings) to Veterans regarding healthcare needs; recovery goals; mental health and substance use problems; treatment regimens; coping skills; stress management and relaxation techniques; crisis management; and medications. Play a key role in medication management in Mental Health RRTPs and administer medications as ordered by the credentialed provider for monitoring the effectiveness of those medications. Nursing staff must consistently assess and monitor the physical environment to ensure the safety and security of medications. Develop and monitor nursing outcomes. The Registered Nurse is responsible for providing nursing objectives, interventions, and outcomes to help Veterans achieve their treatment goals. Responsible for providing and leading the provision of competent, evidence-based care to assigned patients. Provide patient-centered and recovery-oriented care and maintain self-awareness while caring for patients living with substance use disorder and/or Mental Health conditions. Facilitate shift report, warm hand-offs, and nurse-led psychoeducational groups; use therapeutic communication techniques, practice de-escalation techniques, utilize recovery-oriented language, and provide oversight of the patient safe medication management program. Actively participate in Mental Health interdisciplinary treatment team, patient safety, and environment of care rounds, and respond to psychiatric and medical care needs and emergencies as directed. Report safety concerns, and document nursing assessments, risk screens, nursing plan of care, patient safety rounds, and environment of care rounds according to facility policy. Maintain professional boundaries to protect patient vulnerabilities and act in the best interest of the patient. Foster a safe and supportive environment conducive to the professional development of healthcare professionals. Support colleagues through knowledge sharing to provide safe, quality nursing care. Question clinical practices for the purpose of providing evidence-based care. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Various Tours of Duty Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Karen Chapman karen.chapman@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is a Bargaining Unit position This position is in the Excepted Service This position is covered by a special rate Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. 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 VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards

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 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. May be subject to satisfactory completion of our credentialing process.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. The Associate Degree Nursing (ADN), Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN), or Master of Science degree in Nursing (MSN) must be fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission On Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Verification of accreditation may be obtained from http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm or https://directory.ccnecommunity.org/reports/accprog.asp.- If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. If your school was accredited by ACEN or CCNE at the time of graduation, but is no longer listed on the websites, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.