Registered Nurse Post Anesthesia Care Unit
Saint Louis, MI - USA
Job Summary
Summary
The Registered Nurse - Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) position within Perioperative Procedure Support Service is located at John Cochran Medical Center. The RN provides specialized care in the assessment planning implementing and evaluation of care throughout the peri anesthesia continuum to include the Pre anesthesia Phase Post anesthesia Phase I Post anesthesia Phase II and extended care from sedation/analgesia and/or anesthesia for surgical diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
The Registered Nurse - Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) position within Perioperative Procedure Support Service is located at John Cochran Medical Center. The RN provides specialized care in the assessment planning implementing and evaluation of care throughout the peri anesthesia continuum to include the Pre anesthesia Phase Post anesthesia Phase I Post anesthesia Phase II and extended care from sedation/analgesia and/or anesthesia for surgical diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. The PACU RN possesses knowledge related to the physiology associated with various anesthesia techniques and surgical interventions.
Duties include but are not limited to:
- Assesses and prepare patients for procedures appropriately.
- Performs clinical assessment of the patient and readily recognizes contraindication for anesthesia and/or surgical intervention.
- Applies the appropriate post sedation scoring and assesses the patients postoperative status to include cardiovascular and respiratory systems and airway management needs neurological system hemodynamic stability pain and comfort needs and mental status implementing appropriate interventions to maintain or return all physiological system to baseline or above.
- Maintains knowledge of current American Society of Peri anesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) standards Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directives and service level standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Ensures comprehensive documenting of all phases of care and is timely complete and accurate in the electronic health record (EHR).
- 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 effect 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.
- May be required to perform on-call duties.
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: Full Time Permanent. Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. On call is required to cover overnight weekends and holidays. Schedule is subject to change based on the needs of the healthcare system.
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
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 drivers 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 masters level bridge program in nursing who have completed coursework equivalent to a bachelors 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. (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 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.)
Grade Determinations: The following Scope Education and Dimension criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates and if appropriate the level within a grade. The Dimension requirements (Practice Veteran/Patient Driven Care Leadership Professional Development and Evidence-Based Practice/Research) are detailed for each grade and level within the online assessment: I Level I
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit Experience: 2-3 years of PACU or other Critical Care experience such as ICU.
Physical Requirements: This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking standing and sitting. This includes but is not limited to carrying/lifting 45 pounds and over; walking and/or standing for eight hours at a time; and kneeling and repeated bending throughout shift. Significant amounts of time standing assisting assigned patients. Utilization of safe patient handling and mobility protocols. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing. 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. Must comply with any Employee Health requirements as a condition of employment.
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 applicants 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.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Experience:
IC