This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Learn more 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. Education: 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. Licensure: 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 Qualifications: A minimum of two (2) years of recent nursing experience in a hospital-based surgical environment as well as the Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR) credential. 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 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years 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 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 years 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: Heavy lifting (35 pounds); heavy carrying (35 pounds); straight pulling (2-4 hours); pushing (2-4 hours); reaching above shoulders (1-2 hours); use of fingers; both hands required; walking (4-6 hours); standing (4-6 hours); repeated bending (2-4 hours); both legs required; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other; both eyes required; ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of color; hear (aid permitted); mental and emotional stability. ["Recruitment Incentive may be Authorized for Highly Qualified Candidates. This is a Surgical (Operating Room) job opportunity at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center. The Operating Room Suite at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center specializes in caring for adult and geriatric Veterans during the perioperative experience and provides the following services: General surgery, Gynecological, Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT), Ophthalmic, Peripheral Vascular, Thoracic, Urologic, Plastic, Podiatric, Endoscopic/Laparoscopic, Cardiac Open Heart, Neurosurgery, Transplant, and Major Orthopedic. The incumbent must demonstrate and maintain competencies required for all processes, procedures, and equipment used in the Operating Room Suite. The incumbent must have the technical and operational expertise and clinical skills to function as both a circulating and scrub nurse in all the above services. She/he must demonstrate a variety of specialized diagnostic and treatment procedure and will be accountable for promoting patient safety, continuity of care and the general well being of the patient. She/he will collaborate with physicians and ancillary services to provide the highest level of care; will analyze and upgrade patient care through quality improvement activities; and will monitor all clinical activities when acting in charge nurse capacity. She/he must strive to maintain all clinical competencies through continuous study, in-services, and participation in continuing education units. Based on level of education and experience, the incumbent may also be assigned preceptor/mentor responsibilities. The clinical responsibilities for nurses in the Operating Room Suite include but are not limited to the following: -The Perioperative nurse is accountable for patient outcomes resulting from nursing care provided during the perioperative experience. A perioperative registered nurse functioning in the circulating role must plan and direct the nursing care of every patient undergoing surgical and/or other invasive procedures, thus requiring a 1:1 perioperative nurse: patient ratio. - The Circulating nurse responsible for completing all Operative Documentation, i.e. Vista intraoperative record, DSS Live Data Time, Surgical Time Out and safety checks. She/he also ensures proper documentation and accountability of surgical specimens. - The Operating Room nurse must demonstrate expertise, in both the circulating and scrub nurse capacity, in a minimum of one surgical specialty, and demonstrate minimal competency in all other surgical specialties performed at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center by the following: Demonstrating competency in pre-op assessment of the surgical patient, which includes actively acting as the patient's advocate when it comes to assessing the patient's understanding of surgical consent and procedures they are about to undergo; assessing that the patient has followed all pre-operative instructions, such as NPO status, halting of anticoagulation medication, etc. Ensuring all instruments, supplies, and equipment are present and functional before the surgical procedure; ensuring sterility of all surgical instruments; ensuring count of surgical instruments and specialty equipment occurs prior to and following the procedure to ensure all instruments are accounted for prior to the patient leaving the Operating Room Suite; performing proper surgical Time Out prior to incision for all procedures; and when pertinent, performs fire safety time out prior to start of procedure. Maintaining cleanliness and order in the Operating Room Suite; protecting the sterile field by monitoring for breaches in sterile technique; limiting traffic in the Operating Room Suite and around the surgical field; assisting the Surgeons during procedures and coordinating with Surgical Technicians; ensuring post-operative pre-cleaning of instruments and safe transport to Sterile Processing. This is a Bargaining Unit position.\nWork Schedule: 10:00pm to 6:00am\nEducation Debt Reduction Program (EDRP): Authorized\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]