ICU Inpatient Staff RN

<p>The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Madison, WI VA is a 16-bed geriatric/adult critical care unit which cares for patients of Medical, Surgical and Specialty Services. Medical conditions include: Sepsis, congestive heart and respiratory failure, acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage, liver failure, drug overdose, severe alcohol withdrawal and unstable metabolic problems requiring vasoactive medications and hemodynamic monitoring.</p><h3>Major Duties</h3><p>Surgical Services include: Cardiovascular, Thoracic, Transplant, Peripheral Vascular, Neurosurgical, Orthopedic, General Surgery, Urology, ENT and Plastics. Additional conditions include myocardial infarction, unstable angina/arrhythmias, post PTCA, pacemaker placement, subdural hematoma, post-op cardiothoracic surgery, pre/post heart/liver/lung transplant, LVAD implant, post arrest hypothermia, carotid artery and femoral popliteal bypass surgery. Nursing care is provided on a 24-hour basis by registered nurses and nursing assistants. The nursing process of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation is applied in an ongoing, systematic manner to all patients. The ICU provides acute level nursing and RNs are intricately involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of interdisciplinary care. This requires nursing staff to participate with an interdisciplinary approach in meeting Veteran health care needs, including being an active participant in Interdisciplinary rounds consisting of the entire team of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Nutrition Service/Dietician, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Pharmacy, and other specialty groups as needed; coordinating care of all patients. This systematic process is applied to all patients with a goal of care to restore the Veteran to maximum function, prevent further decline, maximize independence, and/or provide comfort as necessary. Discharge planning is an essential component of our nursing practice and an interdisciplinary approach for teaching and discharge planning assures continuity of care for the Veterans we serve. RNs respond to Code Blue emergencies and inpatient Rapid Response Calls and recover patients directly from the OR on off tours. RNs are required to complete the basic critical care course and/or successfully pass a competency exam (Basic Knowledge Assessment Test). Each RN must complete a period of supervised practice in the ICU. The length of the orientation will be individualized based on assessments of the new employee's experience and nursing education as well as preceptor and nurse manager's evaluations. No nurse assumes full patient care responsibility or functions as charge nurse until authorized by the nurse manager and completion of the charge nurse classes. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards Work Schedule: Night Shift Telework: Not Authorized Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required</p><h3>Requirements</h3>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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. 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).<h3>Education</h3>IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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.