The Western New York VA Medical Center is currently seeking a Registered Nurse - Deputy Chief of Quality Management. This position is part of the Quality, Patient Safety, and Value Team and is located at the Buffalo Facility. The Deputy Chief of Quality, Safety, & Value (QSV) is a self-directed nursing professional who supervises QSV staff, assesses plans, implements, coordinates, monitors and evaluates the quality and safety of the delivery of care for the organization.
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 master's level bridge program in nursing who have completed coursework equivalent to a bachelor's 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.) NOTE: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the standard (1/29/2024) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/certification. 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: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12787720. Grade/Level Scope Education Nurse III Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience and creative approaches to management of complex client care beyond the immediate practice setting. MSN and 2 years of specialized nursing experience, one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Master's degree in *related field with BSN and two years of specialized nursing experience, one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III. *Note: Foreign education programs/degrees are not creditable as related degrees. Preferred Experience: MSN Preferred 2 Years of previous management experience preferred Prior Quality and Patient Safety experience preferred Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The position requires the incumbent to have visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. The incumbent must be mature, flexible, and sensible, capable of working effectively in stressful situations and able to shift priorities based on patient needs. This position requires periods of standing, stooping, bending, pulling, pushing, walking, and be able to lift up to 35 pounds. Transferring patients and objects may be required. This position also may require sitting for periods of time, typing on computer keyboard, looking at computer monitor, and using the telephone. The incumbent maybe exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials requiring the incumbent to don protective clothing and equipment in isolation situations or during invasive patient procedures. The incumbent may be exposed to patients who are combative or aggressive related to neurologic or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must meet the required screening/testing and be medically cleared by Employee Occupational Health as a condition of employment.
The Deputy Chief of Quality, Safety & Value (QSV) - Registered Nurse demonstrates leadership, experience, and creative approaches to improvement in quality-of-care outcomes. The Deputy Chief of QSV will demonstrate performance that is broad enough to improve the care for a group of patients. The incumbent will ensure that services have systems and processes in place to provide safe, quality care that is consistent with external benchmarks in order to lead performance improvement initiatives by identifying quality metrics, trending data, maintaining the quality metric dashboard, and act as a subject matter expert in data analysis and data display. The Deputy Chief of QSV - RN assumes a leadership role in facilitating regulatory compliance for internal and external oversight bodies (i.e., The Joint Commission (TJC), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directives and Handbooks, etc.), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and VHA performance measures, supporting performance improvement work, and supporting and guiding the work of committees. Job Duties Include but are not limited to: Execute position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex client care. Ensures that services have systems and processes in place to provide safe, quality care that is consistent with external benchmarks. Leads performance improvement initiatives by identifying quality metrics, trending data, maintaining the quality metric dashboard, and acts as a subject matter expert in data analysis and data display. Consult and act as a resource to leadership and staff in standards interpretation implementation, patient safety, infection control, risk management, and re-design of processes and structures to improve care outcomes. Develop and implement policy and procedures, collaborates with service departments, and works toward meeting the strategic plan of the organization. Monitor corrective actions from survey findings and assists services who are performance outliers. Responsible for completing clinical quality reviews, clinical data analysis, and identifying opportunities for improvement. Influence care outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team. Support all QSV work to include but not limited to Accreditation, System Redesign, Infection Prevention, Patient Safety, Risk Management, High Reliability Organization (HRO), Just Culture, and evidence-based practices. Work Schedule: Full-time. 7:30 am - 4:00 pm (Monday - Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Ad-hoc Telework eligible - as determined by agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Available PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Available VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards to include: 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