Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner-Clinical/Psychiatric)

Full Job Description

About the Position: Serves as the Advanced Practice Nurse (APRN) within the Department of Mental Health.

The primary responsibility of the position is to facilitate care of beneficiaries regarding the delivery of psychiatric services. This is a Direct Hire Solicitation.

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner-Clinical/Psychiatric): Degree: A graduate or higher-level degree in nursing from an accredited educational program in the area of Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

This education must have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S.

Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.). Foreign Degree: A degree from a Foreign Nursing School.

Official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools is required for individuals who graduated from foreign nursing schools.

Licensure: A current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States; and you must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination.

Additional License Requirement: Applicants for Advanced Practice Nurse positions must be licensed or registered by a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States in the clinical specialty (Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner) required by the position.

Exemption: You are exempt from the basic requirements above if you are a current federal employee occupying a position in the 0610 occupational series and have been continuously employed in this occupational series since September 27, 2017 or before.

Applicants claiming this exemption must meet the requirement below. Note: You will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the respective Human Resources Office to validate your status.

Degree or diploma from a professional nursing program approved by the legally designated State accrediting agency at the time the program was completed by the applicant.

Active, current registration as a professional nurse in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Professional Nursing Experience: One or more full years of professional nursing experience which includes: 1) Diagnosing psychiatric illnesses for beneficiaries needing psychiatric/behavioral health services; 2) Performing psychiatric evaluations to assess psychiatric/behavioral patients; and 3) Prescribing medications to patients with psychiatric/behavioral health needs.

This definition of professional nursing experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify.

For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Major Duties:

• Perform psychiatric intakes to evaluate new patients, gather histories, discuss goals, and implement mutually agreed care plan.
• Prescribe medications, educate patients about risks and benefits, probe for side effects, and monitor progress.
• Observe patients, evaluate and record any significant behavior and reaction patterns.
• Maintain appropriate records using a computerized record keeping and coding system.
• Work closely with primary care and other providers in accepting referrals, providing feedback, and sending referrals.
• Provide feedback and advice to unit commanders and other leaders regarding the well-being of their soldiers.
• Participate actively in the quality improvement system, to comply with all appropriate Joint Commission standards and National Patient Safety goals.
• Present patient cases and classes for patient care conferences and academic institutions.