Registered Nurse - Chief Quality and Patient Safety

Full Job Description

Registered Nurse (RN)- Chief, Quality and Patient Safety serves as Chief of Quality and Patient Safety for the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center, located at the University Drive campus.

The incumbent reports to the Medical Center Director and is responsible to the Associate Director for Patient Care Services.

They function as a key member of the executive leadership team, providing oversight and strategic direction for quality, patient safety, and performance improvement programs across the facility.

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.

The following Scope, Education and Dimension criteria must be met to qualify for Nurse V: Scope: Practice of an executive nature, comprised of complex leadership and administrative components, associated with critical health care issues and activities that drive meeting the organizational mission, health care and policy.

Education: Master's degree in Nursing (MSN) and 5 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse IV and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse V; OR Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and 5 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse IV and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse V; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing and 4 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse IV and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse V; OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN and 4 years of professional nursing experience, one of which is specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse IV and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse V.

*Note: Foreign education programs/degrees are not creditable as related degrees. Dimension Requirements: Leadership.

Establishes the strategic direction for health care delivery, evidence-based practices, industry-leading research, and innovative care models.

Creates a shared vision and successfully leads change to improve performance and attain measurable outcomes at the organization or enterprise level. Business Acumen.

Transforms health care through the application of new processes, technology, informatics, data analytics, business principles, systems thinking and resource management at the organization or enterprise level.

Inspiring an Industry-Leading Lifestyle.

Establishes an industry leading, shared decision-making lifestyle; a workforce that serves Veterans, families, and caregivers of all backgrounds; builds trust and lifestyle competencies and catalyzes dynamic teams at the organization and enterprise level.

Communication and Relationship Management.

Drives the effective use of relationship management principles to achieve positive customer service experiences that are consistent with professional and organizational values, beliefs, and practices at the organizational or enterprise level.

Professional and Social Responsibility. Sets the standard for a lifestyle of holistic care, health advocacy and health equity.

Applies ethical principles in decision-making at the organization or enterprise level.

Advances nursing knowledge through health science research and the translation and dissemination of evidence into practice to maximize the value to Veterans, the community, and the health care industry.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Heavy lifting up to (35 pounds); heavy carrying up to (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; hearing (aids permitted); mental and emotional stability.

Major Duties:

The Nurse V Quality and Patient Safety, Chief is of an executive nature, comprised of complex leadership and administrative components associated with significant health care issues and activities that influence the organizational mission, health care, and national policy VA.

They are accountable to the Medical Center leadership and are an integral part of the facility executive leadership team.

The Quality and Patient Safety, Chief is a member of the Medical Center's Executive Leadership Team (ELT).

The Quality and Patient Safety, Chief is a catalyst for the integration and collaboration of with other professional disciplines and functional areas in the mutual achievement of optimal Veteran-driven organizational goals at the Medical Center level.

The Quality and Patient Safety, Chief is a key leader in strategic planning, organizational assessment, and development of facility program development.

The Quality and Patient Safety, Chief participates with the ELT and strategic thought leaders in Medical Center to initiate and execute planning and decision-making processes for their program.

They have the authority and responsibility for establishing standards of quality across all levels of the health care system ensuring quality of care across the Medical Center.

The Quality and Patient Safety, Chief exercises authority and approval for Medical Center policy, practices, and the standards to measure, assess, and improve patient outcomes.

Appropriately delegates activities to those staff within the Quality Management (QM) Program under their purview.

The Quality and Patient Safety, Chief champions a High Reliability Organization (HRO) within their area of responsibility founded on a collective mindfulness approach to develop evidence-based health care solutions that promote prevention and safety and a healthy work environment through the implementation of shared decision-making, a spirit of inquiry and an academic environment supportive of education and research.

Major duties include, but are not limited to the following: Participates in life-long learning that contributes to the continuous advancement of health science and business processes at the organizational level.

Has expert knowledge in and ensures compliance with national accreditation and federal standards.

Develops concepts of economics, cost benefit analyses, and business models for their program office to set priorities and measurable goals.

Is a role-model for professional and ethical principles that allow the creation of a workforce to serve Veterans, families, and caregivers of all backgrounds at all levels of the organization.

Develops healthcare policy that provides reliable, accessible, and affordable healthcare.

Endorses and upholds national policy that promotes optimal and competent health care practices in all settings to address social and health inequities.

Fosters visionary thinking to build a shared vision that influence others to take action.

Develops, leads, and supports facility-wide patient care delivery programs, policies, guidelines, and procedures that describe and guide how patients' health care needs are assessed, evaluated, and met.

Preferred Experience: Top candidates have a minimum of five years of recent experience in managing and leading multiple teams or departments at a VA medical facility.

Quality Management experience at a 1A complexity medical center. Top candidates have an executive level experience overseeing clinical programs and improving clinical outcomes.

They have evidence of and can demonstrate continuous process improvement, compliance with VHA performance measures as well as continuous accreditation readiness.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards 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: 8:00 a.m.

to 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Ad-Hoc as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized