Summary The Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) IV Certified Nurse Anesthetist (CNA) Chief is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) who is distinguished by educational range, clinical experience, collaborative skills, is the first line supervisor and has administrative responsibility for nurse anesthesia staff. They will practice to the full extent of their education, training, and certification. They will provide advanced clinical practice, consultation, management, and leadership. Responsibilities https://youtu.be/NpaTtyybXFQ?si=IHyw-Bf27aaL4Wvz Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Collaborate with a variety of health care professionals to achieve common goals for care, safety, and welfare of patients. Foster high levels of confidence and satisfaction among patients and staff, as well as meet and exceed compliance standards. Provide anesthetic services within five general categories to include: pre-anesthesia evaluation and preparation; anesthesia induction, maintenance, and emergence; post anesthesia care; peri-anesthetic and clinical support functions; and emergency response techniques. Develop and implements a comprehensive anesthesia plan of care for patients requiring local, regional, general, and monitored anesthesia both inside and outside the Operating Room (OR) suite. Ensure anesthetic services delivered throughout the facility are of the highest quality to promote patient safety, satisfaction, and improve outcomes and efficiencies. Function as resource for staff education and is willing to be a preceptor and adjunct clinical faculty for health care trainees rotating through the VAMC. Develop and implements evidence-based practices that are essential to the delivery of the highest quality anesthesia care. Prescribe appropriate preoperative, intra-operative and postoperative orders and medications. Make recommendations that may significantly affect the content, interpretation or development of VA policies or programs concerning critical matters or major issues within the anesthesia arena. First line supervisor and administrative responsibility for nurse anesthesia staff (i.e., performance reviews, Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE), peer review). Administrative responsibility may extend to other healthcare professionals within the department. Exemplifies the ICARE core values of-Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence. 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: 6:30 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Monday - Friday Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(f), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. Qualifications Advanced Practice Nurse (Certified Nurse Anesthetist) Basic Requirements Education. A masters or doctoral degree in nurse anesthesia. (Applicants pending the completion of educational requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until the education requirements are met.) Nursing education must be from a school of professional nursing anesthesia accredited by Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Programs (COA) at the time the program was completed by the applicant. Licensure and Certification. The following licensure and certification requirements are considered conditions of employment. License. All APN (CNAs) must maintain an active, current, full and unrestricted license to practice as a CNA or equivalent, in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia. Basic Certification. All APN (CNAs) must maintain full and current certification by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) or an equivalent Nurse Anesthetist certification recognized by the COA. NOTE: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and an APN (CNA) assignment that are also 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 Education, Experience, and Knowledge, Skills and Abilities must be met for Advanced Practice Nurse (Certified Nurse Anesthetist) IV, Chief Educator/Leadership-Management: The Chief APN (CNA) makes recommendations that may significantly affect the content, interpretation or development of VA policies or programs concerning critical matters or major issues within the anesthesia arena. The Chief APN (CNA) is distinguished by educational range, diverse clinical experience and collaborative skills. The Chief APN (CNA) is a first line supervisor and may have administrative responsibility for anesthesia staff. Education and Experience Requirement. Meets basic education requirement for an APN (CNA) AND Four years of APN (CNA) progressively responsible assignments in clinical, administrative, education and/or research related to CNA practice, one of which is specialized experience equivalent to the APN (CNA) Ill grade level. At this level, emphasis is placed on strategic planning and administrative responsibilities. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Must have the ability to perform long and short-term planning goals for their anesthesia department. Chief APN (CNA) functions may include, but are not limited to, the following knowledge, skills and abilities: Ability to assume progressive responsibility for planning. Ability to supervise staff, students or ancillary personnel and to ensure proper scheduling and staffing. Skill to perform as a provider and mentor for unusually extensive and complex anesthetic cases. Knowledge to participate in a continual audit of anesthesia care and to ensure periodic performance and professional practice (focused and ongoing) evaluation requirements are met. Knowledge to represent departmental interests at interdisciplinary committee meetings, participate in departmental reviews, collaborate in problem solving and develop quality improvement initiatives. Knowledge to engage in departmental resource stewardship, evaluation of staffing, equipment and time value management. Ability to interpret efficiency data as well as implement and evaluate cost-effective operational strategies. Ability to prioritize and delegate tasks to enhance employee investment offering opportunities for staff leadership development. Skill to collaborate and support the development of clinical and educational programs and anesthesia protocols to improve patient outcomes and improve service level performance. Ability to provide guidance and instruction in preparing others for positions of leadership and ethical practices which impact patient care. Skill to provide leadership level commitment to foster a safety culture and continuous process improvement. Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be able to perform all activities of the position without restriction. This position requires visual and auditory acuity at a level to provide safe and effective nursing care. This position requires considerable standing, walking, stooping, bending, reaching, lifting, and turning. It requires repositioning patients, assisting with transferring patients to wheelchairs/stretchers, and transporting them to other departments or facilities. Education Additional Information Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
