The Patient Safety Specialist provides guidance and direction regarding external review readiness. This would include: The Joint Commission, Office of Inspector General, and other accrediting agencies. Provides program oversight, direction, coordination and leadership in all Patient Safety activities for the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (BPVAHCS). Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), 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 State-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). In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of current, full, active and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing. OR The completion of coursework equivalent to a nursing degree in a MSN Bridge Program that qualifies for professional nursing registration constitutes the completion of an approved course of study of professional nursing. Students should submit the certificate of professional nursing to sit for the NCLEX to the VA along with a copy of the MSN transcript. (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. 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. Preferred Experience: 4-5 years of acute inpatient experience (additional ambulatory nursing experience is a plus) Diverse clinical knowledge base Computer skills (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, other apps) Knowledge of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Knowledge of patient safety and/or High Reliability principles and practices Ability to work and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams Demonstrated experience with systems redesign and improvement efforts aimed at improving systems and patient health outcomes. CPPS (Certified Professional in Patient Safety) Grade Determinations: The following criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates, and if appropriate, the level within a grade: Nurse I Level I - An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing, with no additional nursing practice/experience required. Nurse I Level II - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 1 year of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a bachelor's degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience; OR a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional nursing practice/experience. Nurse I Level III - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a BSN with approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) or related field with a BSN and no additional nursing practice/experience. Nurse II - A BSN with approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or meets basic requirements for appointment and has doctoral degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience required. Nurse III - Master's degree in nursing or related field with BSN and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience. Physical Requirements: Incumbent must possess the mental and physical ability to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment. Physical requirements include visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. May involve potentially long periods of lifting, carrying, pulling, pushing, reaching above shoulder, walking, standing, sitting, kneeling, and repeated bending. Transferring patients and objects may be required. Safe patient handling equipment is provided. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations, operative/invasive procedures, or home settings. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health as a condition of employment. The incumbent who provides care in home settings or other off-site locations may be required to drive, sit and/or ride in GSA vehicles for long periods of time. Position may require working outside for extended periods of time. In-direct patient care work is mostly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to complete the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending and carrying of light items such as patient records and supplies. In-direct care staff may be assigned to work in direct care areas as needed. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-6 Nurse Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. ["This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until December 31, 2022 or until filled. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be August 8, 2022. Eligible applications received after that dated will be referred biweekly or until filled. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards The Patient Safety Specialist (PSS) will work with the Patient Safety Nurse Manager to provide leadership in maintaining a culture of quality and safety throughout the organization. The PSS is committed to continuously improving patient safety and reducing healthcare errors. The PSS executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of patient safety principles and National Patient Safety Goals required for specific practice settings. PSS performs staff support work in short and long-range planning efforts. The PSS collaborates with the Patient Safety Nurse Manager and other stakeholders to coordinate employee education activities to ensure effective implementation of BPVAHCS Patient Safety program. The PSS monitors and analyzes changes in mission, goals, new legislation, and technological advances to assess the impact of these changes on work methods/procedures and develops new systems which will address these changes. The PSS advises and assists the Patient Safety Nurse Manager in the planning, development, and operation of the BPVAHCS program. Duties Include but are not limited to:\n- Being the facility's key person to help build and implement patient safety systems and promote the culture of safety within VA facilities and for VA patients in all healthcare settings by establishing criteria for internal reviews.\n- Engaging, collaborating, consulting, coaching and integrating with service lines to provide the safest, most effective and efficient results. Knowledge of electronic applications, as applicable, for data entry, report/document development, and report generation.\n- Leading interdisciplinary teams and work groups. Sharing expertise and providing education using project and or change management techniques.\n- Continuous improvement, benchmarking, learning and discovery are keys in providing excellence and value for patient centered care.\n- Works to create a safe patient environment by disseminating patient alerts and lessons learned regarding effective system modifications from Root Cause Analysis, Evidence Based resources and other health care facilities.\n- Providing technical expertise in the field of healthcare planning and comprehensive advice and assistance to management regarding possible need for revision of regulations and policies governing patient safety activities to meet healthcare delivery needs.\n- Providing comprehensive evaluation and improvement of clinical practice and health care delivery systems to improve patient safety, including individuals, significant others and/or communities. Practice is based on current and anticipated trends in healthcare.\n- Provides leadership and has continuing responsibility for the development, implementation, coordination, maintenance, and evaluation of the Falls program and serves as a resource to the Bay Pines Veterans Health Care System for Process Improvement, Patient Safety, and Quality Management. Works with all services to develop, implement, and evaluate appropriate Falls program goals, to include planning and initiating systems and process changes across the organization encompassing all services. The PSS develops and coordinates educational programs for all staff, including providing oversight for Falls program, New Employee Orientation, and related activities. The PSS develops BPVAHCS policies, procedures, protocols, etc. as needed to support the reduction of falls throughout the organization inclusive of remote clinical setting; hence, some travel will be required of this position. Participate in and collaborates with the Safe Patient Handling RN to provide oversight of equipment selection and purchases to meet current and future fall reduction needs and the promotion of safe patient handling, while ensuring compliance with performance measures, clinical standards, and standards of accrediting bodies. Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases\nPaid 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)\nRetirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA\nInsurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)\nLicensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory Work Schedule: 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday thru Friday\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]