Advanced Practice Nurse - Neurosurgery

About the role

The Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) Certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner practices in Surgery Service to provide a full range of services emphasizing quality, timeliness, and the advancement of the Veterans Affairs (VA) mission. The NP provides advanced clinical practice, consultation, and management, and practices to the full extent of their education, training, and certification.

Responsibilities

• Conduct thorough patient assessments and interpret complex clinical data to make diagnoses for neurological conditions
• Perform preoperative and postoperative assessments and provide postoperative wound care
• Provide inpatient and emergency department consultations
• Review outpatient consults for scheduling and complete eConsults
• Manage the Operating Room schedule to ensure appropriate surgical scheduling, preoperative testing completion, and patient optimization
• Complete disability paperwork as appropriate
• Admit surgical patients postoperatively
• Manage postoperative inpatient care
• Prepare hospital discharge summaries
• Order and interpret advanced diagnostic tests (e.g., intracranial pressure monitoring, advanced imaging studies)
• Collaborate with neurosurgeons, neurologists, and other healthcare professionals to optimize patient care
• Provide comprehensive patient and family education on complex neurological conditions and treatment options
• Perform independently privileged procedures
• Assess and adjust the plan of care as needed to achieve optimal patient outcomes
• Exemplify the ICARE core values: Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence

Qualifications

• Certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
• Advanced education and national certification
• Full and unrestricted license from any US state or territory

Skills

• Patient assessment and diagnostic testing
• Treatment planning and postoperative care
• Preoperative and postoperative assessments, wound care
• Inpatient and emergency department consultation
• Outpatient consult review and eConsult completion
• Operating room schedule management and preoperative optimization
• Disability paperwork completion
• Admitting and managing postoperative inpatient care
• Preparing hospital discharge summaries
• Ordering and interpreting advanced diagnostic tests (e.g., intracranial pressure monitoring, advanced imaging)
• Collaboration with neurosurgeons, neurologists, and other specialists
• Patient and family education on complex neurological conditions
• Performing independently privileged procedures
• Assessing and adjusting plans of care to achieve optimal outcomes
• Exemplifying ICARE core values (Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, Excellence)

Benefits

• Paid Time Off: 50 days per year (26 days annual leave, 13 days sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays)
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5‑year vesting) and federal 401(k) with up to 5% VA matching
• Insurance: Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long‑term care plans (many portable into retirement)

Pay

• Competitive salary with regular salary increases
• Potential for performance awards

Schedule

Monday through Friday, 6:30 AM – 3:00 PM