Nurse (Patient Safety Program Manager)

This position functions as Patient Safety Manager at Gallup Service Unit/Quality Management/Risk Management Branch. Incumbent promotes and leads a culture of safety at the facility and proactively mitigates risk of harm to patients in coordinated program management throughout the facilities' clinical and non-clinical departments, including an emergency department and various ambulatory care clinics. A REAL ID will be required beginning May 7, 2025, in accordance with 6 C.F.R. 37.5 (2021).

Total Compensation Package: Registered Nurse Total Compensation | Pay (ihs.gov)

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the day-to-day activities of the Patient Safety program consistent with facility accreditation standards, Federal regulations, best practices, and IHS policy.
• Manages a hospital-wide annual patient safety risk assessment based on culture of safety survey results, analysis of patient safety reports, targeted proactive risk assessments, and tracer activity findings.
• Develops an annual Patient Safety Plan to address identified risks, track corrective action plans, and promote a culture of safety.
• Reviews all patient safety reports, coordinates investigations, assesses severity of risk and harm, and closes reports in a timely manner, ensuring data integrity of all fields.
• Analyzes data to identify trends, patterns, and variations in clinical and non-clinical processes and systems to track patient safety risks and issues, communicating them and coordinating prioritization to ensure resources are available for the highest priorities.
• Traces clinical and non-clinical processes and systems throughout the facility to identify potential risks to patient safety, areas of non-compliance to regulatory and accreditation standards, and opportunities to improve.
• Reviews patient safety reports and associated investigations to correctly assess the risk level of individual events. Tracks and trends adverse events and coordinates Proactive Risk Assessments (PRA) or recommends to executive leaders to charter proactive risk assessments.
• Facilitates Root Cause Analysis and Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis activities and reporting.
• Ensures the hospital or healthcare center embraces a culture of safety, providing regular training and retraining courses to staff.
• Improves patient outcomes, reduces risks, eliminates errors, implements best practices and national initiatives, monitors compliance, and leads organizational change.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must comply with the IHS Employee Immunization Policy related to vaccine-preventable diseases, consistent with recommendations for healthcare workers. Vaccine exemption requests may be available.
• On-call hours or standby duty may be required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. Learn more about E-Verify.
• Direct deposit is required for payment.
• Successful completion of a federal background investigation is required as a condition of employment.
• Financial suitability review is required; applicants must demonstrate financial responsibility and maintain good standing with creditors.
• Prior to appointment, candidates must present two valid forms of identification. If one is a state-issued ID or driver's license, it must be REAL ID-compliant.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education to perform the duties of the specific position. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work.

Basic Requirements

• A graduate or higher level degree, bachelor's degree, associate degree, or diploma from an accredited professional nursing educational program is required. This education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Degree from 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: Applicants must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination and possess 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.

Minimum Qualifications

Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal service performing the following type of work and/or tasks:

• Coordinating patient safety protocols and providing education to staff about new procedures.
• Performing regular assessments of patient safety and staff efficiency.
• Conducting risk-management training and risk analyses to determine potential risks.
• Ensuring patient and staff safety, responding to claims of clinical malpractice, addressing patient complaints, and complying with federal and state regulations by reviewing medical records for liability issues.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Education

This position has an education requirement. You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed, and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Verify accreditation here.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. Learn more about foreign education recognition.

Additional Information

• This position is covered by a Bargaining Unit.
• This is a competitive vacancy announcement advertised under Direct Hire Authority. Selections made under this vacancy announcement will be processed as new appointments to the civil service.
• This is a designated position covered by Public Law 101-630, requiring contact or control over Indian children. The agency must ensure that persons hired for these positions have not been found guilty of or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty to certain crimes.
• Reasonable Accommodation (RA) requests for online assessments are available for applicants with disabilities. Learn more about RA requests.