Registered Nurse- Intensive Community Mental Health Recovery (ICMHR)

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

This Registered Nurse- Intensive Community Mental Health Recovery (ICMHR) position is located in the Nursing, Mental Health service at the Danbury VA Clinic, located at the Danbury, CT. campus. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. The Registered Nurse- Intensive Community Mental Health Recovery (ICMHR) promotes personal growth and development of psychiatric-mental health nursing practice. The ICMHR program provides clinical community-based case management services to Veterans with pervasive mental illness (PMI), severe functional impairment, and high Inpatient MH unit utilization, in coordination with existing community and Veterans Affairs (VA) services. Duties include but are not limited to: Delivers fundamental knowledge-based care to assigned clients while developing technical skills. Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates care based on Mental Health (MH) specific components. Assumes responsibility for the coordination of care focused on patient education, self-management, and customer satisfaction throughout the MH continuum of care. Follows procedures per established policies and guidelines. Influences care outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team. Gains awareness of the principles and goals of outpatient MH treatment by understanding practices related to patient-centered care, recovery-oriented principles, telemental health, community-based care, and self-awareness related to caring for patients living with MH conditions. Attends and participates in MH interdisciplinary team huddles and meetings, uses therapeutic communication techniques, practices de-escalation techniques, utilizes recovery-oriented language, and provides Veterans, their family members, and/or significant others with education regarding their illness, medications, and treatment plan. Clinically provides outpatient, community-based MH services for a subgroup of Veterans with PMI; including but not limited to transportation, medication management, in home/community consultation and responds to psychiatric and medical emergencies as directed. Documents nursing triage assessments, risk screens, clinical reminders, and patient plan of care in accordance with facility policy. Maintains professional boundaries to protect patient vulnerabilities and act in the best interest of the patient. Collaborates and supports MH nursing along with other disciplines. Brings principles and theory with limited application of critical thinking skills. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday to Friday, Day Shift. Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. EDRP Authorized:Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Hannah Neilson at hannah.neilson@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Notifications: This position is not a AFGE Bargaining Unit position. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is in the Excepted Service. The salary is based on the grade and step approved for the selected candidate. 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. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards

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. 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/examination. 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.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. The Associate Degree Nursing (ADN), Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN), or Master of Science degree in Nursing (MSN) must be fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission On Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Verification of accreditation may be obtained from http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm or https://directory.ccnecommunity.org/reports/accprog.asp. If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. If your school was accredited by ACEN or CCNE at the time of graduation, but is no longer listed on the websites, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.