Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)
The MICU Staff RN provides direct hands-on care for critically ill patients admitted to the medical critical care unit. The RN will provide expert direct and individualized nursing care to acutely ill patients based on the application of scientific nursing principles. The MICU Staff RN works in a highly technical and ongoing monitoring environment. The MICU patients are facing life-threatening problems with varying needs, which require extensive medication protocols and therapies. The MICU Staff RN has the additional responsibility for the emotional and psychosocial health of the patient, family and significant others. The MICU RN supports the patients’ physical, spiritual, and psychological needs, in addition to providing family/significant others education and emotional support. The MICU Staff RN has superior critical thinking skills to prevent or respond to emergency situations and must possess assertive, effective communication and teaching skills. The RN will possess the ethics and values that are consistent with the mission, values, priorities, goals, and resources of the Veterans Administration Healthcare System. The MICU Staff RN will perform other duties under the direction of the nurse manager or designee as assigned. This position is not open to novice nurses.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.
• 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).
• 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:

Medical ICU

• Associate Degree or Diploma with two (2) to three (3) years of successful critical care nursing practice – Required
• Bachelor Degree in Nursing (BSN) with two (2) years of successful critical care nursing practice – Preferred
• ICU, CCU, SICU, or like experience – Preferred
• Current BLS and ACLS certification – Preferred
• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively as a team member and leader – Preferred
• Highly effective interpersonal, organizational skills, verbal, and written communication skills – Preferred
• National Certification in Critical Care (CCRN) – Preferred

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 year’s of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master’s degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 year’s 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 year’s of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree and approximately 2-3 year’s 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.

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.