Registered Nurse – Mental Health – Bhip (Portland)

Summary

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.

Duties

• This Registered Nurse – Mental Health (BHIP) position is located in the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic at the Portland, ME location.
• This is a full-time position at 40 hours per week.
• Mental Health Nursing Clinic duties include scheduled nurse visits, same day access visits, telephonic visits and follow-up appointments.
• Nurses also serve as the Mental Health Treatment Coordinators leading as access champions through consult management.
• The RN coordinates and provide care with specialty programs including Addiction Services, Clozaril administration and monitoring, Psycho-educational groups, and follow-up care of High Risk Veterans.
• Duties included but not limited to: Office based work out of Mental Health Outpatient Clinic and CBOCs Collaboration in Recovery-based Treatment Plans Medication Care Management Patient Education Same Day Access – Triage Management General Mental Health – Telephone Triage Scheduled Nurse Appointments Group Participation Consult Management Program/Unit Charge or Lead Nurse Primary Preceptor /Education Management of Suicidal, Persistent Severe Mental Illness, PTSD, Substance use Disorders, Depression, Anxiety Work Schedule: Full-time; Monday-Friday; 7:30am-4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.
• Contact Karen Chapman karen.chapman@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.
• Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is a Bargaining Unit position This position is in the Excepted Service This position is covered by a special rate Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• 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.
• 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

Requirements

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.

Conditions of employment include:

• 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 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. May be subject to satisfactory completion of our credentialing process.

Education

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.

Required Documents

Prepare the documents below before applying. Always confirm the exact requirements on the official announcement, since they vary by position:

• This should be a SF-50 from the current calendar year which shows your current position, grade and step.
• Award SF-50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted.
• Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document.
• This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.
• Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.
• Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) Current, full, active and unrestricted RN license Transcript with Name of School Students name, Date Degree Conferred and Degree Received Most recent Non-Award SF-50 Resume SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualification of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA.
• When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire.
• You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.).
• If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation.
• Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form.