Nurse - Assistant Nurse Manager - Acute Psychiatry

Veterans Health Administration; Waco (TX); On-site; USD 92,000 - 154,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

50 days PTO

Federal holidays

Retirement: Federal pension + 401K

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, seeks a Nurse - Assistant Nurse Manager for Acute Psychiatry in Texas.

You will support the Nurse Manager, provide clinical oversight, staff development, and promote evidence-based practice to deliver safe, high-quality care to Veterans. Responsibilities include coordinating staffing, guiding performance evaluations, ensuring accreditation standards, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to improve patient outcomes and

Qualifications

• Must hold an ADN, BSN, or MSN recognized by ACEN or CCNE.
• U.S. RN license in good standing is required.
• Education recognition by the U.S. Department of Education is required.
• Experience in psychiatric/acute care is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support the Nurse Manager in daily Acute Psychiatry operations.
• Oversee staff orientation, training and performance input.
• Assist with staffing, scheduling, and leave coordination.
• Apply clinical judgment to guide care and ensure evidence-based practice.
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration to improve outcomes.
• Ensure accreditation, regulatory standards, and privacy compliance.

Skills

Nurse leadership

Staff development

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Evidence-based practice

Quality and compliance

Education

ADN

BSN

MSN

Job description

Nurse - Assistant Nurse Manager - Acute Psychiatry

• Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Supports the Nurse Manager in leading Acute Psychiatry operations, ensuring safe, high-quality, patient-centered care. Provides clinical oversight, guides staff development, promotes evidence-based practice, and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration. Enhances patient experience, supports process improvement, and helps maintain regulatory and practice standards

Key Responsibilities

CTVHCS is in the process of making a cultural change, shifting from a disease-focused approach to a health and wellbeing approach, in order to implement the Whole Health System of Care. This is a VA-wide initiative to provide a comprehensive and systematic approach to improve healthcare delivery at all stages of Veteran care.

This entails moving from an episodic, "siloed" approach to an interdisciplinary, holistic approach, emphasizing self-care in the larger context of well-being.

All staff in this facility will be part of this process, shifting the focus from the question, "What's the matter with you?" to the question, "What matters to you, and how can we help you live your best life?" This strategy also involves integrating a full range of conventional approaches with Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) approaches in order to optimize lifelong health and well-being, as defined by the Veteran, rather than narrowly focusing on disease management.

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Supporting the Nurse Manager in daily operations of the Acute Psychiatry unit, ensuring safe, timely, and high-quality patient care. Overseeing staff orientation, training, competency development, and providing input on performance evaluations. Assisting with staffing functions including drafting schedules, monitoring workload, and coordinating leave for supervisory review.

Applying clinical judgment to guide and support nursing staff in planning, delivering, and evaluating evidence-based patient care. Promoting interdisciplinary collaboration to remove barriers, improve processes, and enhance patient outcomes across the continuum of care. Ensuring compliance with accreditation, regulatory standards, VA policies, and nursing practice guidelines.

Participating in hiring processes, including interviewing, providing recommendations, and supporting onboarding activities. Monitoring work assignments, documenting issues, and assisting with fact-finding to support managerial decisions. Leading or supporting unit-based performance improvement initiatives and integrating evidence-based practice into care delivery.

Enhancing patient and family engagement, promoting a therapeutic environment, and ensuring a positive patient experience. Serving as a role model and clinical resource, demonstrating leadership, ethical practice, and adherence to high-reliability principles. Supporting staff in addressing ethical issues, patient advocacy needs, and safety concerns within the psychiatric care environment.

Ensuring appropriate care for diverse age groups and populations, incorporating age-specific and culturally sensitive practices. Upholding privacy, security, and data protection requirements in all clinical and administrative activities.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards 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 Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 11:30 a.m.

- 8:00 p.m. Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements & Education

Education Accreditation: The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN), or Master of Science Degree in Nursing (MSN) must be recognized by the appropriate State-accrediting agency and accredited by either of the following accrediting agencies 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) ACEN or CCNE program or degree accreditation may also be found under the U.S.

Department of Education Note: Department of Education: 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/.

Foreign Education: 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. School Name: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

No longer on accreditation site: 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.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $92157 - $153635/yr.

What security clearance is required?

This position requires a Other security clearance.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-11-02.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Fed Internal Search' hiring path.