Registered Nurse Advisor -Clinical Documentation Integrity Program

Diversity Group; West Haven (CT); On-site; USD 110,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Federal benefits

Stable federal employment

Job summary

The Clinical Documentation Integrity Program Registered Nurse (RN) Advisor is a full-time position in the Business Office at the West Haven VA Connecticut Healthcare System, located in West Haven, CT. This role concentrates on analyzing clinical documentation to support quality initiatives, data-driven decisions, and collaboration with leadership across the medical center and off-site locations.

It includes staff training and involvement in process improvements to enhance patient care

Qualifications

• English language proficiency and national licensure requirements for nursing.
• Graduate in nursing from an ACEN/CCNE accredited program or equivalent.
• State licensure as a registered nurse required; temporary appointments possible during licensure pursuit.
• Additional qualifications per VA Handbook 5005 for nursing grades.
• Clinical documentation improvement experience or coursework preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide local level analysis of clinical documentation to support improvement initiatives.
• Lead data-driven quality improvement through data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Train staff on software programs and documentation procedures.
• Collaborate with management across the Medical Center and off-site locations.
• Develop data management systems for storage, query, and protection of information.

Skills

Clinical documentation analysis

Data analysis

Communication skills

Collaboration

Education

Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN)

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Tools

ICD-10

ICD-10-PCS

CPT coding

DRG knowledge

Job description

Summary

This Clinical Documentation Integrity Program Registered Nurse (RN) Advisor position is in the Business Office at the West Haven VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems - located in West Haven - CT. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• English Language Proficiency
• In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) - 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 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)
• OR Individuals attending a master's level bridge program in nursing who have completed coursework equivalent to a bachelor's level degree in Nursing may have opportunity to become registered as a nurse with a state licensing board prior to completion of the bridge program
• Upon achievement of a State license - the individual may be appointed on temporary basis and later converted to a permanent appointment upon successful completion and graduation from the bridge program
• (Reference VA Handbook 5005 - Appendix G6)
• OR In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing - possession of a current - full - active - and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement for graduation from an approved school of professional nursing to warrant an appointment as a Nurse who has completed an associated degree/entry level Nursing education program
• Credit for foreign nursing education higher that associate degree/entry level requires a formal degree equivalency validation from a recognized equivalency evaluation accepted by VA such as International Consultants of Delaware (ICD)
• 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
• Graduate Nurse Technician (GNT) Exception: Candidates who otherwise meet the basic education requirements - but do not possess the required licensure - may be appointed at the entry step of the grade and level applicable to the completed nursing education as a GNT on a 120-day temporary appointment while actively pursuing licensure (may be extended up to two years on a case-by-case-basis.) NOTE: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the standard (1/29/2024) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/certification
• Preferred Experience: Minimum 3-5 years of clinical experience with ICU - ED and medical-surgical background Case management/utlitization review ICD-10 - ICD-10 PCS - CPT coding/DRG/Reimbursement knowledge highly preferred Exceptional collaborative communication skills Preferred Education: MSN degree Grade Determinations: The following Scope - Education and Dimension criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates - and if appropriate - the level within a grade
• The Dimension requirements (Practice - Veteran/Patient Driven Care - Leadership - Professional Development and Evidence-Based Practice/Research) are detailed for each grade and level within the online assessment: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13076745
• Grade/Level Scope Education Nurse I - Level I Delivers fundamental - knowledge-based care to assigned clients while developing technical competencies
• An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing - with no additional professional nursing required
• Nurse I - Level II Demonstrates integration of biopsychosocial concepts - cognitive skills and technically competent practice in providing care to clients with basic or complex
• An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 1 year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I - Level 1 ;OR a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional professional nursing experience required
• Nurse I - Level III Demonstrates proficiency in practice based on conscious and deliberate planning
• Self-directed in goal setting for managing complex client situations
• An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 2 years of professional nursing experience in which one year is equivalent to Nurse I - Level 2
• OR a BSN and 1 year of professional nursing experience equivalent to the Nurse I - Level 2
• OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) and no additional professional nursing experience
• OR a Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and no additional professional nursing experience
• Nurse II Demonstrates leadership in delivering and improving holistic care through collaborative strategies with others
• A BSN with 2 years of professional nursing equivalent to Nurse I - Level 3
• OR an MSN with one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I - Level 3
• OR a Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I - Level 3
• OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with no professional nursing experience
• OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN with no additional professional nursing experience
• Nurse III Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership - experience and creative approaches to management of complex client care beyond the immediate practice setting
• MSN and 2 years of specialized nursing experience - one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III
• OR a Master's degree in *related field with BSN and two years of specialized nursing experience - one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III
• OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III
• OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III
• *Note: Foreign education programs/degrees are not creditable as related degrees
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: This position includes a level of physicality normally associated with duties performed by nurses such as direct patient care - and potentially long periods of walking - standing - sitting - moderate lifting - repeated bending - or kneeling
• Examples may include but are not limited to: - Significant amounts of time standing assisting assigned patients - Utilization of safe patient handling and mobility protocols

Duties

• The Clinical Documentation Integrity Program Registered Nurse (RN) Advisor is responsible for providing local level analysis of clinical documentation analysis to support improvement evaluation and quality endeavors
• The RN is assigned responsibility for their clinical documentation areas for the Medical Center and all off-site locations
• The RN will demonstrate professionalism by building - supporting - and creating alignments for clinical documentation management for best practices - analytic initiatives - and innovation through collaboration and stakeholder engagement
• The duties include but are not limited to: Collecting data and developing areas of opportunity that enable the service to make data driven decisions Participates in data analysis projects using qualitative and quantitative research methods Investigates discrepancies in a timely manner - and presents findings to management Follows established performance metrics and works with staff members to identify problem areas and potential solutions Participates in the development of logical business models and relational databases to programmatically prepare for data analysis Participates in the design of clinical documentation improvement areas - workflow processes - and layouts for data sets used for modeling - data mining - and research purposes Develops databases and/or data management systems that allow for the storage - query - protection - and utilization of data
• Trains staff on the use of software programs Demonstrates integration of biopsychosocial concepts - cognitive skills and technical competent practice in providing care to clients
• 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 - 08:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not eligible Telework: Ad-hoc - as determined by the agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is a 1272 AFGE Bargaining Unit position
• Selectee may be required to work at any VA Connecticut Healthcare System campus - as needed
• 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.