Registered Nurse - PACU

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 91,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Health insurance

Federal pension

Federal 401K

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Registered Nurse for the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at the West Roxbury campus, with possible travel to Jamaica Plain.

This full-time role (40 hours/week) supports a range of surgical services and pain management, working under the Nurse Manager and using haemodynamic monitoring and IV lines. You will assess and treat patients, titrate vasoactive meds, and ensure stability before discharge, aligning with VA standards and the PACU care

Qualifications

• The ADN, BSN or MSN must be fully accredited by ACEN or CCNE.
• Education recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; certificate of foreign equivalency if applicable.
• Verification of accreditation may be obtained from ACEN or CCNE websites.

Responsibilities

• Assess, diagnose, treat and evaluate physical or psychosocial problems related to anaesthesia.
• Care for a wide range of surgeries and procedures in PACU with haemodynamic monitoring.
• Assist Acute Pain Service with epidurals, nerve blocks and pain management.
• Titrate vasoactive meds and maintain haemodynamic and respiratory stability; respond to complications.

Skills

Nursing

Patient assessment

Critical care

Pain management

Ventilators

Education

ADN

BSN

MSN

Tools

Haemodynamic monitors

Intravenous lines

Job description

• Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

This Registered Nurse - PACU position is within the Nursing service at the West Roxbury location. Occasional travel to Jamaica Plain campus may be required. This is a full‑time position at 40 hours per week.

Key Responsibilities

Five bed post anaesthesia care unit (PACU). Incumbent works under the direction of the Nurse Manager. The PACU nurse is responsible for the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of perceived, actual or potential physical or psychosocial problems that may result from the intrusion of anaesthetic agents and techniques.

The PACU nurse takes care of a wide variety of patients including but not limited to the following types of surgeries and special procedures including general, orthopaedic, ENT, vascular, urology, Gyn, podiatry, plastics, cardiac, thoracic and neurosurgery. Nurses in the PACU work with haemodynamic monitors, and intravenous lines. PACU staff also assist the Acute Pain Service with epidurals, nerve blocks & other procedures related to treatment of pain.

Works with invasive lines and ventilators; are responsible for titrating vasoactive meds and ensuring that patients are haemodynamically stable and free from respiratory complications, meeting VA-PAS phase 1 prior to discharge. They also ensure that surgical and/or procedural complications are managed and addressed.

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 programmes can be carried into retirement) Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted licence from any US State or territory Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, no weekends/holidays Compressed/Flexible: Authorised; either four 10's (12p-10:30p) or six 12s and one 8hr shift (10a-10:30p and 2p-10:30p) Telework: Not authorised Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorised Notifications: Current or former 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.

Veterans preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees.

Requirements & 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.

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 $90747 – $192945/yr.

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.