Assistant Chief Registered Nurse

Summary

Kansas City VA Medical Center is seeking a highly qualified Assistant Chief Nurse for Inpatient and Emergency Department Services. The ideal candidate brings three or more years of proven nurse management experience, demonstrating leadership in complex clinical environments with continuous responsibility for care delivery, staff oversight, and operational outcomes. This role requires a detail-oriented leader with strong proficiency in data management, monitoring, and analysis of quality metrics.

Duties

The Kansas City VA Medical Center is seeking a highly qualified Assistant Chief Registered Nurse for Inpatient and Emergency Department Services. The ideal candidate brings three or more years of proven nurse management experience, demonstrating leadership in complex clinical environments with continuous responsibility for care delivery, staff oversight, and operational outcomes. This role requires a detail-oriented leader with strong proficiency in data management, monitoring, and analysis of quality metrics, including NHPPD, regulatory compliance indicators, and performance-improvement outcomes. The Assistant Chief Nurse will guide interdisciplinary collaboration, support evidence-based practice, and contribute to strategic planning, resource allocation, and organizational assessments. Candidates must exhibit excellent communication skills, a commitment to patient-centered care, and the ability to influence care outcomes across diverse inpatient and emergency service lines. The major duties and responsibilities of a Assistant Chief Registered Nurse include but are not limited to: Ensures administrative support and guidance while providing oversight for the delivery of nursing care and management of nursing personnel and clinical resources. Assumes responsibility for the coordination of care focused on patient education, self-management, and customer satisfaction throughout the continuum of care. Influences care outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team. Provides coordination and accountability for all regulatory and environmental surveys and adheres to mandatory response timelines. Core elements of performance include knowledge and active participation in the unit/program level quality improvement process and initiatives as well as customer service programs. Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex client care. Ensures administrative support and guidance while providing oversight for the delivery of nursing care and management of nursing personnel and clinical resources. Assumes responsibility for the coordination of care focused on patient education, self-management, and customer satisfaction throughout the continuum of care. Follows procedures per established policies and guidelines. Influences care outcomes by collaborating with members of the interdisciplinary team. Assists Nurse Managers (NM) to carry out the functions and activities expected of them. Contributes ideas and recommendations for the establishment of standards of care, policies, and objectives for the enhancement of nursing organization-wide, while assisting in policy-making activities as related to customer service and the overall functioning of administrative and clinical programs. Collaborates with other health care staff to establish and maintain programs that cross service and/or discipline lines and influence organizational mission and health care. Demonstrates leadership at the service and/or hospital level, including functioning as a nursing leader with the ability to delegate appropriately. Performs administrative functions to assistant the Associate Chief Nurse (ACN) which include but are not limited to educational programs, medicine specialty, procedural areas, etc. They assist with aggregate data and participate in the budget process to plan for current, emerging, and future resource requirements for operational status. Provides leadership in determining the allocation of resources based on patient care systems that produce high-quality outcomes. Assists with the development of care delivery models and environmental design, ensuring evidence-based, accessible, affordable, and equitable patient care. Ensures compliance with accreditation and regulatory standards, directives, policies, and standards operating procedures (SOP). Aligns nursing/clinical objectives with organizational strategic outcomes, participating in strategy planning and execution. Preferred Experience: 3 or more years of nurse management experience, data and metrics management, regulatory and quality improvement skills. 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: Monday thru Friday; 7:30am to 4:00pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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 gr