Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Pract-Clinical/Psychiatric)

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for Advanced Practice Nurse (Clinical/Psychiatric): Education A graduate or higher level degree, bachelor's degree, associate degree, or diploma from an accredited professional nursing educational program is required.

This education must have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education(external link), Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs(external link), Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education(external link), or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education(external link) at the time the degree was obtained.

Degree from Foreign Nursing School: Official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (external link) is required for individuals who graduated from foreign nursing schools. Advanced Practice Nurse Positions: For Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) positions, applicants must possess a graduate or higher level degree in nursing from an accredited educational program in the area of expertise or specialty indicated by the position.

Areas of specialties for positions include, but are not limited to, Acute Care, Anesthesia, Community Health, Family, Geriatric, Home Health, Midwifery, Neonatal, Oncology, Pediatric, Psychiatric, Allergy and Immunology, Women's Health, Cardiovascular, Dermatology, Occupational Health, Orthopedic, Respiratory, or other specialties identified for the position. Licensure For all grade levels and positions, applicants must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination(external link).

In addition, they must possess a current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

Additional License Requirements for Advanced Practice Nurse Positions: Applicants for Advanced Practice Nurse positions must be licensed or registered by a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States in the clinical specialty required by the position.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Professional Nursing Experience: One or more full years of professional nursing experience which includes (1) diagnosing psychiatric illnesses for beneficiaries needing psychiatric/behavioral health services; and (2) performing psychiatric evaluations to assess psychiatric/behavioral patients; and (3) prescribing medications to patients with psychiatric/behavioral health needs.

This definition of professional nursing experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Perform full range of advanced practice nursing care duties for patients requiring psychiatric/behavioral health services.,Evaluate new patient and existing patients on behavioral health/psychiatric needs.,Implement mutually agreed upon solutions regarding behavioral health.,Educate patients about risks and benefits of prescribed medications.,Observe patients closely, evaluate and record any significant behavior and reaction patterns.,Comply with all appropriate Joint Commission standards and National Patient Safety goals, and other quality improvement projects.,Maintain appropriate records using a computerized record keeping and coding system.