Summary
The Cardiology Advanced Practice Provider (APP) will serve as a core clinical provider supporting VA Connecticut's rapidly expanding Structural Heart and Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (LAAO/Watchman) programs. This role ensures high-quality, coordinated care across pre-procedural, peri-procedural, post-procedural, and longitudinal follow-up phases for complex, high-acuity Veterans.
Duties
The West Haven VAMC is recruiting for a Cardiology APP (Advanced Practice Provider) - Structural Heart Program to fill one position which will be filled with either an Advance Practice Nurse or Physician Assistant. Major Duties are as follows but not limited to: Provide direct patient care in Valve and LAAO clinics, conducting comprehensive evaluations, risk stratification, and ongoing management of high-risk cardiac patients. Perform detailed pre-procedural preparation including imaging/lab review, interdisciplinary coordination (CT Surgery, Anesthesia, Yale partners), medication optimization, and thorough patient/family education. Support day-of-procedure activities: readiness checks, care coordination, post-procedure assessments, discharge planning, and scheduling of follow-up imaging/visits. Manage post-procedural care such as ECHO scheduling, anticoagulation management, interpretation of follow-up studies, and identification/escalation of complications. Serve as a central coordination point for TAVR, Mitral/Tricuspid repair, PFO closure, and Watchman pathways, bridging multiple clinical teams across VA and Yale. Review and triage complex consults; collaborate with RN triage for routine referrals while independently evaluating high-risk consult cases. Provide extensive asynchronous case management and patient communication to support high-acuity Veterans with VA-issued direct-access phone contact. Maintain accurate and timely documentation in CPRS, including clinical encounters, consult management, care plans, imaging coordination, and quality metric tracking. Program & Clinic Expectations Valve Clinic: 1 day/week (expanding to 2 days/week). Watchman/LAAO Clinic: 0.5 day/week (expanding to 1 day/week). Participate in Structural Heart case conferences, multidisciplinary huddles, and coordination meetings with internal and external (Yale) providers. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 8am - 4:30pm Telework: AdHoc at the discretion of facility management Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Requirements
All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
Education
Education. Graduate of a training program which is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education of PA (ARC-PA) or one of its predecessor organizations. Additionally, candidates must meet one of the following: (1) Master's degree in any discipline; OR (2) Bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a PA. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
How you will be evaluated
NOTE: This multi-discipline recruitment will result in the hiring of one of the following disciplines: Advance Practice Nurse or Physician Assistant. Advanced Practice Nurse can be applied for at: CBTD-13089671-27-DL IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy. 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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.