Summary
The primary purpose of the position is :The Nurse Assistants at this grade level function as a member of the nursing care team and assist licensed nursing staff in the care of patients/residents receiving preventive, acute, sub-acute chronic, maintenance, and hospice care.
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Duties
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This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until April 23, 2027 .The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be May 04, 2026, with subsequent cut-off dates every two weeks until 04/23/2027. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. Applicants who are referred will be considered for 90 days, after 90 days applicants will have to reapply.
The NA may perform theses duties in a variety of health care settings such as outpatient, inpatient, home or community living care, acute, sub-acute. The NA will care for patients/residents with acute to chronic conditions.
- Participates in treatment team meetings for resident care planning.- Enters information about the residents' condition in the chart, utilizing appropriate formats.
- Participates in maintaining a clean, safe environment for the patient/resident
- Removes defective equipment, reports hazards, observes safety regulations, contributes to infection control, and utilizes proper aseptic technique in performance of duties.
- Serves as the unit safe patient handling liaison
- Serves as preceptor and mentor to other NA's,
- Orients members of the health care team to the units as appropriate
- Functions as a member of the unit base counsel
- Manages distributed patient behavior and by appropriately intervenes and request assistant from other health care members.
- Appropriately initiates basic life support, takes actions appropriate action.
- Utilizes glucose monitoring machine to receive glucose readings for veterans refers deviation to appropriate health care staff
- Provides direct care for complex veterans
- Makes observations of subtle changes in resident's condition, i.e. behavior shifts, mood, skin coloring, appetite, etc. and acts accordingly within the NA's assigned role.
- Documents care given, observations and responses on appropriate tools or forms.
- Responds appropriately to subtle patient changes by contacting the appropriate nursing personal
- Administers complete tracheostomy care, including suctioning.
- Monitor and documents patient intake and output reports deviations timely and accurately
- Performs nursing procedures within scope of practice and according to policies and standard procedures to care for the veteran for such procedures but not limited to: enemas, catheterization, colostomy care, skin care simple dressing, application of braces and prosthetic devices.
- Works on small group activities with veterans/residents according to the patients/resident treatment plan.
- Recognizes the residents' autonomy and promotes independence by means of respect, limit setting and individualized treatment.
- Actively participates in Treatment Planning Meetings.
- Utilizes equipment to promote the veteran self-care, such as lift equipment, Hydro sound Tubs, and Veteran/Resident Wandering System.
- Verbally provides patient information to the treatment team for inclusion in the veteran/residents' plan of care.
Work Schedule: 12 Hour Shifts, with every other weekend and holidays. May be required to work other shifts, be on call, work weekends and/or holidays as patient care and needs of the service require. Should operational needs dictate, candidates must be willing to work within other units to assist and support continuation of the provision of care/services
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
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)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 52804-F; 52795-F; 52871-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Requirements
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Conditions of employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
- 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.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
Basic Requirements:
Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)
Experience or Education or Training.(1) Six months of general experience. Experience must demonstrate the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to perform the work of a NA;
OR,
(2) One year of education above high school with courses related to the NA occupation;
OR,
(3) Completion of an intensive, specialized, occupation-related [training] course of study [or program] of less than one year as a NA may also meet in full the experience requirements for GS-3.
English Language Proficiency. Nursing Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
Grandfathering Provisions. All NAs employed in VHA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the series and grade held that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:(1) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.(2) If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status of the grandfathering provision and must meet the full VA qualification standard basic requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
Grade Determinations
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
GS-03 NA (Entry Level)Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements.
Assignments. Individuals assigned as GS-3 NAs are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised.
GS-04 NA
Experience. One year of specialized experience as a NA or experience in another medical field (licensed practical nurse, health technician, hospital corpsman, etc.), performing technical and nursing skills requiring knowledge of the human physical and emotional states, therapeutic communication, and technical skills required for basic and intermediate treatments;
OR,
Education. Successful completion of 2 years above high school in an accredited institution with courses related to nursing care, health care or in a field of study appropriate to the specialization of the position, such as education in a program for psychology, psychiatric, or operating room technicians;
AND
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
- Ability to provide a range of patient/resident care and contribute to the completion of the nurse care plan and recovery of patients/residents.
- Ability to observe patients/residents' or resident's physical or emotional status and refer deviations and/or problems to supervisor in a timely manner.
- Ability to properly use equipment, materials and supplies in simple diagnostic and treatment procedures such as bladder scan, continuous passive motion device, blood glucose monitoring machine, specimen collection, etc.
- Ability to communicate effectively with patients/residents, their families and other health professionals.
Assignment. Individuals assigned as GS-4 NAs are considered to be at the intermediate or developmental level and are closely supervised. NAs at this grade level function as a member of the nursing care team and assist higher graded NAs, licensed nursing staff, and other members of the care team in the care of patients/residents receiving outpatient care, home or community living care or other patients/residents who are in acute, sub-acute, or chronic states of illness. The significant factor is that they provide care under close supervision and refer issues/questions to supervisors, higher graded NAs or other health care professionals. In this role, the NA functions as a member of the nursing care team and assists higher graded NAs, licensed nursing staff, and other members of the care team in the care of patients/residents receiving outpatient care, home or community living care, or other patients who are in acute, sub-acute, or chronic states of illness. The NA in this role provides care under close supervision and refers issues/questions to supervisors, higher graded NAs, or other health care professionals.
GS-05 NA (Full Performance Level)
Experience. One year of progressively responsible assignments and experience equivalent to the GS-4 level which demonstrates knowledge, skills, and abilities that are directly related to the specific assignment. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the professional KSAs in subparagraph (c) below;
OR,
Education. Successful completion of a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree that included 24 semester hours of courses related to health care or possession of a bachelor's degree;
AND
Demonstrated KSAs.
- Ability to assist in the full range of nursing care to patients/residents with physical and/or behavioral problems in a hospital, long-term care or outpatient setting under the direction of a Registered Nurse and/or Licensed Vocational Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse.
- Ability to communicate orally with patients/residents, families, interdisciplinary team and other personnel. This includes serving as a preceptor to new NAs by assisting with the coordination of their orientation and overseeing/assessing their practical experience while in a clinical setting.
- Ability to recognize and react to emergent patient/resident care situations and intervene while waiting for assistance. For example, recognizing need for basic life support, controlling bleeding and assisting with behavior crisis, etc.
Assignment. This is the full performance level for NAs. NAs at this grade level function as a member of the nursing care team and assist licensed nu
