Nursing Assistant- Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program

The Nursing Assistant functions as a member of the nursing care team and assists licensed nursing staff in the care of patients/residents receiving preventive, acute, sub-acute chronic, maintenance, and hospice care.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Patient Education, Health Promotion, and Counseling: Provides education to veterans regarding their health conditions, medications, and self-care strategies to promote independence, health literacy, and informed decision-making. Documents all education and counseling provided.
• Medication Assistance: Assists with medication reminders and processes related to basic medication administration within scope of practice.
• Emotional Support and Advocacy: Offers emotional support, advocates for veterans' needs, and facilitates social engagement, participation in activities, and group interactions to enhance overall well-being.
• Veteran Monitoring and Environmental Observation: Performs scheduled rounding, veteran location monitoring, searches, and environmental observations to identify contraband, subtle changes in condition, behavior, mood, or condition and responds appropriately by notifying the nursing staff or rehab technician supervisor. Ensures a safe environment by reporting hazards, removing defective equipment, and maintaining infection control standards.
• Utilizes glucose monitoring machines to obtain glucose readings, reports deviations to appropriate
  healthcare staff.
• Makes observations of subtle changes in residents' conditions and responds within scope.
• Provides direct care for complex veterans, including performing nursing procedures such as enemas, catheterization, colostomy care, skin care, simple dressings, application of braces and prosthetic devices, and monitoring intake/output.
• Monitors and documents patient intake and output accurately and timely.
• Performs vital signs assessment including blood pressure, pulse, respirations, temperature, and pulse oximetry, and documents findings appropriately.
• Conducts EKG measurements, if trained and within scope, and documents results accurately.
• Recognizes residents' autonomy, promotes independence through respect and individualized treatment.
• Participates in mass vaccination efforts according to competency, scope, and policy.
• Actively participates in Treatment Planning Meetings as needed.
• Provides verbal and written information to the treatment team for inclusion in the veteran's plan of care.
• Enters resident condition updates into the electronic medical record using appropriate formats.
• Works on small group activities aligned with the residents' treatment plans.
• Participates in all required huddles and team meetings.
• Utilizes equipment such as lift devices to promote self-care and safety.
• Maintains a clean, safe environment, adhering to safety regulations and infection control protocols.
• Serves as a unit's safe patient handling liaison.
• Removes defective equipment and reports hazards promptly.
• Manages patient behavior appropriately, intervening as needed and requesting assistance from
  other healthcare team members.
• Communicates effectively with the treatment team, family, and caregivers when necessary.
• Engages in ongoing training with timely completion of all required competencies, adheres to
  evolving policies and procedures, and upholds ethical standards to ensure safe, competent care.

Work Schedule: First week- Sun-Tues: 5:30 pm-6:00 am, Wed: 5:30 pm-2:00am. Second Week- Sun-Tues: 5:30pm-6:00 am.
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience or Education or Training:
  • Six months of general experience. Experience must demonstrate the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to perform the work of a NA; OR,
  • One year of education above high school with courses related to the NA occupation; OR,
  • 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: NAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

GS-03 Nursing Assistant-

• Experience and Education: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-04 Nursing Assistant-

• 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:
  • i Ability to provide a range of patient/resident care and contribute to the completion of the nurse care plan and recovery of patients/residents.
  • ii Ability to observe patients/residents' or resident's physical or emotional status and refer deviations and/or problems to supervisor in a timely manner.
  • iii 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.
  • iv Ability to communicate effectively with patients/residents, their families and other health professionals.

GS-5 Nursing Assistant-

• 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.
  • i 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.
  • ii 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.
  • iii 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05.

Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/ invasive procedures. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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/.

• 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.
• 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).
• 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.