Nursing Assistant (Long Term Care)

The Nursing Assistant functions as a member of the nursing care team and assists licensed nursing staff in care of patients / residents receiving preventive, acute, sub-acute, chronic, maintenance and hospice care. Nursing Assistant duties are performed in a variety of health care settings such as outpatient, inpatient, home, community living care, acute, sub-acute. The Nursing Assistant will care for patients / residents with acute to chronic conditions.

Nursing Assistant - vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Nursing-Assistant-Career-Flyer.pdf

Duties:

• Maintaining a positive therapeutic relationship by displaying respect for human dignity with patient, families and/or significant other utilizing communication skills.
• Utilize observation skills for data collection, reporting and recording.
• Participate in patient centered conferences/shift reports and contributing information for the development and review of the nursing care plan.
• Competent with performing aspects of nursing care to meet patient/resident needs for:
  • Personal Hygiene
  • Physical comfort
  • Activity, exercise, rest
  • Nutrition
  • Elimination
  • Prevention of skin breakdown
  • Rehabilitative aspects of care
• Utilizes principles of proper body mechanics while caring for patients
• Monitors veterans who may be at risk for harming themselves and/or others according to established policies and procedures and appropriately refers the issues to the charge nurse or other health care professional
• Documents care given, observations and responses on appropriate tools or forms
• Performs nursing procedures within scope of practice and according to policies and standard procedures to care for veteran.
• Utilizes equipment to promote veteran self care such.
• Respond appropriately to subtle patient changes
• Organizes and obtains routine supplies, equipment
• Safeguarding patients right to privacy and protecting of patients information
• Other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Evenings with some weekends and holidays
Compressed/Flexible: 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)
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May Be Authorized
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 10712-F, 10714-F, 10713-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience/Education/Training: You may qualify based on your experience, training, and/or education as described below:
  • General Experience: You must possess six (6) months of general experience. Experience must demonstrate the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to perform the work of a Nursing Assistant. OR;
  • Education: One (1) year of education above high school with courses related to the Nursing Assistant occupation OR;
  • Training: Completion of an intensive, specialized, occupation-related training course of study or program of less than one (1) year as a Nursing Assistant.
    • 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 Level: Nursing Assistant:
  • Experience or Education. None beyond basic requirements (see above).
• GS-04 Level: Nursing Assistant:
  • Experience: One (1) year of specialized experience as a Nursing Assistant 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 two (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: In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate all of 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.
• GS-05 Level: Nursing Assistant:
  • Experience: One (1) 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. 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 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following 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...

Qualifying specialized experience includes nonprofessional nursing care work in a hospital, outpatient clinic, nursing home, or other medical, nursing, or patient care facility, or in such work as that of a home health aid performing duties such as:

• Providing personal nursing care such as providing pre- and post-operative care.
• Support duties for diagnostic and technical treatment procedures, such as setting up and operating special medical equipment and apparatus.
• Caring for mentally ill patients, including observing, recording, and reporting changes in their behavior, and providing reassurance and encouragement.
• Assisting surgeons and registered nurses in operating room activities, including passing instruments, maintaining sterile conditions, and draping and positioning patients.

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: 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.

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.
• 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.