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Nursing Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise - "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/22/2018 to 09/12/2018
Salary
$36,141 to - $46,985 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
Mather AFB, CA
2 vacancies
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
5
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Announcement number
CBEC-10291384-GC-18
Control number
508689600

This job is open to

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The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Federal employees - Excepted service

Current federal employees whose agencies have their own hiring rules, pay scales and evaluation criteria.

Duties

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BHICU
This position is located at the Behavioral Health Inpatient Care Unit's (BHICU) unit which treatment philosophies stem from the Recovery Based Model of Care. The incumbent serves as a Psychiatric Nursing Assistant providing direct and indirect care to psychiatric inpatients on an acute care ward. These patients have a wide range of psychiatric illnesses, often accompanied by medical complications. Duties of this position consist of the following:
Assists with admitting and discharging patients, maintains close contact with patients, and monitors vital signs every shift or more often if ordered by the MD.
Observes patient behaviors, records their conditions and assists in leading patients in therapeutic and recreational activities.
Assist in restraining the patient or placing the patient in locked seclusion.
Assists patients with activities of daily living including but not limited to; personal hygiene, bathing, shaving, grooming, dressing, laundry and room care.
Assist with patient contraband checks upon admission as well as completing a thorough inventory of all the patient's personal belongings.
Co-leads recreational groups and engages patients in social and structured activities.
Reports to the Charge Nurse and alerts the Charge Nurse of any unsafe or problematic issues on the unit in a timely manner.
Expected to be a first responder when there is a Code Green (assaultive patient) on the unit and intervenes hands-on if necessary to contain the patient.
Monitor patients on close observations for suicide risk at arm's length.

Preferred experience as follow:
2-3 years of preferred experience working on a locked inpatient psychiatric ward within the last 5 years.
2-3 years of preferred experience working with 4-5 point restraints and locked seclusion.
2-3 years of preferred experience verbally de-escalating and diffusing hostile and aggressive patients. Trained in Prevention and Management Disruptive Behavior (PMDB) or similar training.
2-3 years of preferred experience containing assaultive patients and responding to Code Greens.
2-3 years of preferred experience monitoring patients on a 1:1 level of observation for high suicide risk behaviors.

Work Schedule: Must be flexible to work all shifts, including rotating weekends and/or holidays
Must be flexible to work all shifts including days, evenings and night shift. Incumbent will be expected to work every other weekend and some holidays. Shift tours are eight hours and there are three different tours.

  • 1st Shift: 7:30am - 4:00pm
  • 2nd Shift: 3:30pm - 12:00 midnight
  • 3rd Shift: 11:30pm - 8:00am

On-Call: No
Rotating Shifts: Yes
Required to work holidays or weekends: Yes
Fair Labor Standards Acts (FLSA): Non-Exempt
Bargaining Unit Position: Yes

Functional Statement Title: Nursing Assistant GS 621-05

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Subject to a background/security investigation.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • Must pass pre-employment examination.

Qualifications

Preferred Experience: Certification preferred, but is not required.

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.
  • Education or Training. One year above high school with courses related to the Nursing Assistant occupation. Completion of an intensive, specialized, occupation-related course of study of less than one year as a nursing assistant 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.
Grade Determinations:

GS-3: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-4: One year of specialized experience as a nursing assistant or experience in another medical field (LPN, 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:

1. Ability to provide a range of patient/resident care and contribute to the completion of the nurse care plan and recovery of patients/residents.

2. Ability to observe patients/residents or resident's physical or emotional status of refer deviations and/or problems to supervisor in a timely manner.

3. 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.

4. Ability to communicate effectively with patients/residents, their families and other health professionals.

GS-5: 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 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

1. 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 Vocation Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse.

2. Ability to communicate orally with patients/residents, families, interdisciplinary team and other personnel. This includes serving as a preceptor to new nursing assistants by assisting with coordination of their orientation and overseeing/assessing their practical experience while in a clinical setting.

3. 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.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-05.
References: Nursing Assistant Qualification Standard GS-621 Veterans Health Administration, VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G46.

Education

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.

Additional information

Physical Requirements: 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.

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

United States Citizenship Required; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

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.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Your application, résumé and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-5. The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will recommend the grade and salary for new appointments. For internal selectees being promoted, the board will determine grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy

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