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This position serves as a Home Health Aid/Nursing Assistant (HHA/NA) in a home setting and is organizationally responsible to the Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program Director. The HHA/NA provides direct patient care to Veterans in the home setting who require assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADL)s and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)s. The HHA/NA will function as a member of the nursing care team under the direction of a Registered Nurse (RN). The HHA/NA is accountable for adhering to the standards of care, standards of practice and maintaining competencies with role and responsibility, while adhering to VA Maine Healthcare System policies and procedures.

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Performs a variety of nursing care activities which include bathing, feeding, oral care and related personal hygiene duties.
• Assists with range of motion (ROM), ambulation, position and turn Veterans.
• Utilizes principles of body mechanics in Veteran lifting, equipment handling, and Veteran care related to activities.
• Recognize and properly use equipment, materials, and supplies to carry out procedures and other assignments under the direction of the RN delegation.
• Applies slings and braces as needed.
• Incumbent will provide simple/light meal preparation/assistance and reports any nutritional concerns to the RN.
• Incumbent may be asked to provide simple/light housekeeping tasks to include dust, vacuum, sweep, straighten up, wash dishes, clean the bathroom and kitchen, do laundry, dispose of trash, and change linens.
• Assists with bladder and bowel elimination. Observes, reports, and records Veteran bowel and bladder function. May apply condom catheters.
• May apply non-prescription topical creams (not pharmacy dispensed).
• Performs diagnostic support duties, such as collection of specimens: stool, urine, sputum.
• Serve as a responsible member of the nursing team requiring interaction with Veterans, family members, professional personnel, supportive personnel and members of other services; responding to concerns of Veterans and family in a manner that is effective and improves customer satisfaction.
• Observes and reports current observations such as Veterans' physical condition, emotional response, observes skin condition, variations in vital signs, urine, stool or sputum; personal habits of Veteran, and listens for clues to Veteran's reaction to illness and treatment, and reports observation to RN.
• Identify and report health and safety hazards in the work area and practice safe work habits.
• Follows infection prevention standards while performing duties in the home.
• Incumbent is required to complete and maintain VA approved Basic Life Support (BLS); initiates and performs CPR.
• Responsible for charting on assigned templates in CPRS for assigned Veterans on a daily basis.
• Completes mandatory reviews and required in-service education in a timely manner.
• Maintain skills as identified by the unit specific competencies.
• Participates in Home Based Primary Care interdisciplinary team meetings

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:30PM
Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Not Authorized
Telework/Virtual/Remote Work: Not Authorized
Position Description/PD#:PD402-F06317, PD402-F06318, PD402-F06319, and PD000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS):Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

NOTIFICATIONS:

• Due to a critical staffing shortage, 38 U.S.C. 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement.
• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by a special rate
• Travel and relocation expenses are not authorized.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) will be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Driver's License: Unrestricted state Driver's License.
• Driving Record: Candidate must have a clean driving record for the past five years.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

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:

• 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 NA 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: 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).

• Grandfathering Provisions. All Nursing Assistants 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 reentry 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-3 (Entry Level)
(a) Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements.
(b) Assignments. Individuals assigned as GS-3 NAs are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised.

GS-4 (Developmental)
(a) 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,
(b) 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
(c) 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 and 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 (Full Performance Level)
(a) 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,
(b) 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
(c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).
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 Vocational 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 NAs by assisting with the 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.

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005, APPENDIX G46, NURSING ASSISTANT QUALIFICATION STANDARD GS-621, dated 3/12/2015

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: The position requires long periods of standing, walking, stooping and/or bending, in additional the occasional lifting and carrying of moderately heavy objects. Rigid deadlines and need for high degree of accuracy periodically becomes stressful. See VA Directive Handbook 5019.

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, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.