Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This vacancy announcement is open to all US Citizens.

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• Provides patients' personal hygiene by assisting with bathing/showering, shampooing, shaving, dressing and toileting. Toileting includes the use of bedpans, urinals, emptying ostomies and Foley catheters. Documenting intake and/or out put when required.
• Assists with glasses, hearing aids, oral care, nail trimming, unless otherwise medically contraindicated, and other personal grooming as needed.
• Provides whole health modalities as appropriate.
• Provides ADLs by assisting with serving meals and/or feeding patients diets as ordered. Provides fresh water/drinks and nourishment when appropriate.
• Ambulates and transfers patients including the use of assistive devices; turning and positioning patients that are in the bed or chair to help prevent skin breakdown; skin inspections of all areas prone to skin breakdown.
• Uses fall prevention techniques including bed/chair alarms where permitted, low beds, floor mats, and other fall prevention technique as outlined by the RN, LPN, or provider.
• Answers patient call lights and requests; completes routine rounds on patients to assist with needs such as comfort, reporting pain to the RN, LPN, or provider, toileting, and assisting with getting out of bed, or turning/positioning, and preventing falls.
• Safely transports patients in gurneys, wheelchairs or transport chairs and reports all observations of the patient's condition to RN, LPN, or provider. Uses safe patient handling and mobility equipment, to prevent patient or staff injury.
• Attends all safety huddles and debriefings in designated services and provides meaningful input and concerns regarding patient safety.
• Documents all nursing care in electronic health record (EHR), completes ADL templates in the Community Living Center, and on all units, completes forms, reports, and records.
• Provides a range of patient care and contributes to the completion of the care plan and recovery of patients.
• Communicates effectively with patients, families, and other health professionals. This includes leading as a group facilitator
• Weighs patients, obtains heights, completes vital signs as ordered, and reports findings outside of normal limits to RN, LPN, or provider and, accurately documents all findings in EHR.
• Properly uses equipment, materials and supplies in simple diagnostic and treatment procedures such as bladder scans, continuous passive motion devices, blood glucose monitoring machines, POC testing, and specimen collections.
• Maintains work operations by following policies and procedures including inventory and care of equipment, cleans equipment, and monitors equipment for safety. Unsafe equipment will be immediately reported to supervisor.
• Keeps patient information confidential; patient information is always secured on the computer or in type/writing.
• Serves and protects the medical center by adhering to professional standards, maintaining knowledge on all hospital policies and procedures, federal, state, and local requirements, and accrediting bodies standards.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in NA educational opportunities; Examples may include reading professional publications, participating in professional organizations, and maintaining certifications where required.
• Maintains current BLS requirements and completes all mandatory educational offerings by required due dates.
• Providing outstanding customer satisfaction using the principles of relationship-based care and "I Care value".
• Observes patient or physical and emotional status and refers deviations and problems to the supervisor in a timely manner.
• All other assigned tasks within scope of practice

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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

• 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.

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:

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.
Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.
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-3 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-4 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: 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. 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. ii 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-5 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 nursing staff 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 distinguishing factor is that patient/resident assignments typically involve more complex nursing needs which can vary within a range of predictable to unpredictable requirements. NAs at this level also assume more of a peer education/mentorship role

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-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-5.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements

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.