Clarification from the agency

Open to all US Citizens and current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The Togus VAMC is an interdisciplinary facility providing care for a large Veteran inpatient and outpatient population with multiple medical and/or mental health co-morbidities. The population of male and female Veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over.

The Float Pool Nursing Assistant is accountable to the RN, Nurse Manager/Supervisor/designee, the Deputy Nurse Executive and ultimately to the Associate Director for Patient and Nursing Services. This Float Pool Nursing Assistant has the ability to communicate orally with patients/residents, families, interdisciplinary team and other personnel. Activities will include bathing, personal hygiene, assisting with feeding, taking-recording-reporting vital signs accurately, assisting with ambulation, providing safe environments and other duties or care as directed by Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses or providers. Incumbent will learn how to observe patients/residents who may be confused or have other cognitive issues providing safe environment and reports to nurse when condition changes. The Float Pool Nursing Assistant will initiate emergency action in life threatening situations such as cardiac and /or respiratory arrest, massive bleeding, shock, or assaultive behavior and alerts licensed personal immediately.

Major Duties Include but are not limited to:

• The float pool nursing assistant must be able to perform with skill and effectiveness any and all duties associated with nursing assistant work on multiple types of units.
• Observes and reports physical, emotional, behavioral and psychosocial aspects of the patient's condition.
• Provides complete personal hygiene care needs, turns and positions patients to maintain proper body alignment, lifts, ambulates, and transfers patients.
• Promotes the physical independence of the patient by encouraging and teaching individual patients and groups of patients in self-care activities, such as progressive steps in personal hygiene, bathing, and oral care, also assists in teaching and encouraging other care activities such as eating, dressing, undressing, and other training as needed.
• Participates in the admission of patients by providing secure, reassuring milieu, orienting patients to the unit,checking them for contraband when indicated and assisting the registered nurse in implementing the nursing admission procedure.
• Assists with treatments, prepares equipment, performs selected procedures after appropriate instruction, observes infection control practices, and implements bowel and bladder programs.
• Leads by example in defining a customer service culture to ensure that all customers are treated with respect and civility.
• Serves as members of the treatment team in motivating patients and directing their behavior toward achieving treatment plan goals.
• Ensures that whenever possible works to cultivate partnerships with our customers in developing solutions to meet their needs.
• Performs additional duties as required.

Work Schedule: Intermittent, Various. May be scheduled to days, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, and off-tours to support facility needs. TBD during the interview process.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: F02386 at GS-03, F02387 at GS-04, and F02388 at GS-05.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Notifications:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.
• Current and former Federal employees may 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) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.
• This position is covered by a special rate.
• Due to a critical staffing shortage, 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement.

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.

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.

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.
• 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 Nursing Assistant; OR,
  • One year of education above high school with courses related to the Nursing Assistant occupation; OR,
  • Completion of an intensive, specialized, occupation-related training course of study or program of less than one year as a Nursing Assistant may also meet in full the experience requirements for GS-03.
• 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

GS-03 Nursing Assistant (Entry Level):
Experience and Education: None beyond the basic requirements.


GS-04 Nursing Assistant:
Experience: One 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 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:

• 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 Nursing Assistant (Full Performance Level):
Experience: One year of progressively responsible assignments and experience equivalent to the GS-04 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 (KSAs): In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the professional KSA below:

• 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.

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. The NA must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment.

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.