• Incumbent serves as an Operating Room Nurse providing perioperative nursing care in a multi-service operating room providing a full range of surgical nursing services supporting complex and extensive surgical procedures.
• Intra-operatively manages nursing care of patients of all ages undergoing major surgical procedures of various types.
• Performs duties in support of all phases of perioperative care (e.g., preoperative care, intraoperative, and Post Anesthesia Care Unit - PACU) and sterile processing.
• Performs circulating roles of a perioperative nurse.
• Ensures sterile technique and anticipates the surgical team’s needs.
• Collaborates with surgeons in one or more surgical services to assess, coordinate, plan, and implement the newest approaches and practices to deliver efficient, cost-effective surgical care for the beneficiary population.
• Responsible for aseptic technique during the preparation for and duration of the operative procedure, accuracy of sponge, instrument and needle counts and adequacy of supplies.
• Opens all sterile packs and supplies, according to aseptic technique.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position is required to be screened for and obtain necessary immunizations/vaccinations (hepatitis, influenza, etc.), unless exempted by a licensed physician.
• This position is required to work uncommon tours of duty hours such as, on-call, working either fixed or rotating shifts, evenings, weekends and/or holidays.
• This position is designated “Mission Essential”.
• This position is subject to TDY or business travel requirements to various locations. This may require travel via privately owned vehicles, commercial transport platforms, and/or military aircraft, ships, and vehicles.
• This position requires a pre-employment physical annually and thereafter.
• This position is subject to a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
• This position has specific initial background investigation and periodic re-verification requirements since its duties require interaction with children and youth under the age of eighteen (18) years of age on a recurring basis.
• This position requires that you obtain and maintain a Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from, or in accordance with, the American Heart Association and American Red Cross. Advanced certification (e.g., ALS) does not supersede BLS.
• This position requires that you obtain and maintain an Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification.
• Immunization screening is required. Hepatitis B immunization is required for all positions with direct patient contact. Applicants may be required to show proof of other immunizations depending on the type of position.
• This position requires the incumbent to have tuberculosis testing.
• This position requires shift work to provide coverage on evenings, weekends, holidays, or special situations. Employee shifts are rotated on a regularly scheduled basis.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Nurse (Operating Room):Degree:

A graduate or higher level degree, bachelor's degree, associate degree, or diploma from an accredited professional nursing educational program is required. This education must have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.

(Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.).Licensure:

A current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States; and you must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination.

Foreign Degree: A degree from a Foreign Nursing School. Official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools is required for individuals who graduated from foreign nursing schools.

Exemption: You are exempt from the basic requirements above if you are a current federal employee occupying a position in the 0610 occupational series and have been continuously employed in this occupational series since September 27, 2017 or before. Applicants claiming this exemption must meet the requirement below. Note: You will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the respective Human Resources Office to validate your status.

Degree or diploma from a professional nursing program approved by the legally designated State accrediting agency at the time the program was completed by the applicant.

Active, current registration as a professional nurse in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Professional Nursing Experience: One or more full years of professional nursing experience which includes 1) Performing comprehensive professional nursing care as a circulating perioperative nurse; 2) Assisting providers with the administration of medications during surgical procedures; 3) Operating highly specialized equipment and ensuring sterilization in accordance with infection control standards; 4) Training staff on the improvement of patient care through evidence-based practice; and 5) Monitoring performance of staff that coordinate patient care for surgical or operating room services. This definition of professional nursing experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify.

For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.