Clarification from the agency

This position is open to US citizens.

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Major Duties
Duties will Include but not be limited to:

• Performing non-emergency transportation throughout the medical center.
• They transport patients to ensure they arrive at the correct destination for tests, procedures, and other destination for patients.
• Serves as back-up support in the Emergency Department. Transport patient to/from diagnostic studies and transport lab specimens to the lab.
• Ability to develop patient care reports.
• Ability to effectively communicate with medical personnel relating to the patient.
• Knowledge of and experience safely operating safe patient handling equipment including lifts, friction reducing devices, powered and non- powered patient equipment.
• Ability to perform initial and ongoing assessments on patients throughout transport.
• The ability to administer Basic Life Support care in accordance with established medical standards, which may include Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Follows universal precautions, and infection prevention and control guidelines in the performance of all procedures, wears task appropriate PPE, disposes of needles and contaminated waste, and patient isolation requirements in the performance of all procedures.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• 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 must meet all educational or certification requirements by the date of application submittal.

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.)
• 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.
• Physical Requirements. Must meet physical standard perVA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• 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.

• 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.
  • 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.

• GS-3 (Entry Level):Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. Note: Individuals assigned as GS-3 NAs are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised.
• GS-4: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 you 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): 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. 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 you must demonstrate the following 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.

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

• Knowledge of Current Practice:
• To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with the current practice.

• Quality of Experience:
• To be creditable, [NA] experience must be documented on the application or resume and verified in an employment reference, or through other independent means.

• Part-Time Experience:
• Part-time experience as a [NA] is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a [NA] employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service. (Failure to put number of hours worked on resume may result in an ineligible rating.)

• 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.