Nursing Assistant; Acute Care Service

Summary

The Nursing Assistant is a member of the Acute Care Team – providing assistance to the providers – nursing leadership team – registered nurses – and other team members. This service line cares for patients admitted to an inpatient medical-surgical inpatient hospital unit (2 West – 5 East or 6 West) at VA Puget Sound.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

• 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
• 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. 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 REQUIREMENTS
• Creditable Experience
• 1) Knowledge of Current Practice
• To be creditable - the experience must have required the use of knowledge - skills - and abilities associated with the current practice
• 2) 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
• 3) 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
• GRADE DETERMINATIONS:
  In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• GS-3 NA (Entry Level)
• Experience and Education
• None beyond the basic requirements
• 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: 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 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 below
• OR Education
• Successful completion of a 4-year course of study above…