Nursing Assistant

US Department of Veterans Affairs; West Palm Beach (FL); On-site; USD 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System is seeking a Nursing Assistant to join the Resource Pool in Nursing Operations.

The NA will support veterans across acute to hospice needs, work under RN/LPN supervision, and may encounter varied and unpredictable patient care demands.

Qualifications

• Six months of general experience or one year of education above high school related to NA.
• Completion of a short occupation-related NA training program may meet experience requirements.
• English language proficiency as required by VA Handbook 5005.

Responsibilities

• Assist licensed nursing staff in caring for patients in outpatient, home, or clinical settings.
• Support nursing operations within the VA resource pool.

Skills

Nursing care

Communication

Emergency response

Education

1 year education above high school related to NA

Short NA training program (<1 year)

Bachelor's degree with health-care coursework or related degree

Job description

The Nursing Assistant serves in the Resource Pool within Nursing Operations at the West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System. The position provides care and support to Veterans with acute, subacute, chronic, maintenance, and hospice care needs. Assignments may involve complex nursing needs that vary with a range of predictable to unpredictable requirements.

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.
• Six months of general experience. Experience must demonstrate the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to perform the work of a NA; OR,
• One year of education above high school with courses related to the NA occupation; OR,
• 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.

Grandfathering Provisions

All NAs 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:

• 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 re-entry to the occupation.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS

• 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

Grade Determinations

The following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

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.

Preferred Experience

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) experience preferred.

Reference

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS05.

Physical Requirements

Position requires extended periods of standing and walking, frequent bending, lifting, pushing, pulling, reaching, and assisting with patient transfers and transportation. Incumbent must be able to use safe patient handling equipment and techniques and respond appropriately to patient care emergencies