The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center is currently recruiting for Nursing Assistants to work with Mental Health Services. The Nursing Assistants will attend to needed and vital requirements of the patient and resident and ensure all regulatory and hospital guidelines and practices are followed, providing for a positive care experience within the OKC VAHCS.

Duties

The duties of the Nursing Assistant (Mental Health) include the following, but are not limited to: - Safely and accurately perform personal care skills, including measuring and recording vital signs to include temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure and measuring of height and weight. - Measures and records intake and outpatient, feeding techniques, non-sterile specimen collection, transfer, positioning, and turning techniques. - Assists with patient education and documentation of education provided. - Maintain appropriate communication with patients, families, and other health care workers, use medical asepsis and universal precautions, and documents care given is inherent to the role. Initiates basic life support and promptly recognize/respond to emergent situations. - Offers supportive nursing care to critically or terminally ill patients/residents. Provides emotional support to patient/resident and/or family and significant other. - Monitor patients/residents per levels of observation, acuity levels and assignment sheet. - Functions as a therapeutic attendant for Veterans who require close observation or one on one observation. The therapeutic attendant provides care (including bathing, personal hygiene, feeding, elimination, and intake and output etc.) for Veteran and prevents Veteran from hurting him/herself or interfering with the treatment by pulling out lines/IVs. - Promptly identifies and reports changes in patient/resident behavior or condition to the RN. Documents findings in patient/resident's medical record. - Utilizes observation skills for data collection, reporting and recording. - Uses the Electronic Medical Record, and other approved software as needed to perform duties in assigned area. - Observes and reports patient complaints, results of treatments performed, change in patient's condition, behavior and/or attitude. - Perform daily and/or weekly equipment/supply checks. - Remotely monitor patients using provided equipment and technology. - Reports/responds appropriately to internal and external emergencies and disasters. - Contributes to a safe, clean, and therapeutic environment for patients and staff by maintaining clean equipment, patient's rooms and ward areas. - Utilizes appropriate therapeutic interventions for all patients/residents. Recognizes and responds to patients/residents who require nursing care, e.g., seriously ill, confused, or wandering patients/residents. - Attend daily huddle and team meetings as designated by area. - Work with team to "scrub" clinic to promote open access. Performs pre-visit work/calls for appointment as applicable to area. Work Schedule: Full-Time, 40 hours per week, 12 hour shifts. Shifts include rotating tours of duty which include days, weekends, and holidays. Compressed/Flexible: May be available at the discretion of Mental Health Services. Telework: No Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 55021A, 55022A, 55023A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

***This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until December 31, 2023. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be September 15, 2023, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.*** 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. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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. 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. [(2)] 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. 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, Nursing Assistant 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 Nursing Assistant is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a Nursing Assistant 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 Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. 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 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 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: 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.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Oklahoma City VA Health Care System 921 Northeast 13th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73104 US
• Name: Tim Kiddoo
• Phone: 405-249-6318
• Email: [email protected]