This position is located within Acute Care at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center. The incumbent functions as a member of the nursing care team and assist higher graded Nursing Assistants, licensed nursing staff, and other members of the care team in the care of patients/residents receiving outpatient care, home or community living care, or other patients/residents who are in acute, subacute, or chronic states of illness.

Duties

Duties of the Nursing Assistant-Acute Care include, but are not limited to the following: Provides complete personal hygiene needs and documents in the veteran's records. Turns and repositions patients to maintain proper body alignment, lifts, ambulates, and transfers patients. Promotes the physical independence of the patient by encouraging and teaching individual patients and groups of patients in self -care activities such as progressive steps in personal hygiene, bathing, and oral care, also assists in teaching and encouraging other care activities such as eating, dressing, undressing, and bladder and other training as needed. Performs I & O on patients and documents their input and output in CPRS. Cleans reusable medical equipment on the unit and maintains a neat and orderly patient care environment. Takes and records vital signs and weights. Reports change of status and/or abnormal vital signs to RN Escorts non-critical patients to appointments in a safe and cautious manner. Assists in getting patients out of bed and returning to bed after escorting. Assures oxygen is connected, including during transport. Recognizes arrest situations initiating CPR Ability to provide a range of patient/resident care and contribute to the completion of the nurse care plan and recovery of patients/residents. Ability to observe patients/residents' or resident's physical or emotional status and refer deviations and/or problems to supervisor in a timely manner. Ability to communicate effectively with patients/residents, their families and other health professionals. m. 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 supporting, controlling bleeding, and assisting with behavior crisis, etc. Participates in the interdisciplinary team care planning and delivery of care process. Adherence and participation in in-services, trainings, and competence evaluation including but not limited to peer trainings and facility provided electronic trainings, for example, the Talent Management System (TMS). Work Schedule: M-F, 3:30pm - 12:00am Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00276F; 00277F; 00278F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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. 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. English Language Proficiency. Nursing Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English. Preferred Experience: 1 - 3 years experience Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria GS-3 NA (Entry Level) (a) Experience [and] Education. None beyond the basic requirements. (b) Assignments. Individuals assigned as GS-3 NAs are considered to be at the entry level and are closely supervised. GS-4 NA (a) 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, (b) 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, (c) 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 Nursing Assistant (Full Performance Level) (a) 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, (b) 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, (c) Demonstrate the following 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/81, Part II, Appendix G46, March 12, 2015 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS3 to GS5. Physical Requirements: The population of male and female veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. Jackson VAMC is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility, serving medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients. This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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 GV Sonny Montgomery VAMC 1500 East Woodrow Wilson Drive Jackson, MS 39216 US
• Name: Richard Cohen
• Phone: 504-422-9343
• Email: [email protected]