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. The Nursing Assistant demonstrates the knowledge and ability to provide care to Veteran patients within the Acute Care Service Line. 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, Patient Care Service Line.

Duties

The Nursing Assistant duties include but, are not limited to: Participates in activity and actions to improve the quality of care for veteran patients to include fall and pressure sore prevention; that includes learning to implement the organization's prevention guidelines on falls and pressure sores, and the veteran's specific plan of care. Ensures the Veteran is wearing the correct identification bracelet. Supervises patients and can mentor other NAs in personal hygiene, rest and eating. Feeds and bathes patients who require assistance. Helps patients in and out of bed, and with mobile devices. Instructs and assists patients in the skills necessary to gain independence in activities of daily living. Contributes to a safe, clean, clutter-free and therapeutic environment for patients and staff. Provides care to patients in isolation and patients on chemotherapy precautions. Maintains privacy of patient and staff. Performs and can mentor other NAs in a variety of general nursing duties including measurement and recording of vital signs, EKGs, weight, height, intake and output, post-mortem care, simple treatments such as hot and cold packs, changes clean or sterile dressings, applies external catheters, and gives catheter care. Maintains oxygen therapy as directed by the RN, assignment, or written care plan, to include management and operation of oxygen tanks. Performs assistive cough and deep breathing exercises. Performs and/or instructs patients in learning range of motion exercise, turning and positioning, ambulation, and other routine care procedures. Prepares patients for tests, examinations, treatments and for surgery. Collect's specimens such as urine, sputum and stool. Labels specimens for laboratory examinations. Performs blood glucose tests as appropriate. Cleans and maintains equipment with appropriate RME disinfectant. Initiates Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation in accordance with established Medical Center policy and initiates other emergency procedures as necessary, including fire and disaster. Demonstrates safe body mechanics. Observes and reports patient's physical and mental status, reporting unusual changes to the RN. Reports information obtained from patients and or family and participates in developing a plan of care. Assists with admission, discharge, and transfer of patients. Performs other assignments designated by the nurse in charge that are essential to the care of patients and appropriate to his/her level of training. Work Schedule: 24 hour unit, variable schedule rotating weekends and holidays. 7:30 AM-4:00 PM and 7:30 AM -8:00PM shifts are available. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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 GS3. 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. 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-03 Nursing Assistant (Entry Level)-Specialized Experience Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. Assignments. Individuals assigned as GS-3 Nursing Assistants are at the entry level and are closely supervised. GS-04 Nursing Assistant-Specialized Experience 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 Nursing Assistant (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 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/81, Part II, Appendix G46 Certified Nursing Assistant Qualification Standard. Dated: March 12, 2015. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-05. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-05. Physical Requirements:- SeeVA Directive and Handbook 5019. The population of male and female veterans served ranges from adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. The VA Medical center is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility, serving medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients. There is a large outpatient psychiatric population, with admissions for medical co-morbidities. This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continues walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The Nursing Assistant 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 Nursing Assistant may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The Nursing Assistant must be 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 VA Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Thierry King
• Phone: 281-794-9371
• Email: [email protected]