Nursing Assistant - Nursing Mental Health (1 West)

Summary

The Nursing Assistant performs complex age specific nursing care for adult and geriatric patients with a variety of physical - mental - behavioral or psychological needs. The Nursing Assistant continues to provide care under supervision of a RN - are learning to perform complex nursing skills - and will refer issues/ questions to supervisors or other healthcare professionals.

Qualifications

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
• Education or Training
• Experience or Education or Training: 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 meeting full the experience requirements for GS-3. English Language Proficiency
• Nursing Assistants appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) - and 7407(d)
• Grandfathering Provisions
• All Nursing Assistants employed in VHA as of March 12 - 2015 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 reentry to the occupation
• 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 Determinations: GS-3 Experience: None beyond the basic requirements above
• GS-4 Experience/Education: In this role - the Nursing Assistant functions as a member of the nursing care team and assists 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 who are in acute - sub-acute - or chronic states of illness
• The Nursing Assistant in this role provides care under close supervision and refers issues/questions to supervisors - higher graded Nursing Assistants - or other healthcare professionals
• Experience: One year of specialized experience as a Nursing Assistant 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: 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 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
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients/residents - their families and other health professionals
• GS-5 Experience: This is the full performance level for Nursing Assistants
• Nursing Assistants 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
• Nursing Assistants at this level also assume more of a peer education/mentorship role
• 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 Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs)
• In addition - the candidate must 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 Nursing Assistants 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
• Preferred Experience: Grade 05 experience with specific nursing care for adult and geriatric patients with a variety of physical - mental - behavioral or psychological needs
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit
• The full performance level of this vacancy is 5
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 3 to 5
• Physical Requirements: 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 NA 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 NA may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium - dementia - or psychiatric disorders
• The NA must be a mature - flexible - sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations - able to shift priorities based on patient needs
• The NA must be willing to complete annual employee health requirements - such as annual TB screening or testing - as a condition of employment.

Duties

• The Nursing Assistant may perform these duties in the inpatient (1 West) setting
• The Nursing Assistant will care for Veterans with acute to chronic behavioral health conditions
• All duties performed will be completed under RN supervision with appropriate training and competencies for assigned task
• Nursing Assistant will appropriately utilize vital signs monitoring machine to collect and document appropriate vital signs reading for the assigned Veteran
• Nursing Assistant will appropriately utilize glucose monitoring machine to collect and document appropriate glucose readings for assigned Veteran
• Nursing Assistant will appropriately utilize the 12 LEAD EKG machine to collect and document appropriate 12 LEADs for the assigned Veteran
• Incumbent will appropriately utilize the Bladder Scanner machine to collect and document and verbalize importance of reporting any abnormal results to RN as soon as possible
• Nursing Assistant maintains positive therapeutic relationships by displaying respect for human dignity with patients - families and/or significant others utilizing learned communication skills
• Nursing Assistant maintains PMDB level 3 of containment techniques currently for the inpatient mental health unit
• Nursing Assistant will appropriately utilize physical restraints
• Correctly documents any activities completed with the veteran in physical restraint or seclusion
• Nursing Assistant utilizes observation skills for data collection - reporting and recording Veteran observations to appropriate Staff RNs - Licensed Independent practitioners (LIPs) - or other clinicians
• Nursing Assistant performs aspects of nursing care to meet Veteran's needs for the following: Monitoring and documents Veterans for safety (one to one Patient Safety Attendant) as assigned
• Transportation of Veterans to other needed care in other departments
• Completion Safety assessment rounds every shift
• Completion environment of care safety rounds as assigned
• Performs intentional rounding as assigned
• Performs NA community groups Documents on timely task related to nutrition and hydration
• Reports on any environmental safety concerns to RN and Management team
• Floats to Acute Care and MHRRTP unit to assist as needed
• Utilizes principles of proper body mechanics and follows procedures for use of patient care equipment to prevent injury to self or others in all settings such as utilization of lifting equipment
• Grade 05 experience with specific nursing care for adult and geriatric patients with a variety of physical - mental - behavioral or psychological needs
• Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 7:30AM- 8:00PM includes weekends holidays Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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