Summary

The Nursing Assistant position is located at Kerrville VAMC within Nursing Service's Community Living Center (CLC) - a VA Nursing Home. Unlike many nursing homes - a CLC resembles "home" as much as possible. It is a place where Veterans can receive nursing home level care - which includes help with activities of daily living - skilled nursing - medical care and hospice services. The CLC provides 24-hour skilled nursing care - restorative care - respite care - and hospice services.

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
• English Language Proficiency
• In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) - no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English
• Experience - Education or Training
• You must meet one of the following to meet the basic requirements for a Nursing Assistant (NA): Six (6) 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. Grandfathering Provision: 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: In addition to the basic requirements stated above - the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade
• The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade
• GS-03 - None beyond the basic requirements
• NAs at this grade NAs are considered entry-level and are closely supervised
• GS-04 - To qualify at the GS-4 level you must meet the following: EXPERIENCE: One (1) year of experience as a Nursing Assistant or 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 two (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 - in addition you must demonstrate the following Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (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 residents' 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-05 - To qualify at the GS-5 level you must meet the following: EXPERIENCE: One (1) year of progressively responsible assignments and experience equivalent to the GS-4 level which demonstrates knowledge - skills - and abilities (KSAs) that are directly related to the specific assignment
• Specialized experience includes but is not limited to functioning as a member of the nursing care team and assisting licensed nursing staff and other members of the care team in the full range of nursing care of patients/residents receiving outpatient care - home - or community living care or other patients/residents who are receiving preventative - acute - sub-acute - chronic - maintenance - and hospice care
• OR - EDUCATION: Successful completion of 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 - in addition you must demonstrate the following Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (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
• Preferred Experience: -Long Term Care/Geriatric Experience -Hospice/Palliative Care Experience -Rehabilitation Training -1 Year Healthcare Experience -Proficient in Electronic Medical Records Documentation -Current Basic Life Support (BLS) Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• 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: The population of male and female patients served ranges from the adult - age 18 - to the elderly adult - age 65 and over
• South Texas Veterans Health Care System is a tertiary health care facility - providing acute medical - surgical - behavioral health - physical medicine and rehabilitation - geriatric - and primary care services predominately to veterans - but in special cases - includes active-duty military and civilian populations
• This position requires the following physical functional requirement: Moderate lifting - 15-35 pounds
• Light lifting - under 15 pounds
• Moderate carrying -15-35 pounds
• Light carrying - under 15 pounds
• Straight pulling - 1 hour
• Pushing - 1-3 hours
• Reaching above shoulder
• Use of fingers
• Walking - 4 hours
• Standing - 2-7 hours
• Kneeling - 2 hours
• Repeated bending - 2 hours
• Climbing
• use of legs and arms
• Both legs required
• Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously
• Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4
• Visual acuity: 20/40 DVA
• corrected
• Ability to distinguish basic colors
• Hearing aid (permitted)
• Sitting - 8 hours
• Simple grasping - 2-4 hours
• Fine manipulation - including keyboarding - 4-6 hours
• Twisting - 2 hours
• Mental and emotional stability
• In addition - the incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to wear protective clothing in isolation situations or during patient operative/invasive procedures
• The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium - dementia - or psychiatric disorders
• The incumbent must be a mature - flexible - sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations - and be able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Nursing Assistants function as a member of the nursing care team and assist licensed nursing staff in the care of patients/residents receiving preventive - acute - sub-acute chronic - maintenance - and hospice care
• This position involves a multi-grade career ladder
• The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-5. At the GS-3 and GS-4 grade levels - you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence
• You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-5. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance
• Duties include - but are not limited to: · Utilizes glucose monitoring machine to receive glucose readings for veterans refers deviation to appropriate health care staff - · Makes observations of subtle changes in resident's condition - i.e
• behavior shifts - mood - skin coloring - appetite - etc
• and takes action accordingly within the NA's assigned role - · Documents care given - observations and responses on appropriate tools or forms - · Responds appropriately to subtle patient changes by contacting the appropriate nursing personnel - · Performs nursing procedures within scope of practice and according to policies and standard procedures to care for the veteran for such procedures but not limited to: colostomy care - application of braces and prosthetic devices - · Recognizes the residents' autonomy and promotes independence by means of respect - limit setting and individualized treatment - · Actively participates in Treatment Planning Meetings - · Utilizes equipment to promote the veteran self-care - such as
• lift equipment - Hydro sound Tubs - and Veteran/Resident Wandering System - · Verbally provides patient information to the treatment team for inclusion in the veteran/residents' plan of care - participates in treatment team meetings for resident care planning - · Enters information about the residents' condition in the chart - utilizing appropriate formats - · Participates in maintaining a clean - safe environment for the patient/resident - · Removes defective equipment - reports hazards - observes safety regulations - contributes to infection control - and utilizes proper aseptic technique in performance of duties - · Serves as the unit safe patient handling liaison - · Orients members of the health care team to the units as appropriate - · Functions as a member of the unit base counsel - · Manages distributed patient behavior and by appropriately intervenes and request assistant from other health care members - · Appropriately initiates basic life support - takes actions appropriate action - · Other duties as assigned Work Schedule: 8-hour rotating tours to include days - evenings - nights - weekends and holidays Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• 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) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 54488-F/54487-F/54486-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized