Nursing Assistant

Summary

The Nurse Assistant (NA) provides Veteran-centered care within the VA New Jersey Health Care System Community Living Center (CLC), including long-term care, sub-acute/short-stay rehabilitation, dementia care, mental health/behavioral health, and hospice/palliative care. Assignments involve Veterans with complex and changing needs ranging from predictable to unpredictable.

Duties

• Duties: The Nursing Assistant successfully performs duties at the lower grades and provides direct care to complex Veterans under the direction of an RN or LPN. The incumbent communicates effectively with Veterans, families, and the interdisciplinary team; recognizes emergent and subtle changes; intervenes within scope while obtaining assistance; and supports orientation and competency development of other NAs. Duties include: Provides the full range of nursing assistant care for Veterans with complex physical, cognitive, behavioral, rehabilitative, and end-of-life needs, including ADLs, nutrition, elimination, mobility, positioning, restorative care, and skin protection. Obtains, interprets within scope, documents, and reports vital signs, weights, intake and output, blood glucose values, specimens, and changes in appetite, mood, behavior, cognition, skin color, respiratory status, or functional ability. Performs validated procedures such as catheter and ostomy care, enemas, simple dressings, application of braces or prosthetic devices, oxygen support, suctioning or tracheostomy care when specifically authorized and competency validated. Promotes long-term care residents' autonomy, preferences, meaningful activity, continence, social engagement, and highest practical level of independence; actively contributes to interdisciplinary care planning and treatment meetings. Supports sub-acute and short-stay rehabilitation goals by reinforcing therapy plans, monitoring tolerance and progress, safely using adaptive and mobility equipment, and promptly reporting barriers to recovery or discharge readiness. Provides advanced dementia-sensitive care using validation, redirection, de-escalation, individualized behavioral approaches, and non-pharmacological interventions; identifies subtle changes from baseline and reinforces WanderGuard/elopement-prevention practices. Implements assigned mental health observation levels and therapeutic milieu expectations; recognizes behavioral escalation, suicide or violence risk, contraband or environmental hazards, and initiates appropriate emergency or crisis response while summoning licensed staff. Provides compassionate hospice and palliative care focused on comfort, dignity, symptom observation, oral and skin care, positioning, family support, and recognition of changes associated with active dying. Maintains a safe environment, follows infection prevention and safe patient handling requirements, initiates basic life support or other emergency actions as appropriate, serves as preceptor/mentor, and completes accurate documentation, mandatory education, and annual competency validation. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Alternating Weekends (12am-8am) Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (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-te…

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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Experience, Education, or Training: Six months of general experience. (Experience must demonstrate the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to perform the work of an NA); OR One year above high school with courses related to the NA occupation; OR Completion of an intensive, specialized, occupation-related course of study of less than one year which resulted in attaining certification as a nursing assistant may also meet in full the experience requirements for GS-3. 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). a.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-3: None beyond the basic requirements. GS-4: One year of specialized experience as a nursing assistant or experience in another medical field (LPN, 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;OREducation: 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) that include the following: 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 of 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: 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 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) that include the following: 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…

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.