This Nursing Assistant positions are in the Specialty Care Service at the Boston VA Healthcare System located at the Jamaica Plain campus. These positions are Full-time and up to 40 hours per week.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement,06/17/2025. 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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j 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 Nursing Assistant; OR, One year above high school with courses related to the Nursing Assistant occupation; OR, 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. To qualify for this position, you must meet the Basic Requirements as well as any additional grade-level qualification requirements. 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). Grandfathering Provision: A Nursing Assistant employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard 05/22/2024 who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level GS-0621-05 or until meeting the full qualification requirements. Grade Determinations: GS-3 Experience and Education: None beyond the basic requirements. GS-4 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: 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 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 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 Must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 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 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. Preferred Experience: Outpatient Nursing Assistant experience highly preferred (rooming patients, setting up exam rooms, assisting with injections/procedure and cleaning room post-patients) 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-5. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-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 with assistance and transferring of 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, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. The incumbent must be able to navigate all areas of the facility. This position potentially requires flexibility in schedule and assignments, as this is a 24/7 Medical Center.
The Nursing Assistant functions as a member of the Specialty Clinic Service Line, carrying out a variety of duties with the direction and support of Specialty Clinic leadership, nurses and providers. The position will support the clinic with as needed coverage in the assigned unit. The position will be responsible for a variety of personal care or nursing care activities including nursing care, assisting with clinical procedures according to specialty, technical procedures and ancillary services for complex patients.All duties performed will be completed under close supervision with appropriate training and competencies for assigned tasks. The incumbent will maintain positive therapeutic relationships by displaying respect for human dignity with patient, families and/or significant others utilizing learned communication skills, apply emerging observation skills for data collection, report and record patient/resident observations and, learn to perform aspects of nursing and Medical Support Assistant duties to support the overall needs of the clinic.Examples of daily responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Cleaning rooms before and after patients, and setting up room for next patient visit, Rooming patients Taking and recording vital signs Perform EKGs as applicable Quality control checks on devices (e.g., glucometer) as applicable Point of care testing (e.g., glucose checks), including preparing labels and specimen paperwork, sending to Lab, etc. Maintaining supplies and par levels; ordering and replenishing supplies as necessary Any other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Full-Time- Monday- Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Not Authorized Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: PDF04747, PDF04746, and PDF04745 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. PCS: Not Authorized NOTIFICATIONS: Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is in the Excepted Service. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. These positions are NAGE Bargaining Unit position. These positions are covered by a special rate. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be requested from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Incomplete applications will not be considered.