Nursing Assistant- Acute Care

Veterans Health Administration•Omaha, NE

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Nursing Assistant is a member of a nursing team assigned to a medical/surgical unit at the Omaha VA Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The role supports professional nursing staff in caring for Veterans with a variety of medical, surgical, and psychiatric conditions, including advanced infections, amputations, pneumonia, and joint replacement. The Nursing Assistant works primarily in their home unit and may be asked to support other areas as needed. The position provides direct patient care and assistance with admissions, transfers, discharges, activities of daily living, monitoring and documenting patient status, maintaining a safe and clean care environment, accompanying patients to tests and procedures, and performing trained technical tasks such as 12-lead electrocardiograms and bladder scans. Care must preserve each patient's privacy and dignity. The role may involve patients receiving chemotherapy and requires awareness of chemotherapy precautions. This is a full-time position with 8- or 12-hour shifts scheduled between 7 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. The schedule runs Sunday through Saturday and includes rotating weekends and holidays. Compressed or flexible scheduling is available. The full performance level is GS-5; selections may be made at GS-3 through GS-5.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception under VA policy for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
Proficiency in written and spoken English.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification; training is provided.
Meet one of the basic qualification pathways: six months of general experience demonstrating ability to acquire Nursing Assistant skills; one year of post-high-school education with courses related to the occupation; or completion of an intensive, specialized occupation-related Nursing Assistant training program of less than one year.
For GS-4 qualification, either one year of Nursing Assistant or other medical-field experience performing relevant technical and nursing skills, or two years of post-high-school education in a related field; and the stated patient-care, observation/reporting, equipment-use, and communication abilities.
For GS-5 qualification, either one year of progressively responsible experience equivalent to GS-4 in related nursing-care assignments, or a four-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours of health-care-related coursework or a bachelor's degree; and the stated nursing-care, communication/preceptor, and emergency-response abilities.
Pass a pre-employment physical evaluation or examination.
Complete required background/security investigation and online onboarding; provide acceptable identification for employment verification.
Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
Serve a one- or two-year trial period, as applicable.

Responsibilities

Assist nursing staff with patient admissions, transfers, and discharges, including inventorying and storing belongings, providing personal care items, and orienting patients and families.
Provide care to patients receiving chemotherapy and follow applicable chemotherapy precautions.
Monitor patient stability by checking vital signs and weight and recording intake and output.
Dispense and retrieve patient care supplies.
Report abnormal vital signs, changes in condition, or other concerns to the charge nurse or primary registered nurse in a timely manner.
Accurately document patient care, needs, and progress in the electronic medical record.
Maintain cleanliness in patient rooms and care areas.
Assist patients with activities of daily living, including repositioning, ambulating, toileting, eating and drinking, bathing, oral and denture care, nail care, grooming, and skin care.
Change linens and keep patient rooms tidy and free of tripping hazards.
Provide care while protecting patient privacy and dignity.
Accompany patients to tests and procedures.
Perform technical tasks for which appropriately trained, such as administering 12-lead electrocardiograms and performing bladder scans.
Serve as a safety attendant for patients.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Competitive salary with regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered for higher or unique qualifications or VA special needs.
37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
Eligible employees may receive credit toward annual leave accrual for prior work or military service, subject to approval.
After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a child care subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to income and other eligibility limits.
Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting, and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.
Eligibility for the Student Loan Repayment Program, subject to funding, a service agreement, and performance requirements.
Shift differential of 10% of basic pay for regularly scheduled hours worked between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Weekend premium of 25% of basic pay for work performed between midnight Friday and midnight Sunday, including continuous service connected to work during those hours.
Holiday pay at twice the basic hourly rate for regularly scheduled, non-overtime work on a designated holiday.