Nursing Assistant-Float Pool

Veterans Health Administration • Salt Lake City, UT

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Float Pool Nursing Assistant provides personal nursing care to patients on inpatient medical units, including Acute Medicine, 3 West, Telemetry, the ICU, and the Emergency Department, as well as to substance abuse and psychiatric patients. Care objectives are established in treatment plans by the multidisciplinary treatment team. The position works under supervision and guidance, including from a preceptor, and contributes observations and care to support patients’ needs and recovery.

The role includes assisting Veterans with hygiene, comfort, activity, exercise, rest, nutrition, elimination, skin-breakdown prevention, and rehabilitative care. The Nursing Assistant uses a glucose monitoring machine, observes and reports patient status, helps set up patient-care equipment, obtains supplies, supports therapeutic group activities, and helps orient patients and families to unit routines. The position requires respectful communication, confidentiality, safe equipment use, proper body mechanics, teamwork, and completion of orientation, competency assessments, and mandatory education.

The schedule varies across days and nights and includes weekends and holidays. This is not a telework or virtual position. The role has physical demands including extended periods of walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing, and may involve transferring patients or objects. The Nursing Assistant may encounter infectious patients or contaminated materials, combative patients, and stressful situations, and must complete annual employee health requirements.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated VA policy exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Meet one of the basic experience or education pathways: six months of general experience demonstrating ability to acquire Nursing Assistant knowledge and skills; one year of post-high-school education with related courses; or completion of an intensive, specialized, occupation-related Nursing Assistant training course of less than one year. The stated grandfathering provision may also apply to qualifying current VHA employees in this occupation.
• For GS-4 consideration, meet either the specialized-experience pathway (one year as a Nursing Assistant or in another medical field performing relevant technical and nursing skills) or the education pathway (two years of post-high-school study in an accredited institution with related courses), and demonstrate the listed patient-care, observation, equipment-use, and communication abilities.
• For GS-5 consideration, meet either the experience pathway (one year of progressively responsible experience equivalent to GS-4) or the education pathway (a four-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree with 24 related semester hours, or possession of a bachelor’s degree), and demonstrate the listed nursing-care, communication/precepting, and emergency-response abilities.
• Meet the position’s physical requirements, including visual acuity, keen hearing, clear speech, manual dexterity, and ability to perform the described physical activities and patient transfers.
• Complete annual employee-health requirements, such as TB screening or testing.
• Meet the stated employment conditions, including background/security investigation, applicable pre-employment drug screening, onboarding and identification requirements, influenza vaccination program participation, and the required trial period.
• Complete all application requirements described in the announcement’s Required Documents section.

Nice To Haves

• One year of experience as a Nurse Assistant or in a related field.

Responsibilities

• Provide personal nursing care to patients in inpatient medical units and to substance abuse and psychiatric patients, following treatment plans established by the multidisciplinary team.
• Use a glucose monitoring machine to collect and document appropriate glucose readings for assigned Veterans.
• Maintain respectful, therapeutic relationships with patients, families, and significant others using appropriate communication skills.
• Observe patients and collect, report, and record relevant observations; communicate observations to the RN or other treatment-team members.
• Under close supervision and with preceptor guidance, assist with personal hygiene, physical comfort, activity, exercise, rest, nutrition, elimination, prevention of skin breakdown, and rehabilitative care.
• Participate in group activities such as off-station trips, reality orientation, current events, and other therapeutic groups.
• Use proper body mechanics and follow safe procedures when providing care and using patient-care equipment, including lifting equipment.
• Set up patient-care-related equipment after training and obtain and organize routine supplies and equipment.
• Assist with orienting patients and families to unit routines and policies.
• Work cooperatively and courteously as a member of the interdisciplinary team, keeping the Veteran’s care a priority.
• Protect patient privacy and confidential information.
• Use equipment and supplies according to procedures and take steps to prevent injury to self and others.
• Complete orientation, annual competency requirements and validation, ongoing mandatory education, and mandatory training within required timelines.
• Provide care appropriate to the age-related needs of Veterans served in the assigned service area.

Benefits

• Competitive salary with regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered for higher or unique qualifications or agency special needs.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, comprising 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid Federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment in connection with birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of a child.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a childcare 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 VA contributions up to 5%.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term-life, and long-term-care insurance; many programs can be continued into retirement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed