Practical Nurse (Surgical)

Full Job Description

About the Position: This position is located in the Department of Surgery at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. Salary is subject to change pending 2026 Pay Adjustments.

This is a Direct Hire Solicitation Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the requirements described below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Practical Nurse (Surgical) : Licensure: A current license to practice as a practical or vocational nurse in a State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia; OR must have applied for a license to practice.

Applications of candidates possessing a license must be accompanied by a certified or photostatic copy of the license, a notarized statement attesting to the fact, or a citation of the license number and State issuing it.

Non-licensed candidates who have completed their training may be appointed subject to obtaining the required license during the probationary period.

Those not licensed must furnish the date on which they applied for a license and the jurisdiction involved.

No person appointed pending licensure may be retained beyond the probationary period if licensure has not been attained.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirement listed below: Experience: One year of nursing experience in a hospital, outpatient clinic, nursing home, or other supervised medical, nursing, or patient care facility that provided a practical knowledge of human body structure and sterile techniques and procedures, performing duties such as assisting professional health care providers with surgical pre and post operative procedures.

This definition of experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade level in the federal service (GS-05).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify.

For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Major Duties:

• Provide nursing care to patients with various conditions and of all ages in specialty surgical, pre-and post-operative, and outpatient settings.
• Prepare and administer prescribed medications by oral, topical, intradermal, subcutaneous and intramuscular routes.
• Assist physicians during diagnostic, therapeutic and/or minor to complex surgical procedures of patients in various conditions, including those in a critically ill status and/or under anesthetic for surgical procedures.
• Prepare necessary supplies and equipment; drapes, positions, monitors patient condition and holds the patient in position, and hands instruments and supplies to the physician during the procedure.
• Perform a variety of auxiliary nursing duties connected with patient care such as checking operational status of emergency equipment, ensuring sterile condition of surgical, examination and treatment instruments, tools.