Vocational Nurse

Full Job Description

About the Position: This position is with the Defense Health Agency at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center located at Fort Hood, Texas.

This is a Direct Hire Solicitation A recruitment incentive may be authorized Student Loan Repayment may be authorized Salary negotiation may be available for those candidates who are new to Federal service Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the experience 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 Vocational Nurse: 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 such duties as obtaining vital signs; performing mental health screenings; documenting in patient health records; providing individual nursing care; and performing routine procedures, such as EKGs, eye, throat, nasal and/or wound cultures, dressing changes, ear irrigation, and application of bandages.

This definition of experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-04).

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:

• Receive and evaluate scheduled and walk-in patients by obtaining a thorough history to determine the nature of concerns; identify primary complaints and symptoms; and annotate the reason for the visit.
• Obtain patient vital signs to include blood pressure, temperature, and pain level; and prepare and administer prescribed injections and oral medications.
• Coordinate with administrative staff to maintain adequate inventory; monitor expiration dates for medications, vaccines, and supplies; and initiate reorders as needed.
• Review charts for coding compliance; ensure accurate documentation of procedures; and transcribe information into medical records and official school forms.
• Assist the health care provider in the clinic; chaperone patient examinations; drape and position patients; and set up, operate, and monitor specialized equipment such as cardiac monitors and defibrillators.