PRACTICAL NURSE (INPATIENT)

Summary

About the Position: This position is located within the Womack Army Medical Center, Labor and Delivery Department. The primary purpose of this position is to provide practical/vocational nursing care to patients with increased independence and responsibility, supporting the inpatient healthcare team in delivering safe, efficient, and effective care for a diverse patient population. Salary negotiation may be available for candidates who are new to Federal service.

Duties

• •Provides practical nursing care to inpatient patients by recording vital signs, monitoring conditions, and reporting significant changes to supervising clinicians.
• •Assists patients with mobility, hygiene, and nutritional needs to promote comfort and recovery.
• •Maintains timely, accurate documentation of all care provided in accordance with established medical protocols.
• •Communicates with patients and families to ensure they understand care plans, treatments, and progress.
• •Administers prescribed oral, topical, and injectable medications safely and accurately while observing patients for adverse reactions.
• •Educates patients and families about prescribed medications and treatment plans to reinforce adherence.
• •Assists with medical procedures such as wound care, catheterizations, and respiratory therapies under the direction of licensed providers.
• •Prepares patients and equipment for procedures while maintaining sterile technique and infection control standards.
• •Supports emergency responses by assisting with resuscitations, stabilizations, and other critical interventions.
• •Collaborates with the healthcare team to develop, adjust, and implement patient care plans, including participating in briefings and debriefings.

Qualifications

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 Practical 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 monitoring patient condition with in an impatient setting; Monitoring patient condition within an inpatient setting; Provides instructions to the patient and significant other on preoperative and post-operative procedures; performing diagnostic tasks including obtaining vitals, specimen, and laboratory results upon physician's request; entering patient data into electronic medical records system. 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.

Education

See Qualifications section for education requirements.