Practical Nurse

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in theOffice of Occupational Safety, Health and Environmental Management (OSHEM).

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

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Duties

The Practical Nurse is responsible for direct patient care and care coordination activities such as referral management, order reconciliation, and activity tracking.

In this position, you will:
GS-06

• Perform comprehensive nursing care assessments which consist of obtaining information from patient and/or family to identify major complaints, symptoms, or reason for seeking health care, taking vital signs and documents patients' chief complaints and other pertinent information in the health record.
• Set up, maintain, calibrate, and use diagnostic testing equipment to include spirometry, audiometry, EKG, phlebotomy, and vision testing.

GS-07:

• Perform comprehensive nursing care assessments which consist of obtaining information from patient and/or family to identify major complaints, symptoms, or reason for seeking health care, taking vital signs and documents patients' chief complaints and other pertinent information in the health record.
• Set up, maintain, calibrate, and use diagnostic testing equipment to include spirometry, audiometry, EKG, phlebotomy and vision testing.
• Provide care for both acute injuries and illnesses, including medical emergencies, and preventive care for employees.
• Participate in teaching and training employees using knowledge of work hazards, medical surveillance, PPE, nursing principles, pharmacology, universal precautions infection control, human behavior. May direct the work of others to include nursing assistants, other licensed practical nurses, paraprofessional students, and volunteers.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Preemployment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on [OPM Website]).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements

Licensure

Candidates must be currently licensed to practice as practical or vocational nurses in a State or 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.

Additional Requirements for Grades GS-4 and Above

Experience

Qualifying experience includes nursing care work 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:

• Providing pre
• and post-operative patient care.
• Observing, recording, and reporting changes in behavior of mentally ill patients.
• Providing reassurance and encouragement to mentally ill patients.
• Assisting surgeons and registered nurses in operating room activities, including passing instruments, maintaining sterile conditions, and draping and positioning patients.
• Setting up and operating special medical equipment and apparatus.

For GS-5 and above: 1 year of nursing experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level is required.

Experience:

You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lowest grade level as defined below, in the Federal Service.

GS-06

You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal Service.

For this position specialized experience is defined as implementing and executing the requirements of a public health /occupational health and safety program to include providing clinical care (first aid, surveillance exams, travel medicine services,) to individuals and populations, immunizations, biologic exposures, immunizations, and other training and education for medical screening such as pulmonary function testing, cold chain management, audiometry, heat illness, and execution of safety and occupational health regulations.

GS:07

You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 level in the Federal Service.

For this position specialized experience is defined as implementing and executing the requirements of a public health /occupational health and safety program to include providing clinical care (first aid, surveillance exams, travel medicine services,) to individuals and populations, immunizations, biologic exposures, immunizations, and other training and education for medical screening such as pulmonary function testing, cold chain management, audiometry, heat illness, and execution of safety and occupational health regulations.

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).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

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

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience.

Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency.

If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience.

Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Education

This position has a Positive Education Requirement.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit.

Current or Former Political Appointees:

Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code.

If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources.

Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

• Position title;
• Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Noncareer SES, or Presidential Appointee);
• Agency; and,
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Recruitment Incentive:
Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability.

If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note:
This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI).

By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

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• Benefits

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• The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package.
• Please see Benefits at for a complete description.
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Insurance
• Leave
• Life Insurance
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Retirement Program

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above.

The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

GS: 6/7

• Skill in interviewing patients/employees, including obtaining medical and occupational histories, and documenting these clinical encounters (i.e., medical recordkeeping).
• Ability to perform audiograms, spirometry, electrocardiograms, vision screenings, venipuncture and point of service laboratory testing.
• Ability to assess patients, administer simple medications including immunizations and TB skin tests, use adult learning principles to teach employees, and perform first aid and BLS.

GS-07

• Knowledge of current infection control and travel medicine guidelines, safe work practices, proper use of personal protective equipment, reporting of workrelated injuries and illnesses, and self and buddycare sufficient to educate patients and subordinates on these topics.

BASIS OF RATING:

Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist.

To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire.

The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire.

The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position.

If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service.

("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:
The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

• [Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments])

- [Hiring Authorities for Veterans])
- [People with Disabilities])

You may [preview questions]) for this vacancy.

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How to Apply

Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page.

Please Note:

• You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
• You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process;
• OR
• You may manually fax required documents. Faxes are received by an automated system, not a physical fax machine. Documents that are faxed as part of the application process must be sent with the system generated cover sheet by the closing date. Documents faxed without the system generated coversheet are not retrievable and cannot be considered as part of the application package.
• The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
• If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.

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Agency contact information

Marie Parks Marie Parks

Phone

[ ](tel:

TDD
Fax

Email

Address

SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources

POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517

Suite 5060

Washington, District of Columbia

United States

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Next steps

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions.

You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt.

The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process.

You may also check your application status by logging into and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing ; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed.

Additional Information:

• Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at
• The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses.
• The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity ).

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