Nursing Assistant-Inpatient MH
Department of Veterans Affairs
Summary
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise “To care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors” – by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?
Duties
We provide a range of mental health services such as:
- Short-term, inpatient care for Veterans with severe or life-threatening mental illness.
- Outpatient care for Veterans with serious mental illness who have a lot of trouble functioning in daily life.
- Regular outpatient care, which may include care provided over the phone, for Veterans facing a difficult time in their lives.
- Rehabilitation treatment and residential (live-in) programs for Veterans with mental health problems and other needs (like those related to homelessness, job training, and education) who would be best helped by getting treatment or living in a structured setting for a period of time.
- Primary care for many common mental and behavioral problems.
- Supported work settings to help Veterans join the work force and live well in the community.
- We also provide care to Veterans in crisis.
- This includes: Emergency mental health care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through VA medical centers and some local, non-VA hospitals.
- The Veterans Crisis Line, which offers support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for Veterans in crisis and their families and friends.
- Work Schedule: Part-time/0.7 FTE/56 hours every 2 weeks on PM’s/2nd shift with weekend and Federal holiday rotation required.
- Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
- When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
- Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
- Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
- Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
- Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
- Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement): Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Requirements
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
- All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
- Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
- Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
- Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
- Effective May 7, 2025, driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.
- As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
- In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
- Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Education
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.
If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
How You Will Be Evaluated
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.
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; religions; 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.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
- Resume Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document.
- This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted ‘Resume’ document upload field.
- Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the ‘Other’ document upload field.
- The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position.
- Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), etc.
- Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) PCS Orders Performance Appraisal Professional Certification
- Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript