Clinical Nurse (Registered Nurse)

Duties

Provides direct patient care services in accordance with legal, ethical and institution standards. Provides nursing care of a general nature to inmates in the institution hospital/clinic, and may be provided to patients in specific areas, e.g., psychiatric, operating room, orthopedics, geriatrics, etc. Develops a nursing assessment for each patient, to include planning, implementing, and evaluating nursing care. May assess and identify high risk symptoms/behaviors in patients, to include suicidal risk, homicidal risk and risk for verbal and/or physical abuse. Completes nutritional screening as part of the assessment and refers patient to a dietitian for a nutritional assessment if necessary. Incumbent monitors, evaluates and revises the plan of care as needed. May also assess and document the discharge planning needs of a patient. Delegates and coordinates care based on assessments.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Education:

Degree or diploma from a professional nursing program approved by the legally designated State accrediting agency at the time the program was completed by the applicant. (One year of nursing experience as a military corpsman that has been accepted by a State licensing body may be accepted in lieu of education at the GS-04 level.)

All qualified applicants will undergo a credentialing process prior to employment with the Bureau of Prisons. This process includes validation of medical examinations, education, internship and residency. Please submit these documents along with your required supporting documentation at the time you apply.

NOTE: ALL applicants MUST electronically upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Application site at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria,

AND

Registration:

Applicants must have active, current registration as a professional nurse in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth or Puerto Rico, or territory of the United States. An Applicant who has graduated from an approved nursing educational program within the past 12 months may be appointed pending State registration as a professional nurse within 6 months of appointment. No person appointed pending registration may be retained beyond 6 months, or promoted, if registration has not been attained.

NOTE: ALL applicants MUST electronically upload proof of current, active registration for verification at the time you apply.

AND

Additional Requirements:

Education and/or Experience:

Listed below is the required combination of education and/or experience per grade level:

GS-04: Completion of a program of less than 30 months' duration or associate degree OR 1 year of nursing experience as a military corpsman.

GS-05: Completion of a program of less than 30 months' duration or associate degree AND 1 year of professional nursing, or of at least GS-04 level practical nurse or nursing assistant experience under the supervision of a professional nurse. OR Completion of a program of at least 30 months' duration or 4 academic years above high school or bachelor's degree.

GS-07: Completion of a professional nursing program AND 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level OR 1 full year of graduate education or bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement.

GS-09: 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education or a master's or equivalent degree OR 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level.

Graduate-level education must have been in nursing with a concentration in a field of nursing (e.g., teaching, a clinical specialty, research, administration, etc.) or in a closely related non-nursing field directly applicable to the requirements of this position.

GS-10: Completion of a professional nursing program and 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level.

NOTE: If you are using education to qualify, you MUST electronically upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. The education MUST be from an institution accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) applicants MUST provide a transcript in order to be considered under S.A.A. (If you are selected for this position, you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.)

Transcripts MUST be electronically uploaded and linked from USAJOBS to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Application site at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include school name, student name, degree and date awarded.

Specialized experience examples per grade level:

GS-04:

• Experience gained as a military corpsman or a new graduate of an Associate Degree RN program.

GS-05:

• Experience communicating with and providing nursing services to patients.
• Experience applying professional nursing concepts, principles, practices and nursing standards.
• Experience operating medical equipment.

GS-07:

• Experience implementing established protocols and standing orders for handling patients.
• Experience in human behavior and the ability to communicate with and provide nursing services to patients.
• Experience recognizing life threatening emergencies and initiating immediate care until assistance is obtained.

GS-09:

• Experience in the techniques and the operational mechanics of medical equipment.
• Experience providing care to patients whose conditions are characterized by extremely complex health care needs.
• Experience with accurately transcribing physician's orders, performing health assessments and accurately documenting in patient's medical record.
• Experience with pharmacology of a wide variety of drugs, dosages, routes of administration, therapeutic action, drug interactions, and adverse reactions.

GS-10:

• Experience in professional nursing concepts, principles, practices and nursing standards as related to medical, surgical, and mental health nursing.
• Experience in the recognition of life threatening emergencies and in initiating immediate care until assistance is obtained.
• Experience in nursing theories and practices needed to plan and provide care to patients whose conditions are characterized by extremely complex health care needs.
• Experience using critical thinking skills and establishing priorities of care when dealing with multiple patients having varying degrees of care requirements.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience:**

Have a combination of education and experience. This experience must have equipped you with the qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above.

Credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your resume and/or educational transcripts.