About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Healthcare & Nursing.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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What You’ll Do

Confidential Client seeks a Nursing Assistant – Mental Health to join the clinical team in Iowa City, IA. In this role you will provide hands-on patient care, support licensed nursing staff, and help maintain a safe, therapeutic environment for patients with mental health needs.

• Provide direct patient care: bathing, feeding, dressing, mobility assistance, ADLs
• Assist nursing staff with treatments and monitoring (vitals, specimen collection, blood glucose checks)
• Observe and document patients’ physical and emotional status; report changes promptly
• Support implementation of care plans and participate in recovery-focused activities
• Use basic therapeutic communication with patients, families, and the care team
• Respond to emergent situations (basic life support measures, bleeding control, behavior crisis assistance) and request escalation when needed
• Participate in orientation/precepting of new Nursing Assistants (at higher GS levels as required)

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Minimum Qualifications

Candidates must meet federal and role-specific requirements:

• United States citizenship (per VA policy: non-citizens may be appointed only when recruiting qualified citizens is not possible)
• Proficient in basic written and spoken English (per 38 U.S.C. 7402(d))
• One of the following to meet Nursing Assistant (NA) basic requirements:
  • Six (6) months of general experience demonstrating ability to learn NA tasks; or
  • One year of education above high school with courses related to the NA occupation; or
  • Completion of an intensive, specialized, occupation-related training program of less than one year as a NA
• Grade-specific qualification notes:
  • GS-03 — Entry-level; meets basic requirements
  • GS-04 — One (1) year of NA or related medical experience OR two years post-high school coursework in nursing/health-related subjects; must demonstrate KSAs such as patient care, equipment use, and effective communication
  • GS-05 — One (1) year of progressively responsible experience equivalent to GS-04 OR a bachelor’s degree with 24 semester hours in health-related courses; must demonstrate higher-level KSAs including precepting, complex patient care, and emergent situation recognition

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Preferred Experience

• Prior inpatient mental health experience strongly preferred
• Experience functioning as part of a multidisciplinary nursing team
• Familiarity with behavioral health patient care, therapeutic communication, and de-escalation techniques

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Compensation & Benefits

• Pay range: $37,026 - $60,453 per year (range provided by the client)
• Employment type: Full-time
• Benefits, paid leave, and other federal benefits may apply per client policy (details provided during the hiring process)

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Working Conditions & Additional Info

• The full performance level for this vacancy is GS-5; selection may be made at GS-3 to GS-5 depending on qualifications
• The role involves regular patient contact, possible exposure to clinical and behavioral health environments, and may require physical activity such as lifting or assisting patients
• Candidates must be able to perform the essential duties with or without reasonable accommodation

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.