Duties

If selected for this position, your duties may include but are not limited to the following:

Clinical Practice:

• Exercises the full domain of practice for the clinical research nurse specialty that includes providing clinical care to research patients, supporting protocol implementation, data collection, continuity of care, human subjects protection and dissemination of clinical research findings.
• Utilizes advanced critical thinking and nursing skills to assess, plan, perform and evaluate nursing care for individual patients, patient's families and significant others who are participants in biomedical research protocols.
• Serves as a leader in an area of specialized clinical practice and may take multiple roles in planning and providing care to individual research participants or in coordinating and implementing clinical studies.
• Masters and maintains competence in all relevant nursing skills and the use of associated technology for a clinical program. Teaches these skills to less experience nursing staff and other colleagues. Serves as unit or program preceptor for new staff. Assists in assessing the competency of less experienced nurses. Accurately and appropriately administers medications. Uses resources to validate purpose, indication and intended outcome for medications, treatments and research procedures.
• Develops plans to address comprehensive research participant needs including education, safety, comfort and spirituality.

Study Management:

• Provides nursing support for research efforts through participation in clinical study implementation. Manages clinical and research support activities in order to assure patient safety, address clinical needs and assure protocol integrity and accurate data collection.
• Supports biomedical research through detailed observations, measurements, and data collection related to pertinent assessments as defined by the protocol specifications and the incumbent's clinical judgment.
• Accurately documents observations, identifies trends and important findings, and effectively communicates this information to the multidisciplinary research team and nursing colleagues. Provides feedback to colleagues and investigators on all issues affecting the quality of the research endeavor, assists less-experienced nurses in learning the specifics of studies or protocols, evaluates patient trends in outcomes and compliance, and contributes to the design of clinical trials.

Human Subjects Protection:

• Ensures that informed consent is obtained prior to beginning any studies or therapies and that it is ongoing through the patient's participation in the research process. The incumbent anticipates and identifies ethical conflicts and plans with the supervisor and multidisciplinary research team to address them. Coordinates research activities to minimize risk. Advocates for research participants and families and supports research participant rights.

Care Coordination and Continuity:

• Provides patient-focused nursing leadership within the interdisciplinary team and collaborates with team members to create and communicate a plan of care that balances clinical care needs with research needs and allows for safe and effective collection of clinical research data. Contributes to multidisciplinary conferences and activities regarding research participant care and protocol implementation.

Contributing to the Science:

• Disseminates clinical expertise and best practices related to clinical research through research team meetings, unit-based in-services, presentations, posters, publications and/or interactions with nursing and interdisciplinary colleagues. Generates practice questions as a result of new protocol procedures or interventions. Identifies questions that may be appropriate for clinical nursing research. Contributes as a research team member to the development of new ideas for study, explorations of innovations arising for clinical research findings to practice.

Leadership:

• Independently and effectively sets priorities and organizes complex assignments and unit activities. The incumbent develops and provides leadership, facilitation, and group management skills to team and identifies opportunities for collaborative projects and practice. The incumbent performs delegated administrative and committee work and identifies administrative issues among staff in the practice area.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship or proof of being a U.S. National is required.
• Position is subject to a background investigation.
• Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.
• If selected, you must pass a pre-employment medical examination.
• This position has the following minimum qualification requirements: nurse education, license and specialized experience.
• This position requires the incumbent to be able to lift and move items weighing up to 35lbs.
• This position may require the following work shifts: nights, rotational, holidays, on-call, call-back or weekends.
• This position is designated as Tier-1 Emergency Essential. See Additional Information section for specific details on this designation.

Qualifications

In order to meet the Basic Qualification Requirements for a Nurse (Clinical Research), GS-0610, you must:

A. Have a graduate or higher level degree, bachelor's degree, associate degree, or diploma from an accredited professional nursing educational program. (This education must have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education , Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs , Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education , or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.)

Note: Official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools is required for individuals who graduated from foreign nursing schools; AND

B. Have passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) or you obtained licensure before the implementation of the NCLEX-RN. Individuals who have not passed the NCLEX-RN, but meet all other qualification requirements will be subject to a comprehensive evaluation of both their education and experience prior to final appointment. AND

C. Possess a current, active, full and unrestricted license, or registration as a professional nurse from a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

In addition, in order to qualify for a Clinical Nurse position at the GS-11 level, you must:

A. Have completed a Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree, from a professional nursing educational program or related medical science field; OR

B. Have at least 1 year of professional nursing experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: providing comprehensive nursing care to patients based on the physician's medical care plan and the physical, mental and emotional needs of the patient; administering oxygen, IV fluid, blood transfusions and prescribed oral, subcutaneous and intramuscular medications; managing nasal-pharyngeal and gastric suction as well as a variety of other drainage tubes; preparing patients for surgical and/or diagnostic procedures; setting-up, operating and monitoring specialized equipment such as cardiac monitors, respirators, defibrillators, etc.; providing care in a variety of clinical settings, such as Inpatient Patient Care Units (e.g. oncology, pediatric, neurology, behavioral health), ICU, Operating Room, PACU, Donor Services, Infusion Centers and Ambulatory Clinics AND possession of a diploma, associate degree, bachelor's degree, or master's degree from a professional nursing educational program.
Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

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.

Preview assessment questionnaire before you apply: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11086960

The Ideal Candidate will have recent acute care (hospital) experience in their specialty area (i.e. Pediatrics, ICU, Perioperative, Ambulatory, Medical Surgical, etc.).

This announcement covers multiple areas within the NIH Clinical Center Nursing Department:

Inpatient Units: Rotating shifts (may include weekends, holidays, evening and nights)
ICU
Pediatrics
Oncology Surgical, Medical and Transplant
Medical Surgical
Adult Behavioral Health
Alcohol and Addictions
Neurology
Pediatric Behavioral Health
Special Clinical Studies Unit

Outpatient Clinics: Primarily Monday-Friday 7-4:30 with occasional extended hours
Hematology and Oncology
Pediatrics
Behavioral Health
Infectious Disease
Radiation Oncology
Cardiology
Ophthalmology
Medical Surgical Specialties
Neurology
ENT

Specialty Areas: (May include weekends and on-call)
OR
PACU
Interventional Radiology
Dental Clinic
Procedure Services, Endoscopy
Dialysis
Day Hospital/Infusion Centers (Oncology, Pediatrics, Medical Surgical)
Care Coordination and Case Management

Education

This position has an education requirement. You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts (or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades). Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Click here for information on Foreign Education .

Additional information

This Open Continuous announcement establishes a list of qualified applicants to be considered for Permanent Full-Time and Part-Time Nurse (Clinical Research) vacancies as they occur. The first list of eligible applicants will be sent to Hiring Managers on May 10th, 2021 which includes all applicants who self-certify their eligibility by May 7th , 2021 , 11:59 PM (EST). Subsequent cut-off dates will be established based on the date a request for a List of Eligible Applicants is received from the Hiring Manager to fill a vacancy. We will issue separate lists based on Career and Interagency Transition Claims. Only those applicants who self-identify as being qualified will be placed on the List of Eligibles. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

• As a condition of employment, all federal employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. During the onboarding process, if selected, you must provide proof of vaccination. An official job offer and continued employment is contingent on this requirement. For more information on this requirement, visit the Safer Federal Workforce page on vaccines. If you need a COVID-19 vaccine, please visit Vaccines.gov .
• Due to COVID-19, we are currently operating in a maximum telework state. If selected, you may be expected to telework. As employees to return to the office, you may be required to report to the location listed on this announcement within 30 calendar days of receiving notice, even if your home/temporary telework site is located outside the local commuting area. At the discretion of the supervisor and NIH policy, you may be eligible for workplace flexibilities, which may include remote work or telework options, and/or flexible work scheduling. These flexibilities may be requested in accordance with NIH Workplace Flexibilities guidance.
• This position is designated as an " emergency essential " position and the selected candidate will be considered an " emergency essential " employee and will be required to be available, ready, willing, and able to report for duty under all circumstances (e.g., inclement weather, government closings and holidays, lapses in appropriations, non-emergency and emergency situations) for operation 24 hours a day and 365 days per year coverage.
• A one-year probationary period may be required upon selection/placement.
• PHS Commissioned Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps should also apply online to this announcement in order to receive consideration.
• The National Institutes of Health participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program ( E-Verify ). E-Verify helps employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers.
• The NIH maintains a tobacco free work environment and campus.
• Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Visit our Applicant FAQs page for helpful information on the application process.
• Visit our Total Compensation page for a detailed look into the benefits, awards, leave, retirement and other incentives employees may receive as part of a rewarding work environment.