Practical Nurse

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Practical Nurse:

Licensure: A current license to practice as a practical or vocational nurse in a State, 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.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirement listed below:

GS-04:

Experience:
To qualify based on your experience, your resume must describe at least six months of experience which prepared you to do the work in this job. Nursing experience is defined as measuring patient's vital signs and screening or updating patient medical records. This definition of nursing experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-03).

OR

Education/Training: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this grade level, you may qualify if your education meets the definition below:

Successful completion of a program in practical nursing of at least 9 months' duration combined with one year of nursing assistant experience; OR successful completion of a two-year degree program in an accredited community college, junior college, or college or university in practical nursing. Note-you must provide a copy of your transcripts.

GS-5:

Experience: One year of nursing experience 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 measuring patient's vital signs, administering immunizations or medications via various routes, and screening or updating patient medical records. This definition of experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-04).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For the GS-5 grade level, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone - no substitution of education for experience is permitted.