The incumbent is assigned to Nursing Service and supports both the Medical and Surgical Service as the Health Technician for the Gastrointestinal (GI) and Genitourinary (GU) Endoscopy Unit, minor surgery and procedures clinics, and the wound care clinic at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS) Austin Outpatient Clinic (AOPC). Incumbent will report to and is supervised by the Nurse Manager, AOPC and/or designee.

Duties

CTVHCS is in the process of making a cultural change, shifting from a disease-focused approach to a health and wellbeing approach, in order to implement the Whole Health System of Care. This is a VA-wide initiative to provide a comprehensive and systematic approach to improve healthcare delivery at all stages of Veteran care. This entails moving from an episodic, "siloed" approach to an interdisciplinary, holistic approach, emphasizing self-care in the larger context of well-being. All staff in this facility will be part of this process, shifting the focus from the question, "What's the matter with you?" to the question, "What matters to you, and how can we help you live your best life?" This strategy also involves integrating a full range of conventional approaches with Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) approaches in order to optimize lifelong health and well-being, as defined by the Veteran, rather than narrowly focusing on disease management. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing procedures under the general supervision of the endoscopy/surgical team. Functions as a primary scrub person, responsible for handling instruments, supplies and equipment for not limited to endoscopy procedures. Maintains a constant awareness of the clinical condition of the patient and promptly notifies the registered nurse (RN)/physician of any patient changes or developments. Orders, stocks and retrieves disposable instruments, supplies and medications used for multiple types of procedures, coordinating with Sterile Processing Service, Supply and Distribution Service and Pharmacy to ensure all items for procedures are in stock and available for scheduled and urgent procedures performed daily. Independently sets up and maintains a sterile field with all required instruments, supplies and equipment for each procedure to include, but not limited to: endoscopy, urologic equipment, microscopes, and recording devices. Participates with the RN in developing a plan to meet the needs and expectations of the various physician teams. Provides basic nursing care for patient undergoing procedures while maintaining patients' dignity and privacy. Plans and discusses each procedure with the RN, and endoscopy or physician team. Assures all instruments, supplies and equipment are available prior to the procedure. Maintains established competencies for area of assignment. Participates in educational opportunities for the service. Initiates and implements in-services related to inter-service needs in endoscopy/minor surgery, e.g., collaborates with SPS, and MSD&E technicians, laboratory, infection prevention and control and housekeeping. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday and extended hours based on needs of service and organization: Tours of duty include 7:30am - 4:00pm, 8:00am - 4:30pm, 08:30am -5:00pm, or 9:30am - 6:00pm. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD08108A Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required

Qualifications

Individual Occupational Requirements: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. Minimum Qualification Requirements: Specialized experience: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Providing assistance to the physician and other members of the team during endoscopy, urology, hysteroscopy, and minor surgical procedures; Maintaining a constant awareness of the clinical condition of the patient and promptly notifies the registered nurse(RN)/physician of any patient changes or developments; Identifying and/or correcting actual or potential safety hazards; Performing patient care as directed/assigned; Setting up and maintaining a sterile field with all required instruments, supplies and equipment for each procedure; Utilizing universal precautions and following all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies and equipment. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07 level. One full year of graduate education where classes taken are directly related to the work of the position. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-07. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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.

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/.

Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

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.

Contacts

• Address VA Central Texas Health Care System 1901 Veterans Memorial Drive Temple, TX 76504 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]