This position serves as an advanced technician for outpatient care settings such as; primary care, surgery, mental health, and specialty clinics. The incumbent may serve in a medical center, community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC), mobile medical unit or may have virtual/remote assignments.

Duties

Major Duties: The incumbent performs ongoing patient care duties in an outpatient clinical setting. These tasks are not all inclusive and require the demonstration of appropriate training and documented competence prior to their performance. The incumbent may assist with or perform other related approved technical health care procedures under the direction and supervision of the licensed personnel as competency is demonstrated and documented. Conditions that may impact the patient's health status. The incumbent will complete approved templates and tools, such as the outpatient intake form, normal result notes, and follow up treatment protocols established by the agency. Mental Health Services 15%: The incumbent assists in behavioral/psychiatric situations in an outpatient setting. This can include assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention, management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients, by providing one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques (PMDB). The incumbent performs duties focused on communication techniques required to complete the questioners and templates approved for use in any outpatient clinical setting, including active listening, restating, and mirroring. Clinical Tasks: 30%: The incumbent assists outpatient licensed staff with the delivery of care to patients with complex, specialized, and potentially life-threatening situations. The incumbent assists licensed staff with preparing patients for medical evaluation, setting up equipment, passing instruments and providing treatment during in-person or virtual visits. The incumbent operates specialized medical equipment to obtain diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes. The incumbent is responsible for collecting a wide range of specimens and preparing them for transfer to processing. Observes patient status and keeps licensed clinical staff informed of any change in condition.The incumbent must possess the knowledge to recognize life threatening situations and act to correct these emergent situations according to established national or local protocols. The incumbent initiates cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BLS) and use of automatic external defibrillator (AED) once certified and where appropriate according to American Heart Association (AHA) protocols and policies. Observes patient status and keeps licensed personnel informed of any change in condition. Clinical responsibilities include but are not limited to: Vital signs. Examples: vital signs, 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG).Point-of-care (POC). Examples: Abbott hand-held blood analyzer {I-STAT), blood glucose testing, covid antigen testing. Equipment and surgical instrumentation set up. Examples: skin biopsies (excisional, shave, punch), cervical smears. Assisting with treatments and interventions. Examples: Cryotherapy, incision and drainage, ambulation. And Foley coude' catheter insertion. Wound care. Examples: bandaging, application of dressings and wound measurements. Under the direction of an LIP, RN or woe Nurse. Specimen collection and Preparation. Examples: collecting and labeling venous blood samples, urine, and mucous specimens. Assisting with patient exams and screening. Examples: gynecology exams. Mental health care. Examples: Crisis intervention, performs behavioral/mental health screens, facilitates groups, conducts interviews, and observes behavioral patients. Administrative Responsibilities and Duties 30%: The incumbent performs all medical clerical operations related to the practice, including, Registration, Encounter forms, ICB, RTC and Means Test. Completes work orders; sets clinic up for next day; retrieves medical profiles and laboratory results as needed. Incumbents possess the scheduling option in VSE, CTM, and VISTA. Incumbent uses the scheduling options to schedule outpatient clinic appointments or uses the scheduling option for an administrative function (close encounters; no-shows). Other duties: 25%: Conducts or assists with the training of personnel in if appropriately trained, certified and/or qualified, for example: facility formal preceptors and Telehealth Presenter (TCT) instructors. Can conduct or assist with stand-downs, community health programs, health-care screenings, and immunizations. May be a member of hospital-wide committees to enhance care for Veterans. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:30am-5pm Telework: Not eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD55602A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/21/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Ability to perform healthcare procedures under the direction and supervision of licensed personnel, Experience in assisting in behavioral/psychiatric situations in an outpatient setting. Assisting outpatient licensed staff with the delivery of care to patients with complex, specialized, and potentially life-threatening situations; Experience collecting a wide range of specimens and preparing them for transfer to processing. Experience observing patient status and keeping licensed clinical staff informed of any change in condition. Experience in specimen collection and preparation. Experience assisting with patient exams and screening, utilizing technology such as telehealth peripherals. Practical knowledge of the major body systems, i.e., skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, circulatory, digestive and genitourinary, to perform patient examination and to provide prompt and efficient patient care and appropriate patient handling. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position. TRANSCRIPTS are required if basing qualifying on education. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond graduate education. Transcripts are required at the time of application to be considered for a combination. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/DocumentationCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Specimen CollectionTechnical Competence 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work involves extended periods of bending, standing and walking. Generally, the work requires recurring physical exertion with assisting patients. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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/. 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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Bronx VA Medical Center 130 West Kingsbridge Rd. Bronx, NY 10468 US
• Name: Karl McPherson
• Phone: 518-466-6400
• Email: [email protected]