This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Lead Medical Technologist Supporting the Laboratory Manager with contractual and fiscal obligations by establishing and maintaining COR certification and assisting with quality assurance duties Researching clinical requirements from all laboratory disciplines and receiving information from the technical supervisors/specialists sufficient to initiate, maintain and monitor contract requirements in a manner as to provide safety and efficiency of laboratory operations Writing statements of work (SOW), justification of sole source and conducting market research to maintain uninterrupted clinical laboratory supplies, services and instrumentation Maintaining all required contract documentation in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and ensuring contracted services and supplies meet laboratory accreditation requirements Supporting Supervisory MT by assisting with employee competencies, staff education and training, and scheduling and staffing off-duty tours Supporting the Ancillary Testing Program and the ATC by ensuring safe and accurate ancillary testing (acts as the backup technical advisor for ancillary quality control (QC), records control, and proficiency testing) Using established tools for training and for assessing competency for non-laboratory personnel and reports problems with compliance to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to the individual employee's supervisor Working with ATC to identify and classify all ancillary testing within the Medical Center, it's clinics and affiliated facilities such as CBOC's Assisting in the oversight of the ancillary testing QC and QA processes and documentation and investigates and resolves complaints or problems Acting as Education Coordinator by ensuring all staff are up to date with mandatory facility continuing education and policies and procedures in the document control system as well as scheduling Health Professional Trainees for clinical rotations by working with the Human Resources department and educational institutions Assisting Lab Manager, Supervisory MT, ATC, LIM and Technical Specialists in preparing for inspections and conducting site visits Assisting Lab Manager, Supervisory MT, ATC, LIM and Technical Specialists in monitoring the technical work performed by other Medical Technologists, Medical Technicians and facility employees for adherence to established national, facility and P&LMS policies and SOP's to ensure that P&LMS maintains accreditation standards through the various accrediting agencies Participating in external proficiency testing programs (ancillary and clinical lab) and works with the Lab Manager, Supervisory MT, ATC, LIM, and Technical Specialists to ensure proper and timely proficiency testing and reporting General Medical Technologist Evaluating and solving related to collection and processing of biological specimens for analysis, taking into account physiologic processes and requirements Maintaining and documenting the optimal functioning of laboratory equipment Using, calibrating, identifying malfunctions, repairs and performing preventive maintenance of laboratory equipment Diagnosing deviations in test performance due to instrument malfunction Performing and documenting quality control and assurance activities and corrective actions related to test performance using statistical principles and theories of performance improvement Adhering to practices and regulations governing biosafety and biosecurity in the workplace Communicating issues and problems to management expeditiously Performing other duties as assigned based on the needs of P&LMS Work Schedule: Fulltime, Monday thru Friday; 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. OR 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. OR 2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This is a Bargaining Unit position

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/29/2023. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy Education and/or Experience Combination A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in medical laboratory science, medical technology, clinical laboratory science or in a related science (e.g., laboratory sciences such as chemistry, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, immunology, etc.) AND Completion of a medical technology clinical practice program. Clinical practice programs completed after 1974 must have been accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP, formerly CAHEA) or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). The professional curriculum may have consisted of a post-baccalaureate certificate program or be integrated into a four-year program of study that culminated in a baccalaureate degree OR A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and 1 course in mathematics AND Two years of post-certification clinical laboratory experience (e.g., blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, clinical microscopy, etc.) within the last ten years as a certified Medical Laboratory Technician by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR) or American Medical Technologists (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory OR A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and 1 course in mathematics AND Five years of clinical laboratory experience within the last ten years performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. Certification: Candidates must have either (1) or (2) below: Candidates must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT. For positions up to the full performance level, candidates must currently possess the categorical or specialist technologist level certification from the certification agencies listed above, such as, but not limited to, chemistry (C/SC), hematology (H/SH), microbiology (M/SM), molecular biology (MB/SMB) and blood bank (BB/SBB). Technologists with categorical or specialist certifications may only perform duties within the area of the laboratory specific to their categorical certification (e. g., an individual with a chemistry (C) certification can only perform duties in chemistry). Exception: Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for certification may be given a temporary appointment up to the full performance level not to exceed one year as a graduate medical technologist under the authority of 38 U.S.C. ? 7405(c)(2)(B). This appointment may not be extended. Failure to Obtain Certification: In all cases, MTs must actively pursue meeting prerequisites for certification from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the MT with the written requirement to obtain certification, the date by which the certification must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline. Failure to become certified within one year from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0644 MT series. Failure to obtain certification during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. Foreign Graduates: Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational and/or experience requirements if the degree is found to be equivalent to degree programs recognized by the NAACLS or clinical laboratory experience as described in paragraph 2b(2) or (3) above. This finding may be based on either of the following: A letter from a college or university with a baccalaureate program recognized by the NAACLS stating that the individual's foreign degree has been evaluated and been found to be equivalent to its bachelor of medical technology degree. A letter from ASCP-BOC or AMT stating that the individual is eligible for the certification examination. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 English Language Proficiency: MTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation). Preferred Experience: Three years of work experience as a generalist Medical Technologist in a hospital setting with ASCP or AMT certification as MT, MLS or CLS One year of work experience in a leadership or supervisory role in a clinical laboratory One year of work experience working on multidisciplinary teams or committees in a hospital setting One year of experience in contracting, ancillary testing, document control, and/or laboratory information systems One year of experience utilizing Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint presentations Grade Determinations: GS-11 Experience. Must have 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the full performance level (GS-9), which is directly related to the position to be filled. OR Education. Must have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in medical technology or a directly related field. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of medical technology applicable to a wide range of duties to solve complex problems involving diverse aspects of clinical laboratory practice. Knowledge of regulatory, licensing and accrediting agency requirements and statutes governing clinical laboratory operations in order to plan, implement or monitor laboratory programs and services. Ability to manage and coordinate daily work activities and assignments in a section. Skill to maintain, troubleshoot and repair laboratory instrumentation. Ability to provide technical oversight in order to manage personnel and work assignments in a manner that assures completion of the laboratory workload. References: VA Handbook 5005/72 Part II Appendix G24, Medical Technologist Qualification Standard GS-644 Veterans Health Administration 05/12/2014 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Failure to submit the required transcript may result in non-referral of your application if we cannot confirm your education is accredited.

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.

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

Contacts

• Address Thomas E Creek VA Medical Center 6010 Amarillo Boulevard, West Amarillo, TX 79106 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]