This position is located in the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. The incumbent is a Health Technician performing a variety of clinical and administrative functions.

Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to: Knowledgeable of technical methods, techniques, procedures, and preparation. Deploys aseptic technique and follows guidelines used in performing venipuncture or blood collection on all patients according to doctor's orders. Interprets orders proficiently on inpatients and outpatients. Identifies acceptable venipuncture sites(for bleeding time). Performs high volume of blood draws during peak times and stressful conditions involving both inpatient and outpatient collections. Perform computer search for past and future lab test orders for all patients presenting to the outpatient's Blood Lab to assure all appropriate testing is done. Requires direct patient contact and must treat all patients with the utmost courtesy and respect. Provides professional customer service. Must label each and every tube as required and instructed with all necessary identifiers and information in the presence of the patient before proceeding. Requires knowledge and skills to identify supplies and equipment used to collect blood samples and other fluids from patients. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD03708A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Available Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/31/2023. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience with blood collection using a variety of phlebotomy techniques including vacutainer system, syringe, butterfly or capillary finger sticks with minimal number of failures, and patient bruising. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. 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 the first year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-05 level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/DocumentationCommunicationsCompliance InspectionComputer SkillsDiagnostic Medical Testing 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. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: Peter Basten
• Email: [email protected]