The Medical Laboratory Aid/Medical Technician (Phlebotomy) serves in the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. The technician performs phlebotomy in the inpatient, outpatient and extended care areas of the hospital. The technician also performs a variety of computer, customer service, specimen processing, instruction and communication tasks.

Duties

Recruitment Incentive: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates; 10% of salary paid in lump sum for a one-year service commitment ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-4. At the lower grade levels, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-4. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher-level work, and availability of funds. Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Follow procedures for patient identification, sample procurement and specimen labeling; Perform routine venipuncture specimen collections from patients; Follow laboratory procedures for collecting specimens in the appropriate container; Control the physical condition of samples and respond to time factors to ensure that the physiologic state of the specimen is maintained; Provide education to patients for proper collection techniques; Prepare samples for testing to include labeling, centrifugation, decanting and aliquoting, etc.; Maintain adequate supplies for all phlebotomy and specimen procurement procedures; Answer incoming calls for the laboratory service - finding and relaying accurate information or referring the caller to technical personnel; Performs point of care testing; Identify and appropriately respond to adverse reactions such as fainting, nausea, vomiting, convulsions and arrests; and Perform other related duties as assigned Work Schedule: Day-time hours; to be discussed at interview. No weekends or holidays. Recruitment Incentive: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates; 10% of salary paid in lump sum for a one-year service commitment Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: 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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

Requirements

Qualifications

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients. In addition to the requirements stated above, the following grade requirements apply - To qualify for the GS-3 Medical Laboratory Aid position, applicants must possess at least one of the following qualification requirements: EXPERIENCE GS-3: Requires Six months of general experience defined as (l) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE GS-3: Successful completion of (a) a full-time training course of approximately a year's duration in a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) school that included instruction in chemistry, hematology, blood banking, and microbiology (including serology) and that, in addition, included supervised laboratory practice incident to the diagnostic process and the treatment of patients; or (b) 1 year of study that included at least 6 semester hours in chemistry and/or biological science. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE GS-3: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) To qualify for the GS-4 Medical Technician position, applicants must possess at least one of the following qualification requirements: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-4: Requires Six months of general experience as defined above, plus Six months of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledges, skills and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Specialized experience includes: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled, and (c) performing basic clerical duties (e.g., telephone inquiries; access/verify patient orders; etc.) OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE GS-4: Successful completion of (a) an associate-degree course of study of which the 2nd year of the 2-year program included successful completion of a training course of approximately a year's duration in a certified laboratory assistant school approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; (b) 1 year of study that included 6 semester hours in chemistry and/or the biological sciences, plus successful completion of the training course as described in (a) above for GS-3; or (c) 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours of chemistry and/or biological science course work that must have been directly related to the specialization of the position to be filled. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE GS-4: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Computer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Patient CareQuality AssuranceSpecimen Collection IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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). 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires manual dexterity and exceptional hand/eye coordination, some physical exertion, such as regular and recurring walking, reaching, bending and to stand for several consecutive hours during the collection, processing and testing of specimens. The work is performed at a fast pace. 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

IMPORTANT: 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 Minneapolis VA Medical Center One Veterans Drive Minneapolis, MN 55417 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]