The Medical Technician will be responsible for phlebotomy (including special techniques for elderly or psychiatric patients), specimen processing, training, inventory management, specimen testing/examination and phlebotomy and technician support staff training training and guidance.

Duties

Utilizing centrifuges, automated processors, and laboratory refrigerators and freezers. Sterilizing and autoclaving contaminated material according to safety policies. Cleaning glassware and other reusable items following established policies and procedures. Shipping medical specimens for diagnostic testing, including hazardous and infectious agents. Following proper storage requirements and procedures for laboratory specimens. Processing emergency specimens and routine specimens in a timely manner. Understanding and applying continuous process improvement throughout the laboratory. Adhering to all universal precautions, infection control, and safety regulations associated with the laboratory. Maintaining operational and quality control logs, records, and worksheets. Maintains supplies and organizes a timely flow of specimens for testing. Selecting and using the appropriate equipment and materials for laboratory tests. Preparing samples for testing to include labeling, centrifugation, decanting, aliquoting, etc. Evaluating the suitability of specimens. Identifying and documenting unusual test results or discrepancies/conditions that can lead to erroneous results. Correlating quantitative data with patient data to verify results. Performing additional tests to clarify or confirm results. Maintaining cleaning and safety practices logs. Performing clerical duties in support of a medical laboratory. Receiving and answering phone calls to the laboratory. Communicating testing issues with patient care teams. Filing and retrieving laboratory test information. Using a computer to enter or retrieve data from patient records. Performing phlebotomy on inpatients and outpatients Providing training for Medical Technologist student interns and new employees on phlebotomy, specimen receiving, accessioning and processing Providing oversight guidance of the phlebotomy and technician support staff team in the absence of the supervisor Work Schedule: 5:00 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.;7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.; 8:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; or 9:00 am - 5:30 pm rotating weekends and holidays Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Med Technician-Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service/PD06215A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/17/2023. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. Specialized Experience: For positions at GS-4 and above: (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. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), applicants must also meet the specialized experience and/or education or training that is directly related to this position. 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-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Executes specimen collection procedures, specimen processing, laboratory tests, quality control, data entry and inventory control. Correlates test orders/results to verify orders/results and draw conclusions concerning validity. Skilled in medical technology including concepts and methodology to carry out a wide variety of specimen collection procedures, specimen processing, laboratory tests, quality control, data entry and inventory control. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.(transcripts required). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical ReasoningClericalDiagnostic Medical TestingTechnical 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 requires regular and recurrent standing, walking, bending, lifting of some heavy containers, trips to wards for specimen collection, and handling of uncooperative patients occasionally. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. In other situations, such as in a laboratory, there may be special requirements for agility or dexterity such as exceptional hand/eye coordination. 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 Palo Alto VA Medical Center 3801 Miranda Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 US
• Name: Desiree Carter
• Phone: 504-314-5492
• Email: [email protected]