This position is assigned to the Nursing Service - Medical/Surgical unit at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL and provides a varied range of supportive and direct care duties at the ward level in support of patient activities.

Duties

The Health Technician is a non-licensed member of the nursing care team and performs a wide range of direct and indirect patient care activities and related supportive services. The health technician is under the general guidance and direction of a Registered Nurse. Specific duties include but are not limited to: Performs tasks that re supportive of patient activities including, lifting, transporting, escorting and assisting in making the patient care environment organized and efficient. Preforms diagnostic support duties, such as vital signs, I/O, and finger stick glucose testing. Performs a wide range of support which includes transporting of patients to diagnostic examinations. Identifies the patient using two (2) identifiers. Performs vein puncture to obtain a blood specimen from the patient; explains the procedure nd labels the specimen. Places a saline lock into a peripheral vein and flushes it with a 10cc normal saline to maintain patency, documents procedure in computerized patient records system. Performs 12 lead ECGs and maintains skills in operating and maintaining ECG machines. Makes patient rounds daily and checks for outdated IV saline locks and changes as needed. Performs quality control tests for the Precision Glucometer as directed. Performs accu-checks. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Various work schedules including weekends and holidays. Work schedule will be discussed at interview. Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Medical-Surgical)/PD235460 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, facility applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days within the closing date of this announcement. Non-facility applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/16/2023. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. Possession of current American Heart Association (AHA) and Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) is highly desirable and preferred. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. The IOR for the GS-05 grade level is: Experience: Experience that requires application of knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. This position is part of the series that range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as register nurse, physician, audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, optometrists, or other clinical staff. --OR-- Education: Successfully completion of 4 full year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the Health Technician position. This would include course work such as human anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, etc. Transcript(s) Required. In addition, to the Individual Occupational Requirement above the follow is the experience required to qualify for this position at the GS-6 grade level. Specialized Experience: One (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skill, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the Health Technician position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-5 level in the Federal service to qualify at the GS-6 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include (but are not limited to): Providing direct patient care; providing assistance while observing for signs of potential complications to patients; preforms a variety of procedures that includes collecting, labelling, and recording for proper analysis; documents procedures in a computerized patient records system; uses aseptic and sterilization techniques to prevent cross contamination and spread of infection; providing competent educational instructions to patients; and communicates and assists customers, visitors and staff in a courteous and professional manner. Note: As a general rule education is not qualifying in this occupation at the GS-6 grade level. Graduate level education or an internship may meet the specialized experience required above the GS-5 grade level only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the Health Technician position. If utilizing education or internship to qualify for this position, transcripts and or certification of internship must be provided with your application package. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Infection ControlPatient Care 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: Physical Demands: The work involves periods of standing as well as considerable amounts of walking, bending, stooping, stretching, lifting (not to exceed 20 lbs.). Moving of patients using Safe Patient Handling Equipment. Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomfort and requires normal safety precautions typical of Medical Facility setting. 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 Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Larry LaRoche
• Phone: 708-202-8387 X28161
• Email: [email protected]