This position is located in the Laboratory Medicine Service at VA Fayetteville Arkansas Healthcare System - Fayetteville VA Medical Center in Fayetteville, AR. The Medical Technician provides phlebotomy support for both inpatients and outpatients by performing phlebotomy, accession specimens, and other procedures necessary to ensure appropriate specimen receipt, handling, and processing to ensure accurate and reliable results.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** 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. Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: Drawing blood from inpatients and outpatients for requested laboratory tests and using special drawing techniques and assuring that proper tubes are used and the correct amount of blood drawn Verifying the patient as the individual denoted on the request and labels all tubes with patient's name, social security number, date, and time to ensure proper identification Adhering to safety, infection control, and universal precautions at all times while drawing blood Completing draws on all but the most difficult patients and follows proper procedures for redrawing blood Collecting timed specimens such as growth hormone, peak and trough drug levels, glucose and lactose tolerance specimen, instructing patients in procedures to be followed prior, during and after tests, making schedules for a patient to follow in order to obtain the correct blood specimens at the required time Drawing cross match samples following all drawing and patient identification requirements Collecting blood cultures and providing appropriate patient care before and after the specimen is obtained Instructing patients in proper sterile midstream urine collection, 24-hour urine collection, and collection of specimens for culture and sensitivities, ova and parasites, and occult bloods Performing first aid procedures for the care of patients who become sick, arrest, or faint while having blood drawn. Observes and reports any physical or mental changes while patients are being drawn. Receiving all requests for testing and samples for testing into the laboratory; verifying the accuracy and completeness of the request; and contacting providers to clarification of order requests for referred testing Accepting or entering all requests into the hospital computer system and using both order entry and laboratory computer options Identifying unusual conditions and discrepancies and taking appropriate actions to correct and solve problems Processing all specimens according to strict guidelines to assure specimen integrity Performing the following advanced processing techniques: Making and/or staining blood slides for differential testing; loading centrifuge, starting operation, and distributing to proper sections of the laboratory for testing or preparing specimen for sending to reference laboratory; and loading specimens onto hematology and urinalysis analyzers for testing Answers incoming calls for Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (PLMS) and maintaining files of computer printed order entry forms Replenishing necessary supplies in the work area, collection trays, and specimen collection stations Cleaning work area using disinfectant wipes at the start and end of work tour Performing other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 08:00 a.m. to 04:30 p.m. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

Minimum Requirement: The following are minimum requirements for appointment as a Medical Technician in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). One of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position. Specialized Experience (GS-04): You must have at least six (6) months of general experience, and six (6) months of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. General Experience is: (1) 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. Specialized experience is: (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. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.) OR, Education (GS-04): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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 (i.e., 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 (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. NOTE: One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) OR, Combination (GS-04): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education, as described above. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) AND 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. AND SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: 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 requirement 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: CommunicationsComputer SkillsSpecimen CollectionTechnical Competence 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 some physical exertion such as regular and recurring long periods of standing, walking, bending and lifting. The work may require the position to assist in the lifting of equipment or patients. 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 Fayetteville AR VA Medical Center 1100 North College Avenue Fayetteville, AR 72703 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]