This position is assigned to the Nursing Service - Perioperative unit at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL and serves as a member of the surgical team in the Operating Room by performing as a scrub person during operative procedures.

Duties

Duties Include: The Surgical Technician is assigned personal nursing care tasks which can include transporting pre and post operative patients, assisting in the preparation and clean-up of the operating room, using restraints and table attachments to position patients, and maintains a clean and safe environment to promote patient comfort and prevent contamination of the sterile field; assures proper cleaning and disinfecting of instruments post-op. The technician scrubs for any assigned surgical procedures including those of a highly extensive and complex nature in any of the major sub-specialty services; recommends substitutes for items and equipment not available; sharing with the circulating nurse the responsibility for correct sponge, needle and instrument counts; aware and responds to intraoperative complications such as hemorrhage, cardiac arrest, etc., or potential break in sterile field. The technician scrubs for a range of assigned surgical procedures that require the setup of auxiliary equipment and equipment; prepares instruments and equipment for emergency that may arise; anticipates the need for any instrumentation and equipment required, especially unusual or surgeon preferred items; checks equipment for completeness and proper functioning prior to use, reports deficiencies in equipment, supplies, and keeps the operating rooms clean, quiet and orderly. The technician checks for the completeness of the pre-operative checklist e.g., appropriate charting, legible ID band, current required laboratory, EKG and X-ray data, signed and witnesses' consent, etc.; provides information to the nurse and/or physician as well as information concerning the physiological condition of the patients; enters information about the patient's condition in the chart following station policy. The technician gives a brief, but thorough explanation of what the patient my expect to have happen thus allaying some of the fear(s) of surgery and the pre and/or post events. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm. On call responsibilities and scheduling flexibility required. May be required to work on weekends and holidays. Work schedule and rotations will be discussed at interview. Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician - Operating Room/PD1743A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, facility applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. Non-facility applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/14/2023. 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. 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-7 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-6 level in the Federal service to qualify for the Grade-7. Examples of specialized experience include (but are not limited to): Experience in positions that required preparing patient and the operating room for procedures; knowledge of surgical procedures and the human anatomy; knowledge of a wide range of instrumentation used in surgical procedures; knowledge of supplies such as grafts, shunts, catheters, prosthesis, needles, suture, etc.; knowledge of patient care nursing principles and skills such as connecting drains and tubing, preparing sterile dressings, etc.; skill in 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-7 grade level. Graduate level education or an internship may meet the specialized experience required above the GS-6 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 will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Infection ControlPatient CareTechnical 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: Physical Demands: Physical and mental stamina are required, the du5ties involve frequently working under considerable stress, tense (sometimes life-threatening situations and with patients who are in a sedated state with loss of orientation. Involves long, strenuous hours of standing, stooping, bending, stretching without a break during procedures which require intense concentration. Involves frequent lifting to position or transport handicapped or anesthetized patients. Requires strenuous physical exertion and agility. Manual dexterity and agility are required to correctly assemble, test or repair instruments. Strain is incurred in staying alert on long cases under difficult situations. Scheduled on-ca11 emergency procedures on a rotation basis, including holidays and weekends. Expected to respond, if reached, for life-threatening emergency, even when not on-call. Expected to stay beyond shift if more than one room is running beyond 3:30 PM. Work Environment: The work involves risks of regular and reoccurring exposures to infectious and contagious diseases which require the Infection Control Policy and safety precautions are followed. Although the use of safety precautions may eliminate a certain danger of discomfort, there are additional demands/stresses upon the employee in carrying out infection control and safety regulations and techniques. 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]