This position is located in the Veterans Administration (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Salisbury VA Medical Center (MC) Kernersville NC and Patient Care Service in Kernersville, NC. The position serves a Surgical Technician (ST) is a member of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures.

Duties

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Functions as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures. Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as air-powered equipment, fiber optic equipment, laparoscopic equipment, microscopes, arthroscopy equipment, urologic equipment, recording devices, and other operating room supplies and equipment. Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure and according to the surgeon's preference cards. Prepares, organizes, and maintains highly complex sterile surgical setups. Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time. Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. Assists the team members with care of the patients, i.e., positioning, prepping and obtaining supplies. Handles all specimens appropriately. In conjunction with the circulating Registered Nurse (RN), performs sponge and instrument counts to verify accuracy. Responsible for the accountability of all surgical instruments and equipment during the surgical procedure. Assists the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures. Prepares prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures. Assists in training residents, medical students, nursing students, operating room technology students and new Operating Room (OR) staff in the operation of equipment, sterile technique, handling of instruments and OR procedures to include the scrub role in surgical procedures. Functions as support personnel for complex surgical procedures. Maintains equipment performing non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Maintains OR area. Assesses equipment needs and maintains adequate stock of supplies and materials. Recognizes potentially hazardous situations (e.g., frayed cords, water on floor) and takes corrective action. Provides guidance and support to other ST staff. Monitors aides, non-surgical team members, students and other personnel. Assists surgical team members in quality improvement activities. Updates personal knowledge regarding current trends in surgical technology through continuing education courses. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 07:00am-3:30pm compressed and flexible hours are not authorized Telework: Not authorized Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD02091A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• All 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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education: Individuals must have successfully completed a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university and successfully completed a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs accredited cytotechnology program. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupational Requirement: Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement, you must meet the following to qualify at the GS-07 level: Specialized Experience GS-07 - One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: experience as a first responder to emergent situations, experience with extracting, assisting, moving , lifting, transferring and transporting patients, experience in obtaining and documenting patient's vital signs, experience in recognizing emergency situations and episodes of patient deterioration and responding appropriately, experience in utilizing S-BAR format to verbally report and/or document, and experience in venipuncture and collection of specimens. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education: One (1) full year of graduate education related to the field to meet the requirements for the GS-7 level. 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. 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. NOTE: A transcript (unofficial or official) must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Applications submitted without this information will not be considered. OR, Combination: One (1) full year of graduate education related to the field to meet the requirements for the GS-7 level. 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. 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. NOTE: A transcript (unofficial or official) must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Applications submitted without this information will not be considered. 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.

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 WG Bill Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center 1601 Brenner Avenue Salisbury, NC 28144 US
• Name: Danielle Muse
• Email: [email protected]