This position is located at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin aligned under the Acute Nursing Outpatient Division, Operating Room. The primary purpose of this position is to provide assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical teams.

Duties

Duties: Functions as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures performed at this facility. Sets up operating room suite and sterile field with all required items for each procedure, utilizing the procedure card and posting slip. Preoperatively, intraoperatively collaborates with surgical team and assures that all supplies, instruments and equipment are available for the surgical procedure. 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 facility / department policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. Assists the surgical team with care of the patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies, and transportation to and from the OR. In conjunction with the circulating Registered Nurse (RN), performs sponge and instrument counts to verify accuracy. Responsible for knowledge of department policy for prevention of retained surgical items. 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. 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. Performs variety of assignments within the department as assigned to include: scrub duties, sterile core duties, Turn Over Team (TOT), clerical, scheduling, surgical assisting. Performs non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Assesses equipment needs and assists logistics personnel to provide adequate stock of supplies and materials. Provides guidance and support to other Surgical Technicians, new OR staff, nursing and medical students, resident and attending physicians. Recognizes potentially hazardous situations (e.g., frayed cords, water on floor), and takes corrective action. Protects self and others from injury related to patient positioning and movement as outlined in the facility Safe Patient Handling program. Work Schedule: 7am-3:30pm with rotation Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD09033A Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of who are at stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lining, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

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
• May 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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. GS-06 Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) 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: Working with the instruments and procedures commonly used in the Operating Room (OR), positioning patients for treatment and/or surgery; interpreting physician/surgeon instructions; skill in emergency first aid procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation; performing routine diagnostic or treatment procedures or to assist a team member during procedures; working with normal and abnormal results to recognize and report obvious abnormalities during procedures; working with sterilization methods to clean instruments to prevent the spread of infectious and contagious diseases. OR Graduate Education: One-half year of graduate education (9 semester hours or equivalent) of successfully completed graduate level education that is directly related to the work of the position to be filled (Surgical Technician). This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR Combination of both experience and graduate education: Possess combination of both education and experience. Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience to qualify at the GS-6 level. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) GS-7: Specialized Experience: 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 (KSA's) 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. Specialized experience includes: experience as primary scrub technician in operating room for highly complex surgical procedures; possessing knowledge of various surgical procedures, proper handling of surgical instruments, human anatomy and physiology; working with aseptic technique, sterile technique, universal precautions and how to implement infection control policies and procedures; possessing knowledge of pathology care and the ability to handle specimen correctly. OR GS-7: Graduate Education: One (1) year of successfully completed graduate level education that is directly related to the work of the position to be filled (Surgical Technician). This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR GS-7: Combination of both experience and graduate education: Possess combination of both education and experience. Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience to qualify at the GS-7 level. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-XX. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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

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.

Contacts

• Address Clement J Zablocki Veterans Administration Medical Center 5000 West National Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53295 US
• Name: Trisha Juanez
• Phone: 414-384-2000 X44342
• Email: [email protected]