The incumbent serves as a Histopathology Technician in Montana VA Health Care System, Ft. Harrison site responsible for coverage of all clinical disciplines of Histology and Cytology area of Anatomic pathology section. Required to cover shifts independently as assigned on our five days per week service.

Duties

This announcement is open until filled. We accept applications for this occupation on an ongoing basis; qualified applicants will be reviewed and referred to the selecting official on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month until a candidate is selected. The incumbent responsible for the technical oversight of the Histology and Cytology area, consisting of sixteen instruments and all the policy and procedure updating, adherence to all current accreditation standards, all inventory and ordering duties, quality control oversight including troubleshooting issues with instruments and resolving problems as necessary, and new stain method development. In addition to the Histology and Cytology, this technician performs higher levels of responsibility for technical oversight, and is expected to carry out assigned tasks independently. Duties include but are not limited to: Technician performs histological techniques such as: fixation, embedding, cutting, and staining in order to prepare tissue slides for final diagnosis by the pathologists. The incumbent is responsible for maintaining specimen integrity and identification from initial accessioning through the entire specimen processing procedure. The incumbent performs a variety of extremely difficult, delicate and complex tissue handling procedure such as preparation of frozen sections for rapid diagnosis of tissue during surgery. Receives all requests and specimens for testing into the laboratory. Verifies the accuracy and completeness of the request and proper sample submission. Properly identifies all specimens. Verifies discrepancies with the provider. Accessions all specimens into the hospital computer system. The incumbent must be proficient in recognizing tissue from any part of the body and be able to identify the origin and type of tissue. Perform fixation techniques that are non-routine such as EM, Immunohistochemistry, muscle, and nerve studies, as well as bone decalcification. Understands the unique fixation requirements of each type and size of specimen, and whether or not the specimen must have special treatment before fixation. Must have an excellent understanding of anatomy, and the difference in each type of tissue, how they will respond to different processing protocols, and to determine the correct processing fit for each individual specimen. Due to the wide variety of specimens the lab can receive (from any part of the body) Knowledge of chemistry and the basic anatomy is essential to understanding the correct orientation of tissue in embedding so that imperative tissue is not lost during cutting. Understanding not only normal, but abnormal/diseased tissue is important. Pathology specimens are irretrievable, therefore trouble-shooting must be done prior to many steps performed. Incumbent must be able to operate and maintain a microtome, understanding how to perfect the angle, speed, and extra treatments that may be needed (decalcification, softening) and co1Tect temperature are required to produce acceptable sections. Verifying co1Tect embedding techniques, determining the proper manner for appropriate sectioning and thickness, and following the cutting protocol for each type of specimen and stain are essential. Manual and automated cover-slipping skills are also required. Performs staining of tissue sections including advanced staining techniques through automation and manual methods ( e.g. Papanicolauo, Romanowsky, GMS, PAS, Prussian Blue, VerhoeffVan Giesen elastic). These procedures are often complex, difficult, and non-standardized. Many choices of alternative ways of proceeding are determined through the incumbent' s professional training and experience. Procedures must be adapted to individual variance in specimen and stain performance. Appropriate fixation, embedding, and cutting techniques are evaluated to obtain the co1Tect specimen section for staining. Frozen section preparation includes orienting and freezing the unfixed specimen in appropriate medium and sectioning it with a cryostat microtome. Unique staining and cover-slipping techniques are used for frozen sections. Incumbent may assist pathologist with surgical gross description and processing. Gross description requires knowledge of anatomy of different tissues, as specimens may come from any part of the body. Understanding the difference between normal and abnormal presentation of these tissues is essential to describing notations of interest to the patient report. The incumbent will assist with bone marrow procedures at the patient bedside preparing slides and tubes for testing. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; Days Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. Experience and/or Education: Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) or health technician. Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation such as biological science or chemistry; or Successful completion of two academic years of study above high school that included at least 24 semester hours in Chemistry and/or in appropriate fields of biological science and successful completion of a 12-month program of education and training in histopathology or cytotechnology. Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as biological science, surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field. (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or histopathology technicians given by the U.S. Armed Forces. Creditable Experience To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with a health care field or knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the Histopathology Technician practice. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment in the health care field. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to Histopathology Technician experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as a Histopathology Technician is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of part-time work. English Language Proficiency. Histopathology Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5.a., this part. Histopathology Technician, GS-7 (Advanced) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Assignment. Histopathology technicians at this level generally have a higher level of responsibility for technical oversight, and are expected to carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty independently. The incumbent will have the responsibility of performing difficult specialized histological, histochemical, and immunohistochemical procedures, as well as developing, modifying, or adapting new staining methods or techniques, improving existing methods as necessary for routine histotechnology procedures. The technician will be responsible for troubleshooting issues with instruments and resolving problems. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: Skill in applying professional, complex anatomic pathology principles, practices, concepts, and theories in performing new or difficult specialized testing methods or techniques. Ability to provide technical oversight of laboratory quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement exhibiting competence in managing reagent and supply inventories and document control systems. Ability to validate methodologies, operate anatomic pathology laboratory equipment and perform complex instrument troubleshooting. Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze and evaluate laboratory results and resolve problems. References: VA Handbook 5005, Appendix G55 Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring standing to perform tests; prolonged sitting while utilizing a microtome; walking, reaching, stooping and bending to obtain supplies and operate instruments. The incumbent occasionally lifts heavy containers of reagents or supplies.

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 Fort Harrison VA Medical Center 3687 Veterans Drive Fort Harrison, MT 59636 US
• Name: Luis Fuentes Jr.
• Phone: 801-582-1565 X4405
• Email: [email protected]