This position is located at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Acute Outpatient Nursing Division, Medical Specialty Clinics. The incumbent functions as a non-licensed member of the nursing care team and combines the responsibility and selected aspects of a productive team member carrying out and ensuring quality and timely delivery of care. The incumbent is expected to make valuable contributions to the patient care process

Duties

Duties: The HT functions as a highly skilled member of the staff and provides clinical & administrative support for the delivery of acute and non-acute care in the Medical Specialty Clinics. Clinical Maintain clinic efficiency keeping Providers and Veterans on time and reporting delays and changes to those involved. Assist with clinical reminder questions. Prepare clinic schedules and room assignments for the next day, setting these out in AM and before PM clinics. Upload home glucometers, and continuous glucose monitoring devices. Operates and maintains ( at the user level) a wide variety of physiologic monitoring, measuring and computing devices to display and record vital patient parameters. Obtains and documents patient vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, and orthostatic vital signs). Recognizes and reports abnormal values to the Registered Nurse (RN) or provider staff. Initiates cardiac monitoring correctly and can print vital sign history. Prepares patients for and obtains 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs); provides privacy and emotional support during test. Able to retrieve and print 12-lead ECGs from computer system (CPRS-VISTA imaging) and/or MUSE system. Performs venipuncture to obtain serum blood samples and blood cultures as ordered according to policy and procedure. Collects, labels, and sends laboratory specimens as ordered according to policy and procedure. Performs point-of-care testing, documents and reports results according to policy and procedure. Takes appropriate action for critical values. Performs a variety of specialized treatments within Medical Specialty Clinics not involving medication administration. Moves, lifts, transfers and transports patients as necessary using proper safe patient handling techniques and equipment. Assists patients to ambulate and transfer safely. Observes changes in patient condition and reports signs and symptoms in such cases to the LPN, RN, or provider. Recognizes emergency situations and responds to them appropriately. Follows standard procedures set by infection control in all aspects of daily duties. Disposes of infectious material per facility policies. Verbally reports and documents in the medical record observations and treatments given to patients, using standard nomenclature and approved forms. Initiates and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) according to American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Cleans reusable equipment according to policy and procedures. Assists in maintaining adequate inventory of equipment and supplies. When stocking ensures supplies are rotated and not expired. Secures the confidence and cooperation of patients to achieve desired results; Provides emotional support, friendly assistance, sympathetic understanding and encouragement to patients and families. ADMINISTRATIVE Uses sound judgment to work with staff to prioritize patient needs and institute timely interventions. Contributes to creating a work climate that encourages positive staff morale, motivation, and commitment for all who participate in the care of patients. Assists with answering phones and placing calls/pages as needed and relays messages in a timely manner. Is respectful for safeguarding patient records during visit in accordance with the Privacy Act and medical center policies. Attends and participates in training opportunities in order to plan high quality patient care. Work Schedule: Variable Tours Monday - Friday 7:00am - 5:00pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD23514A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/26/2023. 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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: : Must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-4) in the Federal Service that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Health Technician. Specialized experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques related to the position and includes, but is not limited to: skill in phlebotomy to draw blood of patients of varying complexity. Using various computer menus such as CPRS, DHCP, and email. Knowledge of processing and storage requirements for lab specimens. Upload home glucometers, and continuous glucose monitoring devices. Prepares patients for and obtains 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs); Able to retrieve and print 12-lead ECGs from computer system. Knowledge of infection control, aseptic and sterile technique to prevent cross contamination and spread infection. Recognizing, reporting and assisting in emergency situations including CPR. Ability to recognize normal and abnormal EKGs. Knowledge of alternative position techniques for patients for the performance of EKG or phlebotomy. Skilled in interpersonal communication, both internally and externally, with patients and employees. OR, Education: Must have successfully completed a full 4-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 position (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR, COMBINATION of Education and Experience: Must possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education as stated above and experience to meet total experience requirements. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (i.e. 30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer SkillsCritical Thinking 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: The work involves periods of prolonged extensive or considerable standing/walking. Lifts, positions, pushes, and/or transfers patients. Lifts supplies/equipment. Considerable reaching, stooping, bending, kneeling, and crouching 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 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]