The Health Technician works as a member of the Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) Primary Care Service, under the guidance of the CBOC Nurse Manager. The CBOC Primary Care Service provides comprehensive outpatient services to eligible veterans. The Health Technician assists medical and nursing staff through technical, specialized or support services for the diagnosing or treatment of patient illnesses or medical conditions.

Duties

The Health Technician performs a variety of clinical, laboratory, and administrative work in support of outpatient services. Skill and precision in using phlebotomy needles, tools, materials and equipment is required to perform major duties of the position. Duties include but are not limited to: Performs a wide range of diagnostic support duties such as taking, recording, and reporting vital sign deviations to provider obtaining specimens and labeling specimens for the laboratory. Uses hot and cold packs, changes sterile dressings, cares for patients, and sets up and gives treatments that require auxiliary equipment. Performs a variety of specialized tests and procedures such as monofilament testing, and doppler exam of the extremity artery. Gathers diagnostic information using specialized equipment such as (but not limited to) pulse oximetry, bladder scanner, and ECG machine. Responds to medical urgencies/emergencies, initiates BLS and activates emergency medical system. Performs direct patient support work to include collecting information from patients, providing personal patient care, and educating patients on pre-testing and post procedure activities. Orders and maintains specialized supplies pertaining to instruments used for procedures in the clinic. Performs administrative tasks such as maintaining control records for specimens and tests and documenting measurements taken. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician (Primary Care) - Direct Hire Authority/PD91623A Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires an ongoing mix of potentially long-periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, pushing, and reaching over head. All patient care activities require PC keyboard and mouse use for data entry in the electronic patient record. Occasional heavy lifting will be required, particularly for patient transfers. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patient who are combative. In some instances, interaction with patients, caregivers, and staff can become intense, and the employee may be placed in a position of stress. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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. 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. To qualify for the GS-0640 occupational series, applicants MUST possess the following: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): 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. GS-06 grade level: 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: Monitoring patients for adverse reactions, recognizing abnormalities and bringing them to the attention of the appropriate medical health care professionals. Recording results and ensuring that they are made a part of the electronic medical record. Assisting with patient check in, including obtaining and recording demographic data, vital signs, height, weight, and screening for chief complaint, brief history and measurements for specific age groups. Collecting, labeling, and processing a variety of specimens. Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 9 semester hours of education. NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and 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

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 Aleda E Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1500 Weiss Street Saginaw, MI 48602 US
• Name: Elizabeth Troiani
• Phone: 689-246-6971
• Email: [email protected]