This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

The purpose of this position is to provide daily oversight of the Microbiology, Blood Bank and Send Out sections. The incumbent ensures that all analyzers are functioning properly, the quality control is within acceptable limits, and monitors the workflow to meet the turnaround times. The incumbent assists the supervisor in meeting all the regulatory standards, managing inventory, and ensuring that staff is compliant with all policies and procedures. The duties as and responsibilities of the Lead Medical Technologist include, but are not limited to the following:

Requirements

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. To be considered qualified for the Medical Technologist, you must posses one of the following education and/or experience combinations (1) A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in medical laboratory science, medical technology, clinical laboratory science or in a related science (e.g., laboratory sciences such as chemistry, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, immunology, etc.). AND Completion of a medical technology clinical practice program. Clinical practice programs completed after 1974 must have been accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP, formerly CAHEA), or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). The professional curriculum may have consisted of a post-baccalaureate certificate program or be integrated into a four year program of study that culminated in a baccalaureate degree. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). OR (2) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND Two years of post-certification clinical laboratory experience (e.g., blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, clinical microscopy, etc.) within the last ten years as a certified Medical Laboratory Technician by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR) or American Medical Technologists (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. OR (3) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND Five years of clinical laboratory experience within the last ten years performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. Certification: Candidates must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT. You will be required to submit a copy of your current certification to your application package to validate. Please note: Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational and/or experience requirements if the degree is found to be equivalent to degree programs recognized by the NAACLS or clinical laboratory experience as described in paragraph (2) or (3) above. This finding may be based on either of the following: (1) A letter from a college or university with a baccalaureate program recognized by the NAACLS stating that the individual's foreign degree has been evaluated and been found to be equivalent to its bachelor of medical technology degree. (2) A letter from ASCP-BOC or AMT stating that the individual is eligible for the certification examination. Grade Determinations: In addition to the previous requirements, you must also have either the education or experience as described below for the GS-11. 1. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the full performance level (GS-9), which is directly related to the position to be filled. Experience includes the following: A Medical Technologist (MT) that carries out the day-to-day operations in the laboratory. This would include routine testing, quality control, routine maintenance of instrumentation and troubleshooting. The MT develops, performs, evaluates, interprets, correlates and validates the accuracy of laboratory procedures and results ensuring all laboratory regulatory requirements are met. Testing procedures are performed on a variety of biological specimens and/or environmental samples using manual or automated techniques, following practices and regulations governing biosafety and biosecurity in the workplace. These require a broad exercise of independent judgment and responsibility, including organizing and setting priorities with minimal technical supervision. The work performed is in a variety of laboratory disciplines, such as chemistry, microbiology, immunology, hematology, and immunohematology. Such positions include requirements to monitor quality control systems and measures; collaborate in the diagnosis and treatment of patients; and provide education for laboratory healthcare professionals and the public in a professional, courteous and effective manner. OR 2. Must have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in medical technology or a directly related field. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: a. Knowledge of medical technology applicable to a wide range of duties to solve complex problems involving diverse aspects of clinical laboratory practice. b. Knowledge of regulatory, licensing and accrediting agency requirements and statutes governing clinical laboratory operations in order to plan, implement or monitor laboratory programs and services. c. Ability to manage and coordinate daily work activities and assignments in a section. d. Skill to maintain, troubleshoot and repair laboratory instrumentation. e. Ability to provide technical oversight in order to manage personnel and work assignments in a manner that assures completion of the laboratory workload. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G24 Preferred Experience: Two years of experience in Microbiology and Blood Bank. The full performance level of this vacancy is 11. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurrent standing, sitting, transporting samples between work areas, stretching, reaching, bending and lifting of reagents/supplies for instruments. Moderate risks of discomfort associated with working in a clinical laboratory with regular and recurrent possible exposure to hazards such as infectious, chemical and/or environmental agents. Safety guidelines on safe equipment operation must be adhered to. There is possibility of constant stress and mental pressure to complete all testing in an accurate and timely manner for quality patient care.

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 Hampton VA Medical Center 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton, VA 23667 US
• Name: Yasmin Glover
• Email: [email protected]