The Health Technician (Orthopedic) assigned to the Surgical Service provides patient consultation, evaluation, treatment, and instruction for preventative care and assists providers with orthopedic surgical procedures. Orthopedic Technicians provide written instructions for patients, maintain supplies and equipment, perform bandage changes, wound debridement, cast application, traction application, splints, orthotic fitting, and other procedures for patients in Orthopedic clinics.

Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to the following: Performs a variety of medical functions including bandage changes, wound debridement, cast application, traction application, splints, orthotic fitting and other procedures for patients in Orthopedic and Podiatry clinic and inpatient ward. Assists the provider with routine and advanced orthopedic and orthopedic surgical procedures. Provides written instructions for patients in the use of various orthopedic devices. Provides patient consultation, evaluation, treatment, and instruction for preventative care. Applies, adjusts, and removes casts, assemble traction apparatus, and fit strappings and splints for orthopedic patients using protective materials such as stockinette bandages, gauze, or rubber pads, preparatory to cast application. Utilizes the proper application of aseptic techniques in dressing changes and setting up surgical fields. Assists Orthopedic Surgeons in reduction of fractures. Trims plaster, remove whole and broken casts, and alter the position of casts to change setting of patients' limb or body part as directed. Assembles wooden, metal, plastic, or plaster material to make orthopedic splints. Rigs pulleys, ropes, and frames to assemble fracture beds. Attaches traction supports to patient's limb and adjust support to specified tension. Assembles exercise frames. Adjusts crutches, canes, braces, and splints to fit patient and perform suture removal, staple removal, and dressing changes including Unna boot applications when directed. Instructs patients in care of and assist patients in walking with casts, braces, crutches, and other Ortho apparatus and supplies as ordered. Documents interventions in the patient's medical record. Maintains the cast room in an aseptic orderly manner. Performs interviews of all patients prior to performing procedures to identify the patient's symptoms. Develops, implements and updates all cast room infection control policies including orientating new staff, consultants and residents on such policies. Orders all orthopedic bracing, orthotics, splints, and cast supplies for the clinic. Maintains patient records, as well as safeguarding patient privacy, and documents results of tests and/or procedures in the patient's medical record. Schedules patients for clinics, ensuring that the priorities for scheduling are adhered to in the National Scheduling Directive. Attends monthly Reusable Medical Equipment (RME) meetings to ensure all national policies and directives are followed with storage, temperature, humidity, pre-cleaning, and transport of RME's in the outpatient clinic. Orders and maintains supplies and equipment, including a variety of specialty items. Maintains equipment in working order and coordinate preventative maintenance inspections to ensure operability of the equipment. Makes minor repairs to equipment in concert with BIO-med; this includes Specialty equipment troubleshooting. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Orthopedic Technician)/PD14024A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/07/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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: 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. You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: applying, adjusting, and removing casts, splints, braces or traction apparatus; updating patients' medical records and providing written and verbal instructions to patients; assisting Orthopedic Surgeons in the reduction of fractures; suture removal, staple removal, and dressing changes including una boot applications; Instructing and assisting patients in walking with casts, braces, crutches, and other Ortho apparatus. OR Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have One Full Year of Graduate education, with course work directly related to the position. A transcript must be submitted with your application. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailClinical Data Collection/DocumentationInfection ControlMedical InformationPatient CareTechnical Competence 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 requires regular and recurring physical exertion. It may involve walking, frequent bending, reaching and stretching to set up and take apart equipment; lifting and positioning patients; and carrying, pushing, or pulling moderately heavy objects. Duties may require above average dexterity. 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

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.

Contacts

• Address Jerry L Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital 11201 Benton Street Loma Linda, CA 92357 US
• Name: Courtney Blansfield
• Phone: 602-751-1286
• Email: [email protected]