The Supervisory Medical Technician serves as the Supervisor of the Accessioning/Processing/Blood Drawing section of the Clinical Laboratory that provides services for inpatients and outpatients at the Seattle Campus, Edmonds CBOC, Silverdale CBOC, Everett CBOC and Olympia CBOC. The position is located at the Seattle Campus of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

Duties

Duties include, but aren't limited to the following: Promotes efficient delivery of laboratory specimens, services, and information. He/she answers technical test questions, forwards inquiries to the appropriate department and manages supplies and inventory. Reports statistics on specimen collection workload, works with the Supervisor to update phlebotomy policies, procedures performance standards. Serves as the Assistant Drug Testing coordinator in the Federal Workspace. Manages the PLMS drug collection activities and ensures that PLMS certified collectors are trained and competencies maintained. Able to perform emergency care procedures in the event a patient undergoes a reaction to blood collection procedures, e.g., fainting, hematoma, anxiety, etc. Will maintain BLS certification and will monitor employees BLS certifications. Serves as a Multidisciplinary Health Technician in the Accessioning/Processing/Blood Drawing section of the Clinical Laboratory with responsibility for performing all specimen-logins, production and distribution of all work lists and specimens, and successful phlebotomy of all veteran inpatient and outpatients requiring blood work to be done. Draws blood on patients, using aseptic venipuncture and/or capillary puncture techniques, on the wards and in the outpatient clinic, always assessing the patient's status relative to his/her age specific needs, checking patient identification, and selecting the appropriate tubes for the test required. Completes all required paperwork necessary for specific testing requested, i.e. transfusion requests, checking that necessary consent forms are completed, etc. Performs and documents quality assurance activities related to test performance. Utilizes computer to acknowledge specimen receipt and orders and accessions all specimens correctly. Explains collection procedures to patients who must collect specimens, i.e., urine for routine urinalysis, urine for culture and sensitivity, 24-hour for quantitative urine chemistries, urine drug screens, etc. Monitors and maintains the Outpatient Blood Drawing area assuring appropriate and adequate materials are sufficient for required services in a safe manner. Ensures there are no outdated materials and blood tubes. Assists physicians, nursing staff, veteran patients, and visitors in the resolution of questions and problems related to specimens and/or test information and/or general information pertaining to Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service policies or referring these to appropriate staff. Utilizes safety devices and apparel appropriate to a variety of situations and follows universal precautions and infection control guidelines and procedures. Actively participates in both elective and all mandatory continuing education as required by laboratory and medical center administration (i.e., fire and safety, infection control, EEO yearly training, laboratory-specific education, etc.) Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 0730-1600. Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized. Telework: Not Authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Medical Technician/PD412500 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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, 02/28/2024. 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-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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: The basic requirement to qualify for a GS-8, Supervisory Medical Technician is to have one year of equivalent experience at the next lower grade GS-7, that demonstrates: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. Specialized experience at this level must include: ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds; ability to direct staff and manage tasks to be completed; ability to oversee and supervise all aspects of decontamination, preparation, sterilization, monitoring, and distribution of RME; ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues. Preferred experience - 2 years minimum performing phlebotomy. Candidate ideally would have prior leadership experience as a team lead or another supervisory position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Client OrientationDecision MakingStress ToleranceTechnical 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, such as, standing for prolonged periods of time, lifting medical supply items weighing more than 25 pounds, pushing medical supply carts weighing up to several hundred pounds, and frequent bending and stretching. The work requires dexterity in such tasks as inserting small rods in needle openings or precisely aligning component parts while reassembling medical equipment. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled cleaned environment. In both, the employees wear special clothing which can be uncomfortably warm. While handling contaminated medical supplies the employee also uses rubber gloves and an apron. The work area is often hot and humid. The employee is subject to slipping on wet floors. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions, and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling strong, unpleasant orders are encountered while sterilizing laboratory cultures prior to disposal. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts, and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment. Working Conditions: The incumbent performs majority of duties under favorable conditions in a well ventilated and heated building. Performance of duties in this position may require the incumbent to be exposed to inclement weather and unfavorable working conditions. The incumbent must be available to work any shift, including nights, weekends and holidays. There is a possibility of bruises from the exposure to carts or machinery. If required to sort laundry from patients with contagious diseases, protective masks, gloves, and gowns are worn. When working in the receiving area, may be exposed to drafts from open doors. The incumbent's personal contacts involve the distribution of linen items to the using units throughout this facility. 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.

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 VA Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Denise Lindsey
• Phone: 916-776-0180
• Email: [email protected]