You will serve as a Medical Technician in the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (PLMS) at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS). RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE UP TO $6000 AUTHORIZED FOR HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES

Duties

Duties include but not limited to: You will collect and handle specimens in accordance with the Federal Workplace Drug Testing Program as administered and regulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for drug testing of new employees. You will maintain the integrity of the collection process, ensuring the privacy of the donor, and ensuring the security of the specimen. You will correctly identify each patient, using at least two valid acceptable patient identifiers as required. You will use the computer to perform searches for past and future lab test orders for all patients. You will use independent judgment to assess patient collection sites and determine the best to obtain sample. You will collect blood specimens by routine venipuncture from outpatients and in-patients. You will draw appropriate number and type of tubes of blood, ensuring the tubes meet quality and volume standards required for optimum clinical sampling. You will ensure and verify correct labeling and patient identification of every patient specimen collected. You will prepare specimens for testing, such as labeling, centrifugation, decanting, aliquoting, and prepare reagents, perform the test procedure, verify the accuracy of the results and reports results. You will operate centrifuge. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Various tours, rotating weekends and holidays Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician - Phlebotomy/PD41340A, PD41341A, and PD41364A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: The work requires extensive periods of standing and walking, regular and recurring bending, moderate lifting, stooping and stretching. Work Environment: The work area is well lit, heated and ventilated. The work involves regular and recurring moderate risks of exposure to infectious materials which require special safety precautions. There is contact with potentially biologically hazardous specimens (some of which may contain hepatitis or HIV virus). There is frequent contact with patients with undiagnosed illnesses and the employee has the potential to be exposed to communicable disease. Employees are mandated to use appropriate personal protective equipment

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: Advancement to positions up to GS-5. Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment. 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: GS-3 GENERAL EXPERIENCE: Have at least six (6) months of general experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. OR EDUCATION: Have successfully completed (a) a full-time training course of approximately a year's duration in a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) school that included instruction in chemistry, hematology, blood banking, and microbiology (including serology) and that, in addition, included supervised laboratory practice incident to the diagnostic process and the treatment of patients; or (b) 1 year of study that included at least 6 semester hours in chemistry and/or biological science. OR COMBINATION: Have equivalent combinations of successfully completed a combination of education above high school, including courses related to this position and experience that meets 100% of the requirements. To qualify for this position using a combination of education and experience you must include a copy of your transcripts as well as showing in your resume that you meet this experience. GS-4 GENERAL/SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Have (6) months of general experience and (6)months of specialized experience which equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the Medical Technician - Phlebotomy, GS-4.General Experience is: (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Examples of specialized experience include: (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. OR EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Have successfully completed (a) an associate - degree course of study of which the2nd year of the two (2) year program included successful completion of a training course of approximately a year's duration in a certified laboratory assistant school approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; (b) One (1) year of study that included six (6) semester hours in chemistry and/or the biological sciences, plus successful completion of a full-time training course of approximately a year's duration in a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician)school that included instruction in chemistry, hematology, blood banking, and microbiology(including serology) and that, in addition, included supervised laboratory practice incident to the diagnostic process and the treatment of patients; or (c) two (2) years of study that included at least twelve (12) semester hours of chemistry and/or biological science course work that must have been directly related to the specialization of the position to be filled. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. OR COMBINATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Have equivalent combinations of successfully completed post high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position and must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. GS-5 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled? Specialized experience is: (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. At this level, specialized experience should include experience performing a variety of relatively standardized tests, examinations, and determinations. The procedures and techniques are well-established but involve many meticulous sequential steps to complete a test; and following written procedures which give carefully detailed instructions on each step of the assigned test and examinations. OR EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you 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 appropriate to the position to be filled? OR COMBINATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have Equivalent combinations of post-high school education and specialized experience, as described above. Note: only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Client OrientationStress ToleranceTeaching OthersTeamworkTechnical 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.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Stephenie Merrill
• Phone: 509-525-5200 X26794
• Email: [email protected]