he Health Care Technician position is assigned to the Nursing Service at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. This position provides patient care activities and support under the guidance and direction of a Nurse.

Duties

The Health Care Technician provides a diverse range of clinical services supportive to the delivery of quality patient care. The position combines duties that provide assistance to licensed nursing personnel and other medical technician duties (i.e. phlebotomy, EKG, respiratory care, activity-oriented exercises, and nutrition assistance.) Under the general guidance and supervision of registered nurses, the Health Care Technician carries out specific-direct and indirect patient care assignments and supportive functions to assist in providing total patient care services. Major duties include: Clinical Support: Establishes helpful relationships with patients and others; interacts in a courteous manner; explains patient care provided. Provides emotional support, friendly assistance, sympathetic understanding and encouragement to patients/families. Contributes to patient's well-being by providing assistance with personal hygiene, bowel/bladder care, physical comfort and a clean and safe environment. Provides appropriate support to patients in meeting their nutritional needs by clearing overbed tables, placing meal trays/nourishments within easy reach, preparing food/beverages, obtaining additional items, feeding patients, recording intake and clearing trays. Adds prescribed nourishment to existing continuous tube feeding setup. Performs, reports and records measurements, such as vital signs, intake and output, pulse. oximetry, glucose finger stick and other parameters. Identifies obvious patient problems, symptoms, behavioral changes and deviations from normal in a timely manner to the appropriate Registered Nurse. Collects urine, stool sputum, and blood specimens by phlebotomy using appropriate procedures. Accurately labels all specimens and delivers to laboratory as indicated. Provides selected respiratory care, such as incentive breathing exercises, turn, deep breath and cough, oxygen therapy, monitoring of MDI self-administration and oral/ pharyngeal suctioning under the direction of the RN and/ or respiratory therapist. Applies appropriate principles of body mechanics and patient safety in assisting patients with movement, positioning, ambulation, and transportation. Provides activity orient exercises under direction of the RN and/ or rehabilitation therapist. Assists nurses/physicians with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed on the unit. Safely transports patients to off unit appointments. Applies principles of infection control when performing direct and indirect patient care assignments. Assists in emergency situations and initiates CPR when indicated. Records care given and objective/subjective patient observations on appropriate medical record forms. Provides care based on physical, psychosocial, educational, safety, and related criteria, appropriate to the age of the patients served in his/her assigned area (i.e., adult and geriatric patient population).Reinforces patient health teaching related to self-care. Administrative Support and Coordination: Correctly and safely uses equipment and supplies. Cleans and returns equipment to appropriate location and reports needs for equipment repair to the appropriate person. Maintains a safe, clean, and orderly work environment through routine maintenance activities such as ordering and stocking equipment and supplies; cleaning equipment and patient care areas; providing proper containment/ disposal of discarded materials; reporting maintenance and security problems to appropriate personnel. Contributes to creating a work climate that encourages positive staff morale, motivation, and commitment for all who participate in the care of patients. Answers telephone and call lights courteously, and relays messages in a timely fashion. Follows policies and procedures to ensure safety for patients, staff and self. Identifies and immediately reports safety hazards to supervisors. Seeks guidance/clarification of instructions from appropriate individuals as needed. Completes patient care assignments within reasonable period and keeps Registered Nurse informed. Completes annual mandatory reviews, participates in continuing education at unit/service level, identifies personal learning needs/goals with supervision. Work Schedule: various shifts 730am to 80pm/730pm-800a with rotating weekends and holidays Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician(GEC)/PD21231A 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.

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. GS-05 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 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:1) performing blood collection using a variety of phlebotomy techniques including vacutainer system, syringe, butterfly or capillary finger sticks with minimal number of failures, patient bruising or required repeat collection, ensuring samples are submitted to the clinical laboratory with least possible delay. 2) label all blood tubes, instructs patients on proper specimen collection procedures. 3) Process for correctly identifying patient information according to regulatory agencies. and 4) Performs all types of specimen collection in a courteous manner while providing for patient comfort. This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. Successfully completed a full four-year course of study leading to a Bachelor's degree, with a major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to this position. Transcripts required. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level. A combination of successfully completed post-high school education AND specialized experience which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. Transcripts required. 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: but are not limited to: Applying basic knowledge of basic anatomy/physiology and medical techniques to support direct patient care; effectively communicating and providing support to patients and healthcare professionals; utilizing and maintaining medical equipment and instruments; performing safety/emergency procedures related to patient transport, infection control, environmental safety; observing and reporting changes in patients physical and emotional behavior; performing medical tests and duties including phlebotomy, EKG, and CPR; and entering patient information and vital signs in computerized medical record systems using appropriate terminology. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have; Successfully completed at least one-half year of graduate level education (9 semester hours above a Bachelor's degree) or an internship in course matter that must include courses directly related to the work of the Health Care Technician position. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: 1-5 years of medical surgical/acute and long term care. Physical Requirements: Physical requirements include extensive periods of standing and walking. Patient care activities require regular and recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, pushing and similar activities using appropriate body mechanics and other assistive devices for patient and/or equipment movement and transfer. The employee protects self and others from injury. Work Environment: Responsibilities are performed in a health care environment. The Health Care Technician practices principles of aseptic technique, "infection control, and environment safety. Precautions are required when working with movable equipment, wet floors, and potential exposure to diagnosed/undiagnosed contagious diseases. 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

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 Edward Hines Junior Hospital 5000 South 5th Avenue Hines, IL 60141 US
• Name: Kiphanie Moore
• Phone: 414-712-8177
• Email: [email protected]