The Surgical Technician (ST) is a member of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgeon and registered nurse. A Surgical Technician combines the knowledge of human anatomy, surgical procedures, and implementation tools and technology to facilitate a surgeon's performance.

Duties

Surgical Technician duties consist of functioning as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures including but not limited to: gynecology, thoracic, vascular, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, orthopedic, urology, plastic, and general surgery procedures. Duties Include: Independently sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure. Plans and discusses each procedure with surgeon and/or Registered Nurse and assures all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure. Prepares, organizes, and maintains highly complex sterile surgical setups. Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon. Utilizes standard/universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. Assist team members with care of the patient. Handles all specimens appropriately and ensures safe transport of equipment. Maintains equipment and work areas. Performs non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Provides guidance/supervision to Nursing Assistants and other Surgical Technicians. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 6:30am - 3:00pm Monday - Friday Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD08459A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorize PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing assistance in lifting and positioning patients. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in "passing" instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. Appropriate scrub attire is required, including sterile gown and gloves, surgical caps to cover incumbent's hair, appropriate eye protection, and surgical mask in order to provide an aseptic environment in the operating room. If incumbent is assisting with a total joint replacement, he/she is often required to wear special attire, which may be confining, such as a "space helmet" or hood. Incumbent may need to wears X-Ray protective lead attire (up to 20 pounds in weight) for prolonged periods of time.

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. 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. Basic Requirements (IOR): Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): 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. In addition to the Basic Requirement (IOR), you must also meet the Specialize experiences stated below. GS-7: Specialized Experiences. One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-6 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: Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure; Determines the effectiveness of sterilization, packing, storage, and shelf life; Monitors proper functioning of instruments and equipment at the surgical field; Handles instruments, supplies and equipment during a variety of surgical procedures; Anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time; Utilizes medical terminology when interpreting requests and provide proper documentation for surgical procedures. NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-6 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07 level. Education: Successful completion of 4 years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 level. Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements at grade GS-6. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. 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. For further information, visit https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: Shanda Alston
• Email: [email protected]