The Surgical Technician (ST) is 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 the complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Assists the team members with care of the patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies. Utilizes universal precautions and follows infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. Provides guidance and support to Nursing Assistants and other Surgical Technicians. Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure. Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a level of concentration for extended periods of time. Handles all specimen appropriately. Assesses equipment needs and maintain adequate stock of supplies and materials. Assists in developing and maintaining appropriate and cost-saving inventory prices. Performs non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Independently functions as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical and specialized surgical procedures. Prepares, organizes, and maintains highly complex sterile surgical set-ups. Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure. This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - current permanent Alexandria VA Health Care System employees including satellites 2nd Area of Consideration - current permanent Veterans Healthcare Administration employees 3rd Area of Consideration - current permanent VA Nationwide employees 4th Area of Consideration - All Other Status Applicants Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm, subject to change based on service needs. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD06001A and PD00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/17/2024. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. Select the one statement that best describes your experience that demonstrates you possess the basic requirements to perform this job. To qualify you must possess one of the following: - Specialized Experience: Positions in the 0640 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 you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: Maintains proper cleaning techniques and the types of detergents to use on various items, as well as the proper handling and rotation of sterile supplies, handling of contaminated items, quality control and personal hygiene. Processes and assist in the performance of surgical procedures, such as but not limited to, endoscopic procedures, cataract extractions with intra-ocular lens placement, laparoscopic procedures, podiatry surgical procedures; spinal/ epidural injections; orthopedic procedures, general surgery, etc. Determines the proper handling of prosthesis such as intra-ocular lenses, cornea, and artificial implantable grafts. Utilizes computerized systems, and personal computers with common software such as Microsoft Word and Excel. Perform oral and written communication skills; the ability to relate positively to management, surgeons, Veterans and employees at all levels, to relate well to the public; a high degree of maturity and integrity and good judgment. OR, Education: One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study (18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. (transcripts required). OR, Combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Combination of specialized experience as described above and education of 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. (transcript required) Preferred Experience: Certified surgical technician 1-2 years of experience. Preceptor Mentor; Experience with OR inventory, Decontamination and Sterilization. Prepare and process instrument trays, sterile drapes and solutions according to surgical procedure. Excellent team work, manual dexterity, effective communicator and flexible. Inventory and maintain count control of all used sponges, needles and other equipment employed within surgeries. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Infection Control Medical Information Patient Care Technical 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: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are in stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive period of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies 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. 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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Alexandria VA Medical Center 2495 Shreveport Highway Pineville, LA 71360 US
• Name: Mary Davila
• Phone: 210-573-0129
• Email: [email protected]