The Lead Medical Technologist for the Lexington KY VA Medical Center (VAMC) serves as lead clinical laboratory scientist in the Clinical Hematology, Coagulation, & Urinalysis Section, ensuring that tasks, priorities, goals, needs, and achievements are coordinated with management. Also oversees the day-to-activities of the section, prepares administrative reports, and works as a clinical laboratory scientist in any section area as required.

Duties

This job opportunity announcement (JOA) will be used to fill one (1) full-time and permanent Lead Medical Technologist (Clinical Laboratory Scientist - Hematology) vacancy at the Lexington, KY Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). Please read this announcement in its entirety before beginning the application process to ensure you submit all the required documents. See Required Document sections in this announcement before applying. Please read the application questionnaire before applying: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12398246. Federal Resume Tips, Please READ The incumbent is responsible for the oversight of the Clinical Hematology, Coagulation, & Urinalysis Sections. Works in collaboration with employees to ensure tasks are completed and team priorities, goals, needs, and achievement are coordinated with management. Acts as a liaison between the team members and the supervisor. Duties are included but not limited to: Reviews all the section results (including results from off-hour and weekend shifts) for correctness as required by the College of American Pathology (CAP), directs involved clinical laboratory scientists/technicians in the correction of errors, and notifies attending physicians as appropriate. Provides technical guidance to clinical laboratory scientists/technicians when quality control orinstrument problems occur. Designs and prepares appropriate instrument maintenance logs, reviews these logs monthly, and assures that clinical laboratory scientists/technicians are doing proper routine maintenance. Prepares and updates procedure manuals in the section. Coordinates this effort with the supervisor and section director. Evaluates and implements the use of new methodologies and instrumentation in the section in conjunction with the doctoral directors. Is responsible for coordination and presentation of the training in the methods and techniques of the Section. Performs statistical analysis on quality control and quality assurance monitors. Provides training to clinical laboratory scientists in the use of new procedures and instrumentation in the section. Ensures compliance all regulatory agencies such as CAP, JCAHO, and OSHA. Ensures the proficiency testing program is administered in a timely manner and used as an educational opportunity to improve quality of work performed. Documents exception reports and corrective actions. Maintains appropriate levels of supplies and reagents for the efficient operation of the section. Provides significant input and observations to the supervisor regarding the performance for those employees overseen. Assures that all employees under their oversight are aware of and abide by the appropriate hospital and laboratory safety regulations. Calibrates, standardizes, and adjusts instrumentation to ensure proper function; verifies correct instrument operation using established procedures and quality control checks; and identifies the cause of common problems and makes simple repairs. Subject to working off-hour shifts, weekends, holidays, and in other sections of the laboratory as priorities shows as required. Responsible for maintaining the work area in a clean environment appropriate for the Section in which they are working. Performs any other duties which are in the best interest of patient care and deemed necessary by the supervisor. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 3:30 pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 30279-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: MTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. Education and experience: (1) A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in medical laboratory science, medical technology, clinical laboratory science or in a related science (e.g., laboratory sciences such as chemistry, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, immunology, etc.). AND completion of a medical technology clinical practice program. Clinical practice programs completed after 1974 must have been accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP, formerly CAHEA), or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). The professional curriculum may have consisted of a post-baccalaureate certificate program or be integrated into a four year program of study that culminated in a baccalaureate degree. OR, (2) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND two years of post-certification clinical laboratory experience (e.g., blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, clinical microscopy, etc.) within the last ten years as a certified Medical Laboratory Technician by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR) or American Medical Technologists (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. OR, (3) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND five years of clinical laboratory experience within the last ten years performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. Certification: Candidates must have either (1) or (2) below: (1) Candidates must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT. (2) For positions up to the full performance level, candidates must currently possess the categorical or specialist technologist level certification from the certification agencies listed above, such as, but not limited to, chemistry (C/SC), hematology (H/SH), microbiology (M/SM), molecular biology (MB/SMB) and blood bank (BB/SBB). Technologists with categorical or specialist certifications may only perform duties within the area of the laboratory specific to their categorical certification (e. g., an individual with a chemistry (C) certification can only perform duties in chemistry). Foreign Graduates: Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational and/or experience requirements if the degree is found to be equivalent to degree programs recognized by the NAACLS or clinical laboratory experience as described in paragraph 2b(2) or (3) above. This finding may be based on either of the following: (1) A letter from a college or university with a baccalaureate program recognized by the NAACLS stating that the individual's foreign degree has been evaluated and been found to be equivalent to its bachelor of medical technology degree. (2) A letter from ASCP-BOC or AMT stating that the individual is eligible for the certification examination. Grandfathering Provision: All MTs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to the position, the following provisions apply: (1) MTs that do not meet the basic requirements for education and certification may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) MTs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (3) MTs initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain certification that meets all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (4) If MTs who were retained in this occupation under this provision leave the occupation, the MT loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements, the following criteria must be met for the GS-11, Lead Medical Technologist. GS-11 Experience: Must have 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, which is directly related to the position to be filled. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate MUST demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of medical technology applicable to a wide range of duties to solve complex problems involving diverse aspects of clinical laboratory practice. Knowledge of regulatory, licensing and accrediting agency requirements and statutes governing clinical laboratory operations in order to plan, implement or monitor laboratory programs and services. Ability to manage and coordinate daily work activities and assignments in a section. Skill to maintain, troubleshoot and repair laboratory instrumentation. Ability to provide technical oversight in order to manage personnel and work assignments in a manner that assures completion of the laboratory workload. Preferred Experience: 3 years of Hematology experience References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G24. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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 Lexington VA Health Care System 2250 Leestown Road Lexington, KY 40511 US
• Name: Kendall Bedell
• Phone: 570-550-2839
• Email: [email protected]