The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Hampton VA Medical Center, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service, Hampton, VA, and serves as a Health Technician in the core laboratory Section, outpatient areas and CBOC's locations.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Phlebotomy Duties The incumbent properly identified patients utilizing the full name and social security number before collecting, processing and /or hospital computer entry of requests. Compares orders from multiple physicians and request the medical technologist to combine the orders. The incumbent proper1y identifies, labels and collection blood bank specimens for STAT and routine testing while next to the patient bedside or chair side. Must be proficient in phlebotomizing patient in varying debilitation (i.e., paralysis, stroke, mentally unstable, spinal cord injuries in fetal position and contractures). The incumbent performs phlebotomy using specialized techniques for cleansing the blood collection site to prevent bacterial contamination that's critical to patient care, to ensure the contamination rate of blood cultures remains with in guidelines with blood culture contamination. The incumbent draws the blood tests ordered by providers for inpatients, outpatients, CBOC patients and for requested drug screens. Specimen Receipt and Processing Responsible for receiving and preparing requests for testing and specimens into the clinical laboratory and evaluates the acceptability of each specimen, documents discrepancies, and resolves potential problems. Screens telephone calls and routes inquiries to appropriate personnel. Ensures proper processing and accession of specimens; especially those requiring special handling, and clearly communicates requirements to the laboratory staff. Contacts Medical Center staff for additional information to ensure that proper testing and interpretive data are received. Sorts specimens based on testing location, needs, and priority for turnaround time. Able to cope with quick deadlines and uses knowledge of processing procedures to identify and resolve specimen errors. Follows detailed instructions in operating the laboratory equipment, i.e., centrifuge, barcode reader, and printers. Resolves and documents any pre-analytical issues. Records refrigerator and freezer temperatures at all sites. The health technician will be required to order, receive an is store laboratory supplies upon arrival at all sites. Documentation must be organized, accurate and legible. Patient Care Testing Duties Performs CLIA-waived Fecal Occult Blood and other rapid testing on patients while recording, reagent lot numbers, quality control, and reports and verifies test results. Maintains accurate rejection records. Prints incompletes report in VISTA and resolves any discrepancies. Point of Care Testing. Duties include collecting the specimen, receiving, labelling, and loading specimens, loading reagents on the instrument, recording reagent lot numbers, performing and recording daily and weekly maintenance, quality controls, and performing patient testing. The incumbent troubleshoots error messages and notifies Team Leader or Technologist when maintenance or quality controls do not perform as expected. Maintains instrument print-outs, completes accurate quality assurance forms, and reconciles pending testing after each run. Community Based Outpatient Clinics Test Ordering Review The Hampton VA provides testing services for three Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOCs) located in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth. One Albemarle Primary Outpatient Clinic (APOC) located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and the Women's Clinic located in Hampton. The clinics collect specimens and transport them to Hampton VA laboratories for testing. The specimens from these locations arrive in late afternoon/early evening, and the testing is performed on the second shift in the Core Laboratory. The Health Technician serves as the point of contact (POC) between Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the clinics for specimen tracking. The incumbent reviews the shipping manifests from each clinic on the following business day to confirm each specimen listed on the shipping manifest was received and testing was completed. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am-4:30p.m Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD02881A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/10/2024. 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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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. Special Placement Factor: Experience in Phlebotomy and Specimen Processing. Attention to Detail and Knowledge of Regulatory Requirements. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Excellent Communication Skills. Knowledge of Microsoft Office. Knowledge of basic medical terminology to interpret physician instructions. Basic knowledge of instrument and diagnostic or treatment procedures commonly used in the specialization. Basic knowledge of anatomy and physiology including location and function of the major body organs and structures as they relate to the specialization. Experience preparing summary of test results, workload reports, and related documents. . OR, Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 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 1 year of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailClericalClinical Data Collection/DocumentationCommunicationPatient Care 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: Work is performed in a laboratory atmosphere and requires regular and physical exertion such as walking, bending, recurrent standing and moderate lifting. The work requires specific physical characteristics and abilities and dexterity needed to perform intricate analytical and technical procedures. The position may also require assisting geriatric and/or disabled patients. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 Hampton VA Medical Center 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton, VA 23667 US
• Name: Alicia Fraser
• Phone: 9085607880
• Email: [email protected]