This Health Technician position is located at the Richland Washington clinic of the the Jonathan M. Wainwright VA Medical Center. The Health Technician serves in a multi-faceted capacity to provide medial and administrative support to promote timely and efficient patient care within the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS).

Duties

The Health Technician (HT) directs patient flow through the clinic, from check-in to check-out to facilitate diagnostics services to assure the continuity of care. The HT performs primarily waived testing and moderate-complexity procedures in the areas such as but not limited to chemistry, hematology, coagulations, and urinalysis. Duties include but are not limited to: Independently carry out a wide variety of responsibilities and duties involving typical-to- complex problems and situations that may arise in the outpatient setting. Personally greets veterans requesting assistance, determines nature of diagnostic needs, questions or complaints, answers questions, provides information, gives guidance, and initiates action as appropriate. Responsible for determining veteran eligibility/entitlement for numerous diagnostic services. Serves in an administrative assistance capacity involved with screening, advising and assisting Veterans seeking medical treatment. Evaluates operations, analyzes and provides problem trend data, solutions and offers recommendations to management. Interprets providers' orders, requests for laboratory testing, and follow up paperwork. Schedules examinations and laboratory tests coordinating date and time. Performs a range of direct care duties such as glucometer testing, COVID-19 collections and testing, and venipunctures. Collects laboratory specimens from a range of routine and complex tests in urinalysis, chemistry, hematology, coagulation and microbiology. Processes and evaluates specimens to determine suitability for analysis. Identifies tests that require special handling conditions and appropriately performs proper specimen collection. Initiate's emergency care procedures in the event a patient has a reaction to blood collection procedures including fainting, hematoma, and anxiety. Maintains an adequate supply of phlebotomy supplies, and reports shortages to logistics staff or the supervisor for resolution. Ensures that only in-date supplies are used, rotates supplies appropriately to minimize waste and discards expired supplies appropriately (biohazard, sharps, or routine waste containers.) Locates and reviews diagnostic orders through a variety of computer systems and programs (VISTA, CPRS, HOWDY, LABA). Prints patient labels and diagnostic collection lists and has access to patient files and statistics which contain sensitive information. * Operates label printers and troubleshoot problems related to printing. Enters and verifies patient test results for waived testing. Adheres to laboratory safety policies and regulatory requirements including infection control polices such as hand hygiene, specimen transport and patient isolation. Responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive patient information. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level GS-6 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. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:00am to 3:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD80399A and PD80397A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorize Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 07/24/2024. To qualify you must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirement and the minimum qualifications for the grade level(s) based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational Requirement: Specialized Experience: 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. Education and Training: For GS 5- Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. GS 5 Minimum Qualifications: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the federal service that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Provides clinical support under direct supervision of the Clinical Staff by performing Knowledge of medical terminology, especially laboratory test names and specimen requirements based on tests ordered; Knowledge of human anatomy as it relates to phlebotomy and impact on laboratory testing; Knowledge of impact of drawing above or below an IV, mastectomy or fistula site; Knowledge of vein selection for optimal results. Based on the Individual Occupational Requirements, positions in the GS-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. OR, Education (Transcripts Required): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a bachelor's degree or four (4) years of education above the high school level with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. OR, Combination (Transcripts Required): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. GS 6 Minimum Qualifications: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the federal service that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Provides independent clinical support assignments under direct supervision of the Diagnostics Service Department by performing Knowledge of medical terminology, especially laboratory test names and specimen requirements based on tests ordered. Knowledge of human anatomy as it relates to phlebotomy and impact on laboratory testing. Knowledge of impact of drawing above or below an IV, mastectomy or fistula site. Knowledge of vein selection for optimal results. OR Education (Transcripts Required): Education at the GS-5 level or above is generally not applicable unless directly related. Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify using education for this level you must have successfully completed 9 semester credits of graduate education. If using education to qualify for the GS-06 grade, such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position. NOTE: If using education or a combination of education and specialized experience transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Preferred Experience: The preferred applicant will have experience in lab processing and phlebotomy skills. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center 77 Wainwright Drive Walla Walla, WA 99362 US
• Name: Jaimie Tappert
• Phone: (503) 220-8262 X31540
• Email: [email protected]