This position will serve as a phlebotomist, specimen processor, and customer service support in the Laboratory Specimen Processing Section performing any or all the following duties in support of outpatient clinics and local area clinics who may refer eligible patients for laboratory services.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include: Performs phlebotomy (venipuncture) and urine specimen collection on patients ranging from minimally to critically ill who may be hard to draw. Receives and processes a variety of laboratory specimens using processing methods (centrifugation, splitting specimens into aliquots, and separation of components) in accordance with established laboratory policies and procedures. Receives specimens and accompanying request forms for any of the approximately 500 separate tests that can be performed, and checks each for proper identification. Properly labels specimens. Performs accessioning procedures either manually or by use of computer terminal; labels specimen and request form with Accession number labels; and specimens to one of the laboratory Sections responsible for performing the test. including transfer of the specimen and request to an outside laboratory (i.e., Quest Diagnostics) when required. Prepares specimens for shipment to reference laboratories. Prepares laboratory requests and packages specimens according to strict guidelines. Serve as receptionist at the laboratory front desk, greeting patients, providing them with appropriate guidance, accessioning lab requests, answering nontechnical inquiries and referring technical inquiries to the appropriate Laboratory staff member. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm, may vary Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Designated Drug-Testing Position: Applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English to meet the requirements of this position. -AND- You may qualify at the GS-4 level if you fulfill one of the following qualifications: -GS-4 Experience: Do you possess six (6) months of general experience and six (6) months of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position? General experience is: (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Specialized experience is: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-4 level. -OR- -GS-4 Education: Have you successfully completed (a) an associate-degree course of study of which the 2nd year of the 2-year program included successful completion of a training course of approximately a year's duration in a certified laboratory assistant school approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; (b) 1 year of study that included 6 semester hours in chemistry and/or the biological sciences, plus successful completion of a full-time training course of approximately a year's duration in a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) school that included instruction in chemistry, hematology, blood banking, and microbiology (including serology) and that, in addition, included supervised laboratory practice incident to the diagnostic process and the treatment of patients; or (c) 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours of chemistry and/or biological science course work that must have been directly related to the specialization of the position to be filled. 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) -OR- -GS-4 Combined Experience and Education: Do you possess equivalent combinations of education and specialized experience (as described above) to meet the requirements at the GS-4 level? (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You may qualify at the GS-5 level if you fulfill one of the following qualifications: -GS-5 Experience: Do you possess one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position? To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. -OR- -GS-5 Education: Have you successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects appropriate to the position to be filled? 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) -OR- -GS-5 Combined Experience and Education: Do you possess equivalent combinations of education and specialized experience (as described above) to meet the requirements at the GS-5 level? (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: CommunicationComputer SkillsTechnical Competence IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: Work requires extended periods of staying in one position, sitting, or standing, some light (less than 40 pounds) lifting, and attention to detail and concentration when verifying patient identification and test request data, and when accessioning and labeling specimens. This may be intermittent with periods requiring physical activity such as walking moderate distances. 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

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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Contacts

• Address Atlanta VA Medical Center 1670 Clairmont Road Decatur, GA 30033 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]