These positions are located within the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital located in Columbia, Missouri. The primary function is to perform phlebotomy duties on both inpatients and outpatients for clinical laboratory testing.

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: Following procedures for patient identification, sample procurement, and specimen labeling. Performing routine venipuncture specimen collections from patients. Following laboratory procedures for collecting specimens in the appropriate container. Controlling the physical condition of samples and responds to time factors to ensure that the physiologic state of the specimen is maintained. Providing education to patients for proper collection techniques. Preparing samples for testing to include labeling, centrifugation, decanting and aliquoting, etc. Maintaining adequate supplies for all phlebotomy and specimen procurement procedures. Answering incoming calls for the laboratory service - finding and relaying accurate information or referring the caller to technical personnel. Performing standard diagnostic tests/procedures such as bleeding time, occult blood, urine dipstick, pregnancy test, fingerstick glucose. Performing sterilization on the autoclave, and cleaning glassware and other reusable items. Identifying and appropriately responding to adverse reactions such as fainting, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and arrests. Performing other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Various shifts available, will be discussed during the interview. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved 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

IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-4 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: 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 in order to meet the requirements of this position. ~AND~ EXPERIENCE: Requires at least six (6) months of general experience, and six (6) months of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. 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. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. ~OR~ EDUCATION: Successful completion of (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) 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. (Transcripts must be submitted at time of application) ~OR~ COMBINATION: An equivalent combination of post-high school education and experience as described above. (Transcripts must be submitted at time of application) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Computer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Patient CareQuality AssuranceSpecimen Collection 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 involves recurring exposure to moderate risks such as needle stick injuries, physical and verbal abuse from patients, infectious biological contamination hazards from patient specimens including Hepatitis, AIDS, and various other viral, parasitic and microbial infectious agents. The work also involves the handling of chemical hazards and requires the wearing of protective clothing including gloves and lab coats for most of the duty day. Work also involves many hours of exposure to computer screens and requires intermittent typing during most of the workday. 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 Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital 800 Hospital Drive Columbia, MO 65201 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]