This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Major duties include but not limited to: The incumbent medical technologist works throughout the lab as a generalist and are assigned to shift coverage that routinely requires the technologist to work alone more than 50% of their hours - generally covering the night shift. Incumbent performs testing procedures on a variety of biological specimens and/or environmental samples using manual and automated techniques. Duties require competency in the areas of Blood Bank, Hematology, Chemistry, Coagulation, Microbiology, Serology, Special Chemistry, Blood Gases and Urinalysis. Testing duties in all disciplines require the technologist to perform, evaluate, interpret, correlate and validate the accuracy of laboratory procedures and results. In all areas, technologist prepares reagents, assembles equipment and verifies correct instrument operation. Maintains validity of assay system by appropriate testing of reagents prior to use for patient testing. Evaluates the validity of data in relation to the test system and assay procedures. Correlates and integrates information and performs additional testing to confirm abnormal results. The work involves accurate and timely completion of testing to provide relevant clinical information to physicians crucial to patient care. The work involves various duties concerned with test performance, identification and correction of errors, evaluation/interpretation of test results, correlation of data and validation/verification of results. The incumbent considers such factors as the complex network of steps and variables and discrimination required by some tests; conditions which produce erroneous results, specimen properties, physical conditions and time factors critical to the test; instrument malfunction and test procedure variations; and physiologic conditions that affect test results. Incumbent skillfully collects venous blood samples from patients adhering to all safety and patient care requirements. Incumbent judges the acceptability of samples submitted for testing using a broad body of knowledge of pre-analytic sample requirements. Processes specimens and selects appropriate procedures based on knowledge of type of specimens, patient information and resources available in the laboratory. Controls physical conditions and responds to time factors to insure that the physiological state of the specimen is maintained. Incumbent attentively accessions and labels samples and subsamples, records data accurately in logs and worksheets with extreme attention to ID verification and accurate manual recording. Technologist is responsible for recognition of all critical value results and for the effective and immediate communication of those results to the patient's provider following all required steps and documentation. Work Schedule: 8:00 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. Compressed/Flexible: 8 days on - 6 days off Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 436-57 4 7 4-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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: must be proficient in spoken and written English. Education and/or Experience Combination: 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 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 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. 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 above. This finding may be based on either of the following: 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. A letter from ASCP-BOC or AMT stating that the individual is eligible for the certification examination. Certification: Candidates must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT. Grade Determination: GS-10 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. GS10 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities, (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: a. Comprehensive knowledge of and skill in applying a wide range of concepts, principles and methodology of the field to perform advanced techniques. b. Ability to modify or adapt established methods, procedures or techniques to resolve difficult or complex problems. c. Knowledge of the application of laboratory regulatory requirements. d. Ability to provide or coordinate staff development and training. References: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-10. Physical Requirements: Must be able to meet the physical demands of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Must have good manual dexterity. Must be able to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken and written word. Must be able to view and read information on computer screens.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Montana VA Health Care System 3687 Veterans Drive Fort Harrison, MT 59636 US
• Name: VISN 19 HR Contact Center
• Phone: 719-227-4600
• Email: [email protected]