The Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) is part of Nursing Service line at VA Boston Health Care System located in West Roxbury, MA. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) for Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The MST, SPS interprets and follows the policies and procedures of the SPS Service to perform his/her daily functions within the established guidelines and demonstrates the ability to work effectively. The individual is accountable of maintaining SPS standards for the practice of all services and care lines and contributes to the fulfillment of the mission of the clinical areas. The position is required to travel to any location of the SPS Boston campuses when necessary. The position is required to work as needed on other than normal working tours of duty, either in the evening, nights, holidays or weekends. In this position, the incumbent will provide sterilization, preparation, supply items and reusable medical equipment decontamination and distribution support for the medical center. The term "supply item" as used in this functional statement refers to disposable and reusable items for patient care including instrumentation (scissors, forceps, retractors, etc.), reusable medical equipment (suction machines infusion pumps, etc.), surgical trays and sets and various other items that could be processed or assembled through the Preparation and Decontamination areas of Sterile Processing Service. Receives items and correctly organizes them on shelves, insuring that rotation of stock using First In- First Out (FIFO) method. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 2:30 pm to 11pm with rotation, weekends, holidays, and off-tours as needed. Compressed/Flexible:Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: PD000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service. Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees. Current federal employees must submit copies of their most recent non-award SF50 (notice of personnel action). The SF50 must identify the position, title, series, grad, step, tenure and type of service (competitive or excepted). In some cases, more than one SF50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is a NAGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by a special rate. The incumbent is required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/01/2024. 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: MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Experience and/or Education: Experience. Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; or Education. One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; or Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: GS-03 (Entry Level) Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements. Assignment: This is an entry level MST position. MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. GS-04 (Developmental Level) - This is a developmental level MST position. Performs segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME). Completes segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center. Operates equipment involved in sterilization processes. Prepares operating room case carts. MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. Experience: Six months experience as a MST, operating room or surgical technician or other position that demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing in a clinical setting; or Education: Two years of education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation. NOTE: Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or nursing assistants obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces, the U.S. Maritime Service, or hospitals under close medical and professional supervision, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to 6 months of experience. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: 1. Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination. 2. Basic knowledge of medical terminology in order to assemble specialty operating room/clinic instrument sets. 3. Basic knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment. 4. Ability to communicate both orally and in writing. GS-05 (Developmental Level) - This is a developmental level MST position. Removes soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing. Inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room. Prepares, loads, and operates sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor; prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule. MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex tasks and require direct supervision on new assignments. Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level; or Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor's degree. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: 1. Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings. 2. Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility. 3. Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment. GS-06 (Full Performance Level) - This is the full performance level for the occupation. Receives contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in the decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment in the decontamination area as well. Disassembles the RME and determines the correct cleaning method, such as but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washers and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents, as determined by manufacturer instructions. Inspects, assembles and determines the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and high level disinfecting scope reprocessors. Performs and documents daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment. Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings. 2. Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination. 3. Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, medical conditions and procedures. 4. Knowledge of sterility principles in regards to instrumentation.5. Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures. References: Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G47 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-6. Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation) and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of presterilizing equipment.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Julia Murdoch
• Phone: 508-513-7803
• Email: [email protected]