This position is located at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. It will be In Nursing & Patient Care Services within the Ambulatory Care Center Section. The RHJ VAMC is a 144-bed hospital includes six community-based outpatient clinics, a 20 bed community living center, women's health, and the full range of inpatient and outpatient care including Medical and Surgical Intensive Care.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: This position performs a variety of duties primarily within the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) for direct and indirect patient care assistance. He/she independently coordinates stretchers and bed flow in the Ambulatory Care Center and throughout procedural/operative areas thereby preventing delays in the transport of patients following surgery or procedural area. The incumbent will assist with the transport of scheduled patients from the Ambulatory Care Center to the Holding Area throughout the day when requested. The Health Care Technician responds to patients, staff, family members, and other individuals' needs in a professional and courteous manner. Incumbent provides basic customer service for patients' questions and concerns before and after procedures referring more complicated and technical questions to the appropriate staff. They will answer the telephone and refer calls to the appropriate staff for internal and external customers. The incumbent will communicate messages that are taken, to the appropriate staff member in a professional manner. This position will utilize universal precautions and follow all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. The incumbent will identify and report skin conditions such as swelling, scratches, and abrasions to the labs as appropriate. The incumbent will handle all specimens in an accurate and appropriate manner and transport to the labs as appropriate. He/she will obtain blood and blood products from the bank and transport in a timely manner when requested. The incumbent will maintain adequate stock levels of blankets and linen in all ACC rooms. He/she will assist in room tum-over by cleaning RME, obtaining linen, dressing stretchers, etc. The incumbent will respond to emergency situations, such as cardio-pulmonary arrest, hemorrhage, and shock by assisting in performing resuscitation measures under the supervision of professional staff. The incumbent will maintain equipment and work areas, keeping Infection control guidelines. They will perform non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. He/she will recognize potentially hazardous situations (e.g. frayed cords, water on the floor) and take corrective action. The incumbent will perform all other duties as indicated and required. He/she will assist the ACC team members in quality improvement activities and will update personal knowledge regarding current trends in patient care and safety through continuing education courses. He/she will maintain a current BLS certification and be able to react appropriately and in a timely fashion during emergency and crisis situations. Performs additional duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 6:00am - 2:30pm .Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD07826A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/30/2024. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Individual Occupational Requirements 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. OR, Education: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in subjects related to the position. In addition to the above, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-03 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: handling and transporting of specimens correctly and accurately for prevention of damage to or loss of specimens and eventual diagnosis; maintaining clean work area(s); interpreting surgical schedule/physician written procedures; and performing administrative/clerical duties for medical facility. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in subjects related to the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 year of study that included study in medical, health, or related fields.. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailCritical ThinkingCustomer ServiceEmergency CareFlexibilityInfection ControlProblem SolvingVeteran and Customer Focus 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are at stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive period of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching, prolonged stretching and computer use. The incumbent must be able to travel to among different treatment areas with ease. 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 Ralph H Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 109 Bee Street Charleston, SC 29401 US
• Name: Sharonnie Haywood
• Email: [email protected]