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Summary You will serve as the Health Technician for the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center for the Nursing Service with duty in Richland, Washington. Responsibilities Collect blood using a variety of phlebotomy techniques including vacutainer system, syringe, butterfly, and capillary finger sticks with a minimal number of failures, patient bruising, or required repeat collection. Collect laboratory specimens from urinalysis, chemistry, hematology, coagulation, or microbiology. Collect blood or urine specimens and ensures safe process to maintain specimen quality. Evaluate specimens to determine suitability for analysis. Perform moderate-complex testing waived procedures such as special chemistry, toxicology, hematology, coagulation, or urinalysis. Record and report diagnostic test results and perform additional testing to clarify or confirm abnormal patient results. Identify emergent situations and alert medical staff if conditions warrant immediate response. Take necessary actions to resolve any irregularities and practices by health care providers or Veterans that are not in compliance with Medical Center policy. Provide technical advice and assistance to clinicians, health care providers, and Veterans. Maintain and compile daily statistical data for submission of reports to local, regional, central, and national offices to be used for program administration. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM- 3:30 PM or 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD80397A and PD80399A Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Physical Requirements: The work involves various physical demands requiring the employee to be versatile in the many functions performed. These include sedentary work performed at a desk with intermittent standing, walking, bending, lifting, stooping, and stretching. When transferring patients, providing patient care, the employee must practice good body mechanics to prevent injury to self and others. The demands may be unpredictable requiring the incumbent to adjust accordingly. Requires the ability to work under pressure, make sound decisions, and maintain composure in different situations if necessary. Work is performed at a fast pace. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. Position requires occasional lifting of reagent and supply containers weighing up to 20 pounds. Work Conditions: Work is performed in the outpatient clinic and extended care areas of the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center. The areas are typically well lit, ventilated and air conditioned. Outside noise interference is reduced to a minimum. Work is performed within full view and hearing of patients and the public. There are moderate risks which require safety precautions: These may involve stress, verbal or physical abuse caused by disturbed or agitated patient or family. Employee is subject to exposure of communicable diseases. Contacts with patients give rise to significant chance of needle sticks. The use of protective equipment, such as, but not limited to, gloves and protective clothing is required. The technician is regularly exposed to bio-hazardous material encountered in a clinical laboratory. This includes daily exposure to potentially infectious patients or materials, and occasional exposure to hazardous chemicals. Incumbent works days, evening or weekend shifts as mission requires to provide quality patient care. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. This occupational series (0640) has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the Health Technician occupational series. All applicants, regardless of grade level must meet specialized experience requirements OR minimum education. Technician specialized experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. 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. Minimum Education for this position is successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. AND GS-05: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes performing the following duties: clinical support under direct supervision of the Clinical Staff; perform COVID-19 testing; knowledge of medical terminology, especially laboratory test names and specimen requirements based on tests ordered; knowledge of human anatomy as it relates to phlebotomy and impact on laboratory testing; knowledge of impact of drawing above or below an IV, mastectomy or fistula site; and knowledge of vein selection for optimal results. OR GS-05: EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): 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 directly related to the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. This education must have been obtained in an accredited school, junior college, college, or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks. OR GS-05: COMBINATION: EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): I have a combination of specialized experience as described in A but less than one year, and I have some education more than the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. GS-06: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes performing the following duties: independently perform clinical duties; perform COVID-19 testing; knowledge of medical terminology, especially laboratory test names and specimen requirements based on tests ordered; knowledge of human anatomy as it relates to phlebotomy and impact on laboratory testing; knowledge of impact of drawing above or below an IV, mastectomy or fistula site; and knowledge of vein selection for optimal results. OR GS-06: EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Successfully completed of nine (9) semester hours of graduate education that is directly related to the duties of the position. Education is generally not applicable for positions with this required skillset. However, completion of nine (9) semester hours or more of Graduate education may be qualifying under certain circumstances as long as the education directly relates to the requirements of the position. 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Patient Care Diagnostic Medical Testing Specimen Collection 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical, and administrative, remote, and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers, and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows, and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.