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Summary This position is located in the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Center at the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Aurora, Colorado. The primary purpose of this position is to support clinical day-to-day operations related to technical health care procedures under the supervision of the SCI Rehabilitation Therapists, Registered Nurses, and/or Clinicians as required. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Rehabilitation Therapy Support: Treats, instructs, or works with patients in carrying out therapeutic activities prescribed for their physical or mental rehabilitation. Perform functions performed by professional therapists, e.g., planning therapy treatment for patients who are not critically or acutely ill. Performs activities which have been prescribed for the physical or mental rehabilitation of patients. Patients are referred for treatment on the basis of a medical prescription. The prescription usually includes the treatment objective, diagnosis, length of treatment and necessary precautions to be observed during the therapy. In some situations, the patient is referred to the therapist without a specific prescription for treatment. Works with patients on an individual basis, in small groups, or in large groups, depending on the patient's physical and mental status and individual needs for treatment. Assures that patients are appropriately dressed for prescribed outdoor activities; observe safety precautions in the use of tools and equipment; prevent unauthorized absence; record attendance and participation of patients in projects or activities; and report the reactions and responses of patients. Observes, assesses, and reports on the progress and reactions of patients, utilizing insight and mature judgment acquired through extensive experience in administering treatment to patients. Provides information and assessments of patients at medical staff meetings concerning the participation, progress, behavior, mental and/or physical reactions of patients assigned for treatment. Develops progressive types of treatment for each patient on the basis of information obtained through interview, observation and trial activity. Determine kinds of graded projects and sequence of operations which will advance patient towards treatment goals. Nursing Support: Involves a variety of personal care, nursing care, or related procedures which do not require (a) the knowledges and skills represented by the licensure of practical and vocational nurses by a State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, or (b) fully professional nurse education. Provides nursing care to patients. Assist doctors and nurses in the care and treatment of the ill receiving medical, surgical, psychiatric, or outpatient treatment. Provides personal care to patients, and on a regular, continuing basis, serves as a member of the treatment team in motivating patients and redirecting their behavior toward treatment plan goals. Observes, assists, and completes bowel and bladder care programs for admitted patients. Diagnostic and Medical Instrument Support: Setting up equipment for monitoring, interpreting, and recording cardiac telemetry. Performs 12Lead ECG as ordered by clinician providing results to clinician and ensures results are downloaded to electronic health record. Reports/documents post void residuals using bladder ultrasound technology. Phlebotomy and Specimen Collection Support: Performs blood collection using a variety of phlebotomy techniques including vacutainer system, syringe, butterfly or capillary finger collection devices with minimal number of failures, patient bruising or required repeat collection. Ensures samples are labeled correctly submitted to the clinical laboratory with least possible delay. Performs venous blood draws and blood cultures appropriately, while adhering to infection control practices. Work Schedule: Full-Time. Shifts-may include nights, weekends, and holidays. Shift will be discussed and determined at the time of the interview. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician - Spinal Cord Injury/PD11843A Physical Requirements: Work requires regular and recurring periods of standing and walking throughout the ward. The employee defends self and others from the physical attack of patients. The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion. It may involve walking, frequent bending, reaching and stretching to set up and take apart equipment; lifting and positioning patients; and carrying, pushing, or pulling moderately heavy objects. Duties may require above average dexterity. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupational Requirement for Health Aid and Technician Series (0640): 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. In addition to the IOR, candidates must also meet one of the following requirements: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Treats, instructs or works with patients in carrying out therapeutic activities prescribed for their physical or mental rehabilitation; performs preventative skin breakdown education and interventions including: turning and repositions patients with skin breakdown every 2 hours and as needed, uses devices to prevent further breakdown; performs specimen collection, preparation and transfer to the lab for processing of blood, tissue, urine, stool and sputum as a routine part of their practice; observes, assists and completes bowel and bladder care programs for admitted patients; takes vital signs, takes specimens, and supports the doctor in diagnostic tests such as biopsies and lumbar punctures. OR Substitution of Education experience required for the GS-06 level: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR Combination of Education and Specialized Experience to qualify at the GS-06 level: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an equal combination of specialized experience and graduate education. PLEASE 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. (RESUME AND TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) Preferred Experience: Prior experience in spinal cord injuries and disorders or rehab, prior Certified Nursing Assistant and/or Health Technician experience in acute care or long-term care. 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. 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 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. 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/. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. The first year of service of an employee who is given a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service under the Civil Service Regulations is a probationary period unless specifically exempted by the appointing authority. The first year of continuous service in the same or similar position of a preference eligible in the excepted service is a trial period. The first 2 years of continuous service in the same or similar position of an individual in the excepted service (other than a preference eligible), is a trial period. At least 60 days prior to the end of each employee's initial probationary or trial period, management officials shall, to the extent practicable, meet to discuss the employee's performance and conduct (based in part on input from the employee's supervisor), the needs of the agency, and whether their continued employment would advance the public interest, the organizational goals of the agency, and the efficiency of the service. Within 30 days prior to the end of each employee's probationary or trial period, management officials shall determine whether to finalize the employee's appointment to the Federal service, or whether to terminate their service. Before the employee is terminated, they shall be notified in writing of the effective date of the action.