Medical Technician

Company: Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Location: Livermore
Posted on: May 26, 2023

Job Description:

Summary The Medical Technician will serve in the Technical Support section of Pathology &Laboratory Service providing phlebotomy, specimen processing and testing services. Primarily responsible for phlebotomy of inpatients and/or outpatients at the Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Livermore Divisions and outlying Clinics. She/he is also responsible for accessioning and processing specimens for the different section of Laboratory Service and performing standardized laboratory tests. Responsibilities This is an open continuous announcement and will remain open until December 29, 2023. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be April 05, 2023, Period of Eligibility: For open continuous announcements, the period of eligibility of your application will be 90 days. After that time, you must update your application through your USA Jobs account if you would like to be made active again. Duties to include but not limited to the following: Daily procurement of blood specimens including venipuncture, blood cultures from both inpatients and outpatients. Procurement includes positive patient identification, accurate specimen labeling, specimen handling of identified specimens and timely transport of specimens to the laboratory. Gives instruction or question patients regarding fasting conditions for blood chemistries, anticoagulant therapy for coagulation studies etc. Assists in training and teaching of phlebotomy to Medical Technology student and new phlebotomist sin venipuncture and other related phlebotomy techniques. Serves as a resource person for lower grade and Fee Basis phlebotomy staff and in answering questions and solving on the spot phlebotomy problems that arise. Assumes the early a.m. phlebotomy team coordinator duties in the absence of the supervisor or technician assigned to this duty. Inspects, receives and maintains phlebotomy supply inventory and insures that phlebotomy stock rooms are in clean and orderly fashion. Processes specimens for the clinical laboratory sections as assigned (ie. Blood Bank, Chemistry, Hematology, Immunology, Microbiology) including VISTA accessioning, centrifugation and plasma/serum separation of blood, specimen storage, slide preparation, culture set up, measurement of timed urine specimens, and documentation of specimen status such as special handling requirements, specimen condition (ie. lipemic, QNS, hemolytic), volumes etc. Prepares and stains slides such as differentials, gram stains, reticulocytes. Prepares specimens, packaging and request forms for send-out reference laboratories. Performance of laboratory procedures such as urinalysis profile, Westergren erythrocyte sedimentation rates. Determines tests to be performed, priority and timeliness, and whether any preprocessing of specimen is required to overcome specimen conditions such as lipemia, high white counts, hemolysis etc. Operates instruments such as the Cytocentrifuge for fluid analysis, Clinitek 500 for urine analysis, as well as routine microscopes and centrifuges. Performs preventative maintenance, participates in proficiency testing and performs quality control procedures for these instruments and other procedures as assigned. Performs DHCP/VISTA test data entry for laboratory tests as described above and as assigned by supervisor. Builds prints and maintains VISTA phlebotomy collection lists and labels. Maintains tally of outpatients and inpatient phlebotomy. Enters other data into DHCP/VISTA such as clinic stops. Answers telephone inquiries for laboratory test information, status and results. Performs other related duties as required. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 7:00 am to 3:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician/PD06129A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/29/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS 06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. 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 (IOR) Specialized Experience (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. 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 05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: daily procurement of blood specimens including venipuncture, capillary fingersticks, blood cultures from both inpatients and outpatients. Inspects, receives and maintains phlebotomy supply inventory and insures that phlebotomy stock rooms are in clean and orderly fashion. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have graduate education or an internship directly related to the work of the position (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED/Documentation of Internship). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical Reasoning Clerical Diagnostic Medical Testing Technical Competence 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: must be capable of prolonged standing, frequent bending for venipuncture and occasional heavy lifting. Work Environment: Work is performed in a laboratory and at the bed-side of patients where patient may be uncooperative or openly hostile to venipuncture. Although safety procedures are followed, incumbent may be exposed to biological and chemical hazards such a hepatitis and AIDs, concentrated acids/bases and other solvents or dyes commonly used in a laboratory setting. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.

Keywords: Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Livermore , Medical Technician, Professions , Livermore, California