Summary The primary purpose of this Health Technician position is to collect patient blood specimens, accept orders from physicians, and to instruct and assist patients. The physical location of this position's primary duties is the Outpatient Phlebotomy Room at the Syracuse VA Medical Center. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to the following: Performs patient care procedures such as the collection of blood and urine specimens. This activity provides specimens to the Clinical Laboratory for further testing. Properly identifies the patient, draws blood from patients for analysis and other medical purposes. Assembles equipment, such as tourniquet, needles, disposable containers for needles, blood collection devices, gauze, cotton, and alcohol on work tray, according to requirements for specified tests or procedures. Applies tourniquet to arm, locates accessible vein, swabs puncture area with antiseptic, and inserts needle into vein to draw blood into collection tube or bag. Withdraws needle, applies treatment to puncture site, and labels and stores blood container for subsequent processing. Performs finger pricks to draw blood. Ensures proper labeling and handling of the collected specimen. In order to complete acceptable work, the employee must understand and practice the following: correct identification of the patient, proper aseptic technique, proper phlebotomy technique, and appropriate customer service. Additional responsibilities include assisting in revising the Phlebotomy Manual, training new employees and students in Phlebotomy practices. Provides technical assistance in the Clinical Laboratory sections of the Laboratory on an 'as needed" basis. Receives and directs patients to appropriate areas of the facility. Responds to inquiries from patients and staff concerning a variety of medical and administrative matters, and answers questions as appropriate. Converses with patient as a means to establish rapport in efforts to diminish patient fear of a procedure, provide patient with confidence in the incumbent's knowledge and skills, and maintains a professional and compassionate demeanor towards patients before, during, and after procedures. Performs administrative tasks. This includes accessioning of patient specimens, maintaining quality control records, receiving and labeling of patient specimens, and answering telephone inquiries. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM - 3:30 PM or 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM, including weekend and holiday rotation. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD21R91A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Required Documents" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/04/2025. Individual Occupational Requirements - An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 0640 occupational series. 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 and Training for GS-05: 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. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirements, applicants must also meet the grade requirements. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-05 grade level: 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: understanding policies and procedures as related to patient care; performing phlebotomy techniques, procedures and other specimen collection procedures; setting up equipment for all phlebotomy procedures; instructing patients in the proper procedures to follow prior, during and after test; preparing referral specimens for shipment; performing all clerical duties; and maintaining records of procedures. Knowledge of or experience in accepting and preparing specimens in the clinical and anatomic pathology laboratory. OR, Have you successfully completed a 2 or 4-year course of study leading to a associates/bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to this position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR, Possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and completion of a phlebotomy certification program to obtain experience to meet total qualification requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Customer Service Infection Control Specimen Collection 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: The work is primarily sedentary but also requires some standing, walking, bending, lifting and carrying of light items. It also requires above average agility and dexterity; and may require lifting of equipment or supplies weighing up to 25 pounds. Work Environment: The work environment involves risks typically associated with performance of medical facility work. Work involves regular and recurring exposure to bloodborne pathogens and patient bodily fluids as they will be performing phlebotomy (draw blood). PPE - protective clothing and safety equipment is provided. Incumbent must comply with special safety precautions, use all PPE and safety equipment. 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/. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act." 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. 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 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 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/.
