Summary The Surgical Technician (ST) functions as a member of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: Setting up sterile field with all required items such as air-power equipment, fiber optic equipment, microscopes, lasers, etc. Planning and discussing procedures with surgical professionals. Making sure all supplies and equipment are available prior to surgical procedure. Preparing and maintaining sterile surgical setups. Assisting the surgeon during surgical procedure. Handling specimens, supplies, and equipment following universal precaution and infection control policies. Assisting with patient care, i.e., positioning, prepping, etc. Assisting surgeon in such procedures as; preparing skin grafts, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures. Maintaining correct count of instruments used during procedures. Performing non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Assessing supplies and materials to maintain adequate stock. Providing customer service in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Providing customers with information according to policies and procedures. Making sure computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained. Perform all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Variable shifts; typically, Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm or four 10-hour shifts, 7:00am - 5:30pm (40 hours per week). Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD11576A Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupational Requirements -- Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): 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. Specialized Experience for GS-07 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 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: Setting up sterile field with all required items such as air-power equipment, fiber optic equipment, microscopes, lasers, etc. Making sure all supplies and equipment are available prior to surgical procedure. Assisting the surgeon during surgical procedure. Handling specimens, supplies, and equipment following universal precaution and infection control policies. Assisting with patient care, i.e., positioning, prepping, etc. Maintaining correct count of instruments used during procedures. Providing customer service in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07 level. Must have successfully completed one full year of graduate education (18 semester hours or equivalent), or an internship in course matter with a major that included courses directly related to the work of the Health Technician position. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 level. Must have an equivalent combination of related graduate level education and specialized experience to meet the total experience requirement. 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-07. 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. 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 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. 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 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 probation period unless specifically exempted by the appointing authority. 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.
