Summary The position is located in the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (PLMS) at the Hudson Valley VA Health Care Systems. The incumbent performs a variety of functions including: accessions specimens into computer system, use the HOWDY system, collects, evaluates and processes patient specimens, answers questions relative to patient specimens, instructs and assists patients, and processes send-out specimens for testing. Responsibilities Performs Diagnostic Procedures: Incumbent collects and processes specimens obtained for analyses throughout P&LMS and associated reference laboratories, ensuring safety and non-traumatic processes are used with critical concern for the patients and the quality of the specimen. The incumbent performs venipuncture specimen collections from inpatients, outpatients, and urgent room when needed. Collections should be completed with a minimal number of failures, bruising or re-sticks, and ensuring that samples are submitted to the clinical laboratory with the least possible delay. The use of a syringe or butterfly may be required in obtaining difficult specimens. During collection procedures, the incumbent makes gross visual observation and identifies subtle changes regarding the patient's condition, notifying appropriate emergency personnel as needed. Patient Care: He/she secures the confidence and cooperation of patient during phlebotomy, explains procedure, and positions patients for desired results. Special attention should be given to explaining any post phlebotomy procedure that may be needed, such as applying extra pressure and leaving bandage in place for extended period of time to patients on blood thinners, and any concerns that may arise from the patient. Clerical Support/ Coordination: Navigate through the procedure of checking patients into the phlebotomy area, taking care to follow protocol. This includes checking 2 forms of ID, logging patients in, and accessioning into the computer for the proper labels. These duties will be performed in a friendly, courteous manner utilizing appropriate customer service skills. The patient's correct identification (two different @types) must always be established prior to obtaining any specimen. Generated labels must match the test requisition slips or the electronic request, and the patient's identification. All specimens must be properly labeled. Specimen Processing, Send Outs, Employee Urine Drug Screen Collection: Receives and sorts specimens collected from inpatients, outpatients, and all CBOC's, checks request slips for proper information, logs in specimen, and delivers specimens to various laboratory sections. The incumbent also operates centrifuges, reporting any malfunction to Supervisor, as needed. He/she evaluates temperature requirements of refrigerator on the wards as needed. Processes specimens for send out to reference laboratories by centrifuging, separating, storing specimens at the appropriate temperature, and creates appropriate manifests for specimen being sent. Collects employee urine drug screens as scheduled or requested by Human Resources. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Evenings Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician (Phlebotomy)/PD08049A Physical Requirements: The work requires long periods of standing, sitting, walking and bending with occasional moderate lifting. 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) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-05 Requirements: Do you possess the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above)? You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in Federal Service. 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; Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: 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; Maintaining records of procedures.*This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. 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. One year of full-time undergraduate 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 in a business or technical school. Transcripts required. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education as described that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. Transcripts required, and experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. 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. 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. Additional 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 to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. 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.
