Summary This position is located in the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the Community Based Outpatient Clinics- Ambulatory Care Line (Conroe, TX) affiliated to Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. This position processes a wide variety of complex specimens from hospitalized patients and patients from outpatient and community based clinics Responsibilities Processes a wide variety of complex specimens. Uses knowledge of tests performed throughout the laboratory, i.e. chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, microbiology, and cytology. - Selects correct method of resolution for problem samples. Prepares samples, slides, smears, or other @types of specimens (i.e., blood, urine, tissue) common to the laboratory. Labels all blood tubes, instructs patients on proper specimen collection procedures and provide service in a friendly, compassionate, veteran centric manner. Deploys aseptic technique and follows guidelines used in performing venipuncture or blood collection on all patients according to doctor's orders; interprets orders proficiently on inpatients and outpatients. Draws the appropriate number of tubes and @type of tubes; ensuring the tubes meet quality, acceptability, integrity and volume standards required for optimum clinical sampling. Assures venipuncture site has ceased bleeding and also bandages the site before leaving the patient. Routes clinical samples to Laboratory sections, informing other staff of sample urgency as necessary. Performs and processes a wide variety of complex specimens from hospitalized patients and patients from outpatient and community based clinics (CBOCs). Disinfects and thoroughly cleans all work areas and blood collection carts when daily tour is coming to an end. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 12:00pm-4:00pm (Subject to changed based on the needs of the agency) Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD03712A Physical Requirements: The work requires extensive and recurring physical exertion such as standing for long periods of time, bending, lifting, walking, stooping and stretching. The work requires manual dexterity and a large degree of concentration. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. GS-5 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-4 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: Experience with blood collection using a variety of phlebotomy techniques including vacutainer system, syringe, butterfly or capillary finger sticks with minimal number of failures, and patient bruising. 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. (Transcripts required). OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. A combination of successfully completed post high school education AND specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements at the GS-5 level. (Transcripts required) 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-5. 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. 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 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.
