Summary The Surgical Technician position is located at the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center, Memphis, Tennessee. The Surgical Technician is a member of the Operating Room (OR) surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team in planning and implementing complex procedures. Responsibilities The Surgical Technician functions as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures. This position will be located in the Operating Room (OR), which performs surgical procedures including general surgery, ENT, ophthalmology, cardiothoracic, vascular, podiatry, plastic surgery, orthopedics, urology, neurosurgery, etc. The incumbent duties include but are not limited to: Setup sterile field with all required items for each procedure. Plan and discuss each procedure with surgical professionals. Assure that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure according to the surgeon's preference cards. Maintain a high level of concentration for an extended period of time. Assist the team members in the care of patients. Assist the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures. Prepare prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures. Maintain operating room area. Maintain adequate stock of supplies and materials. Recognize potentially hazardous situation and takes corrective action. Work Schedule: 06:45 am - 3:15pm; 06:45 - 5:15pm (24-hour call on weekends and Federal holidays) Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD50163A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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 surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in 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 Requirement for Health Aid and Technician Series (0640): 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. In addition to the IOR, candidates must also meet one of the following requirements:GS-7 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-6 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: Knowledge of highly technical medical instruments, human anatomy, physiology, and aseptic technique to prepare and protect the sterile field during surgery. Knowledge of sterile technique to include sterilizer operation and tests to determine the effectiveness of sterilization, packaging, storage, and shelf life. Knowledge of a wide variety of complex surgical procedures and possible complications in order to prepare for the procedure. Knowledge of pathology care and handling of specimens correctly are essential for the prevention of damage to or loss of specimens and eventual diagnosis. Knowledge of operation and function of all surgical instruments and equipment, testing procedures to assure all equipment works, and proper postoperative decontamination procedures. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology to be able to understand written requests and provide proper documentation of procedures. OR, SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR, COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an equal combination of specialized experience and graduate education. (RESUME AND TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). Preferred Experience: Greater than 3 years of scrub tech experience. Must have current Basic Life Support (BLS). 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-7. 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 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.
