Summary This position is located in the Surgical Service at the Long Beach VA Healthcare System. The incumbent is part of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other healthcare team members during surgical procedures and perioperative preparation of these procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team. Welcome to VA Long Beach Tibor Rubin - History Responsibilities As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Handle instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures including but not limited to: thoracic, major vascular, general, urology, plastics, ophthalmology and total joint replacement surgery. Set up the sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as air-powered equipment, urologic equipment, recording deices, and other OR supplies and equipment. Plan and/or discuss each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure. Prepare, organize and maintain highly complex sterile surgical setups. Observe and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time. Utilize universal precautions and/or follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies and equipment. Assist team members with care of the patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies. Handle all specimens appropriately. Perform sponge and instrument counts to verify accuracy. Account for all surgical instruments and equipment during the surgical procedure. Prepare skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures. Prepare prostheses and surgical devices during procedures. Assist in training new residents, medical students, nursing students, OR technology students, and new OR staff in the operation of equipment, sterile technique, handling of instruments, and OR procedures to include the scrub role in surgical procedures. Perform non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Maintain OR area. Assess needs and maintains adequate stock of supplies and materials. Recognize potentially hazardous situations (i.e., frayed cords, water on the floor) and takes corrective actions. Assist surgical team members in quality improvement activities. Update personal knowledge regarding current trends in surgical technology through continuing education courses Work Schedule: Monday-Friday: 9:30am - 5:30pm and/or 11:00am - 7:30pm Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD02297A 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. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. GS-07 grade level: (In addition to meeting Time and Grade) 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: utilizing knowledge of medical instruments, human anatomy, physiology, and aseptic technique to prepare and protect sterile field during surgery; exercising sterile technique to include sterilizer operations and tests to determine the effectiveness of sterilization, packaging, storage, and shelf life; handling medical instruments, supplies and equipment during all surgical procedures; performing proper cleaning techniques, as well as the proper handling and rotation of sterile supplies; handling contaminated items, quality control, and personal hygiene, using knowledge of universal precautions and implementing infection control policies and procedures. (must be in resume) OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07 level. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) full year of graduate education (18 semester hours) or an internship in course matter that must include courses directly related to the work of the Surgical Technician position such as anatomy and physiology, surgical technology, aseptic techniques, etc. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 level. You must have a combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses directly related to the work of the Surgical Technician position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. 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-XX. 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 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.
