Summary The position is located at the WJB Dom VA Medical Center of the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service (PM&R). The position is for a Health Technician. The mission of PM&R is to provide therapeutic intervention that will assist patients to gain their fullest functional potential. The purpose of the health technician is to provide support to therapists during encounters with patients referred to PM&R for various services. Responsibilities Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Incumbent receives requests for procedures from therapists in the Rehabilitation sections and physiatrists, where applicable. In response, incumbent will set up equipment and assist the patient in getting prepared for procedure. Incumbent understands and carries out requests made by the health care professionals or seeks assistance for new procedures. Incumbent secures patients' confidence and cooperation during procedures; explains procedures, positions patients for desired results, and cushions and shields patients, as appropriate. Varies test procedures or position to adjust to patients' medical condition and responds to emergency situations, such as cardiopulmonary failure, hemorrhaging, and shock by assisting in the performance of resuscitation measures. Operates and maintains medical instruments and equipment to ensure proper working conditions for diagnostic and treatment procedures. Incumbent understands the physical, emotional, and social characteristics of adult and geriatric adult populations, and adapts his/her behavior in order to communicate effectively with all segments of the patient population. At the health care professional' s request, the incumbent sets up equipment technical factors for a variety of tests or procedures; sets up and adjusts accessory equipment required under the supervision of a therapist or physiatrist; locates and sets up equipment and all accessories and understands proper positioning; adjusts equipment placement for patients' comfort; schedules procedures, coordinating with other services. Incumbent notifies staff of shortages of supplies to ensure adequate supplies are available at all times to provide therapeutic procedures. Incumbent cleans mats, chairs, and tables in clinic areas each morning with approved antimicrobial and cleans equipment after each patient; ensures that clean paper linens; checks temperatures of hydrocollators (heater/cooler) and paraffin baths and keeps monthly/daily logs; cleans hydrocollators and defrosts freezer at prescribed intervals; and documents quality assurance/quality control. Incumbent performs range of diagnostic support duties, arranges and passes medical instruments and materials to health care professionals for a variety of diagnostic tests and procedures; makes gross visual observations and identifies subtle changes regarding the patient's condition. Assists patients in contacting volunteer or social services as needed; assists patients, visitors, and others requesting information, guidance or referral for special assistance; assists patients to the wards, clinics, or outside to cars with equipment, as needed. Incumbent answers the phone, providing non-clinical information; refers callers to appropriate staff; records telephone messages for delivery to PM&R therapists. Performs all others duties assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm and 8:00am-4:30pm EST. Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD01429A Physical Requirements: The work is primarily active and requires some standing, walking, bending, lifting, squatting and carrying of light items. The work requires above average agility and dexterity, and may require heavy lifting of equipment or patients. Work Environment: The work environment involves risks typically associated with performance facility work. Work involves regular and recurring exposure to moderate risks or discomforts that require special safety precautions. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Designated and/or random drug testing may be required Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupation Requirements: These requirements are specific to the job series and define the basic qualifications that candidates must meet to be eligible for this particular position. Specialized Experience: 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. or, Education: 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. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirements, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: practical knowledge of standard procedures using any one of several technical procedures; skill in the operation and use of specialized equipment and materials under the supervision of a staff therapist; knowledge to handle problems and deviations in work assignments in accordance with standard practices and written procedures; knowledge to work independently in carrying out routine assignments after learning the priorities concerning the categories of assignment. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first 60 semester hours. Preferred Experience: Experience in PT/OT Rehab environment. Experience in Physical Medicine and Rehab 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. 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.
