Summary This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Durham VA Medical Center under the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (PLMS). The primary location for this position is at Garner VA Clinic. Responsibilities The Garner VA Clinic is a newly established facility, approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to expand access to healthcare services for Veterans in Wake and surrounding North Carolina counties. Upon completion, the facility will be approximately 244,000 gross square feet and is expected to employ approximately 600 personnel. This facility is remotely located from the Durham VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Garner, North Carolina, which is approximately 24 miles from the Durham VAMC. Services include, but are not limited to, Primary Care, Mental Health, Radiology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and multiple specialty services for approximately 25,000 Veterans in Wake and the surrounding counties. This position is located in at Durham VA Outpatient Based Clinic in Nursing Services at the Garner VA Clinic. The incumbent will perform technical work in one or more areas such as chemistry, hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, phlebotomy, rapid testing or microbiology. Reports on tests and examinations may be used by physicians in diagnosis, care, and treatment of patients. The work requires practical knowledge of the techniques of medical laboratory practice in one or more areas of clinical laboratory work, and of the Chemistry, biology, and anatomy are involved. The incumbent works under periodic supervision, but otherwise conducts duties independently. MAJOR DUTIES - Collects/Prepares/Examines Specimens, performs work in the testing and examination procedures carried out in the laboratory. - Conducts any or all of the following tasks related to specimens performs collection, ensures accurate and complete labeling and accessioning, distributes to appropriate areas of the lab, runs through centrifuge and de-capping machines, and stores analyzed specimens in racks according to today and lab number. - Report/Verify results for the rapid testing area and reference lab. Maintains appropriate certification for packaging and shipping hazardous/biological specimens. - Maintains laboratory facilities, equipment, and supplies in such a manner as to provide for safety and efficiency of laboratory operations - Assists in training personnel or students in laboratory safety and routine processes. - Conducts and documents periodic light maintenance and Quality Control of laboratory equipment, including cleaning, restocking, checking controls, and verifying that automated maintenance procedures have functioned appropriately. - Maintains laboratory records of all tests results, while strictly adhering to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) and local/agency requirements - Clerical Support in various areas of the laboratory, central receiving area, reference area and in outpatient blood draw lab. - Performs other duties as assigned. - Meets the needs of customers while supporting VA missions. This position involves a wide variety of duties involving specimen collection, processing, and preparation of specimens for transport while assuring accuracy of identification and integrity of specimens for routine and specialized testing throughout all processes. Major duties include, but are not limited to: - Perform positive (active) identification of patients and specimens including full name and full social security number through entire process of specimen collection, accessioning, processing, and storage/distribution of patient's specimens to clinical laboratory departments. - Accurately evaluates and interprets patient orders in the computer to determine which testing may be assessed and performed at the time. - Accepts computer and written requests from clinical departments, to include primary care, surgery and medicine. - Performs phlebotomy using appropriate procedures and established venipuncture techniques and universal precautions, being careful to avoid areas close to nerve bundles and arteries. - Applies universal blood and body fluid precautions when processing, de-capping tubes, and allocating all specimens. - Operates laboratory equipment to prepare blood samples and other specimens in a safe and efficient manner. - Enters information in laboratory computer system for test ordering, accessioning and results. - Assists with monitoring of inventory and maintenance of adequate phlebotomy supplies and thorough cleaning/disinfecting of work areas. - Performs other directly related duties as assigned. Preferred Education: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Preferred Certification: None Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician/PD07013A Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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 or trial 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, 03/18/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at 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: 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: duties involving specimen collection, processing, and preparation of specimens for transport, while assuring accuracy of identification and integrity of specimens for routine and specialized testing throughout all processes. Clerical duties and basic computer skills are necessary in this position. These duties are both difficult and complex, involving many steps, and require a high degree of specialization, judgment, critical thinking, and communication skills. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related to the work of the position. (Transcripts must be submitted). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as stated above. This can be determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the required experience and education as a percentage of the total required. The total percentage must be equal to 100 percent. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Security Specimen Collection Technical Competence 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. 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.
