SUMMARY

The position serves as a Health Technician in Nursing, Acute Care Service within the White River Junction VA Health Care System located at White River Junction, Vermont.

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-06 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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. 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. Accurately ensures follow up on orders related to activity and diet; identifies omissions and discrepancies in medical data and reports them to Registered Nurse (RN) staff; prepares charts for patients and processes them for movements in and out of ICU; assures equipment functions; operates medical equipment; Orders and maintain supplies for the unit; under direction of RN will do Vital Signs, make beds, turn patients, dressings, feed and other diagnostic tests such has pulse oximetry, glucose and EKG; observes cardiac monitors and documents rhythm under the RN supervision; Maintains time and attendance records for assigned unit staff and serves an alternate timekeeper for others as needed; communicates effectively and establishes positive relationships; Maintains a safe patient and work environment; adheres to all policies/procedures related to infection control and hazardous waste; Identifies emergencies and intervenes appropriately.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Patient Care
• Self-Esteem
• 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: Work demands sitting, standing, walking, bending, pushing, and lifting (moderate-heavy) and stressful situations. The incumbent should be capable of making sound decisions and maintain composure during highly stressful situations. Use of a CRT, and hand movement for keyboarding is frequent.
Working Conditions: The work is performed in the Nurses’ station on a patient care unit in an area diverse, and sometimes with intense, activity. Employee works at a desk centrally located in the ICU where there is a direct contact with patients, visitors and anyone else coming to the unit. The employee will perform direct patient care within the patient rooms and may therefore, be exposed to communicable disease, and at times, to verbal or physical abuse. In the performance of official duties, the employee has regular access to printed and electronic files containing sensitive information which must be protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 and other applicable law and regulations. The employee is responsible for protecting that information from unauthorized release.
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.
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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
For more information on the “Who may apply” eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

IF YOU ARE RELYING ON YOUR EDUCATION TO MEET QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

The Health Technician operates as a Medical Administrative and Technical Clerk in the combined Medical and Surgical ICU setting as a member of the health care team providing patient care and administrative support to the service and who functions in a self-directed manner, displaying initiative and good judgement.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Accurately ensures follow-up on a variety of physician orders involving patient activities, diet and medication, on a timely basis to various.
• Resolves problems and complaints involving procedural administrative issues on own initiative. Makes sound decisions independently, recognizes emergent situations and takes necessary action. Establishes priorities independently to accomplish ward administration functions in a timely and effective manner.
• Works in close liaison with professional staff to expedite emergency requests in day-to-day patient care.
• Coordinates processes during emergencies such as cardiac arrest, codes, death, or a sudden life threatening change in a patients condition.
• Prepares chart for patients scheduled for operative or invasive procedures, assuring all preoperative/procedure studies are available, to include presence of a completed informed consent.
• Assures equipment functions; places and follows up on work orders for equipment that require attention.
• Processes the patient’s medical record for observation, admission, discharge, inter-ward and inter-hospital transfer, death, referral for community placement, and seriously ill list.
• Provides administrative support to maintain records, schedules and Share Points are up to date. Other administrative duties as assigned.
• Transports non-critical patients to necessary departments and areas within the hospital on stretchers or by wheelchair. Transports laboratory specimens to the lab.
• Performs vital signs as assigned by an RN and Performs dressing changes as assigned.
• Performs point-of-care testing, and reports results to RN.
• Monitors patient care areas and work station areas for cleanliness.
• Assists in maintaining adequate inventory of equipment and supplies. When stocking ensures supplies are rotated and not expired.
• Answers patient call lights and assists patient when appropriate or notifies the RN of patient need.
• Answers the visitor call light and notifies visitors when to enter the ICU.
• Identifies emergencies and intervenes appropriately.
• Performs additional duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Varies; Work Schedule will be discussed during the interview process, to include weekend coverage.
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD00474A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Notifications:

• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• This position is in the Competitive Service.
• This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.
• Veterans’ preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.