Health Technician

at  US Veterans Health Administration

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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS

• Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. After a determination is made that it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens, non-citizen personnel may be appointed on a temporary basis under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405, without regard to the citizenship requirements of 38 U.S.C. 7402 or any other law prohibiting the employment of or payment of compensation to a person who is not a citizen of the United States. Candidates must meet all other requirements for the grade and position concerned.
• English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. See chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): 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.
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

For GS-05:

• 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: The incumbent serves in a developmental capacity at the GS-05 level. Key functions will be similar to those described at the full performance level of the target position. However, during the developmental assignment, full performance range and level of selected functions will not be completely delegated to the employee until proper orientation and training have been completed and the incumbent has demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to accomplish the work at the full performance level. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have For GS-5: 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. 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 equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying: For GS-5 level positions, only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Determine the applicant’s total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level. Then determine the applicant’s education as a percentage of the education that meets the requirements for GS-5. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5.

For GS-06:

• 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: Basic anatomy and physiology to include location and function of major body organs and structures. Completion of formal nursing assistant program and/or active duty military equivalent. Cardiac rhythm interpretation, lead placement for 12 Lead electrocardiogram and telemetry monitoring, monitor alarm parameters, operation and maintenance of cardiopulmonary and electrocardiogram equipment. Vital sign measurements, deviation from norms, documentation, and procedure for reporting results.

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
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.

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.

• How to Apply

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.
Help

• Obtains, reads, measures, and interprets electrocardiogram monitoring. Identifies life threatening dysrhythmias and initiates appropriate action according to established protocols and written procedures.
• Operates and supports physicians in designated clinical area using diagnostic and therapeutic medical instruments/equipment including Electrocardiogram, Spirometry, Visual Acuity Screening, and Bladder Scan according to established procedures and with documented competency.
• Locates and sets up equipment needed for complex diagnostic procedures. Operates, calibrates and maintains medical instruments or equipment. Monitors and plans equipment inventory, routine equipment maintenance, and serves as a unit resource for cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of non-critical, semi-critical, and critical Reusable Medical Equipment (RME).
• Orders and maintains specialized supplies needed for equipment and instruments used in assigned unit. Performs and documents treatments, procedures, and/or telemetry identification that they have conducted in the electronic medical record.
• Demonstrates leadership in advocating patient safety and educating multidisciplinary staff in assigned area on Reusable Medical Equipment. Schedules procedures, Provider evaluations, and coordinates appointments with other services.
• Supports health and medical staff during diagnosis and treatment of patients. Gathers screening data on patients triaged as ESI 4 and/or 5, to include: fall risk, allergies, current medications, homelessness, abuse, means and mode of arrival, danger to self or others, and exposure to communicable diseases.
• Recognizes and informs appropriate multidisciplinary health care team of deviations from baseline screening parameters. Performs phlebotomy in designated areas. Applies basic splints and performs dressing changes in designated areas.
• Performs Point of Care (POC) testing using glucometer and I-Stat devices according to established unit procedures and with competency validation.
• Educates other HT staff and serves as the expert resource in specialized equipment/supply maintenance, operation, and quality assurance monitoring.
  Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 07:00 a.m. - 04:30 p.m.
  Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD10895A, PD10896A, PD10895-A, and PD9825-A
  Physical Requirements: The position includes physical exertion such as regular and recurring walking, stooping, bending, reaching and lifting of equipment and supplies. The incumbent must be able to lift 35 lbs., perform the following: pulling, pushing, reaching above the shoulders and laterally, use of fingers, both hands, arms, and legs, sitting, walking, and standing for long periods. Also, he/she must able to hear whispered voices (with or without a hearing aid), kneeling, repeated bending, ability for rapid mental/muscular coordination simultaneously, visual requirements for monitoring observation, depth perception, and ability to distinguish shades of color.
  Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.
  Total Reward$ - VA Careers