SUMMARY

Employee will serve as a Health Technician within the Laboratory Section of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department, VA Clinic, Mishawaka, IN. Employee is responsible for performing multiple duties in accessioning, specimen processing, reference laboratory specimen processing, clerical functions, patient testing, quality control review, lab information systems reviews, manual entry reviews, and phlebotomy as necessary.

QUALIFICATIONS

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the above requirement, applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience includes: performing accessioning and specimen processing; performing phlebotomy; operating various types of laboratory equipment/instruments; verifying accuracy of test results; and performing clerical functions using a variety of computer software packages and laboratory systems to document and maintain laboratory records.
OR
SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required): Successful completion of six (6) months of graduate education in a field of study directly related to the work of the position meets the requirements for GS-6. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
OR
COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required): Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Specimen Collection
• Technical Competence
• Technology Application

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.
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; religious; 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.
Physical Requirements: Work is performed in a laboratory atmosphere and requires regular and physical exertion such as walking, bending, recurrent standing, and moderate lifting. Requires specific physical characteristics and abilities and dexterity needed to perform intricate analytical and technical procedures. Work involves traveling to and from patient wards; prolongs periods of standing and bending over patients and/or control panels of analytic instruments; reaching, stooping and bending for supplies; carrying light to moderate heavy loads (specimen collection trays, reagents, supplies), entering patient information, test orders, and data in a computer.
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

IMPORTANT: 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
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.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans’ Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran’s preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).
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.

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Receives and prepares requests for testing and specimens into the clinical laboratory and verifies the accuracy and completeness of the request.
• Recognizes emergency testing situations and takes action to direct the specimens to proper location.
• Operates various types of laboratory equipment, i.e., centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers, in addition to consumables such as transfer pipettes, laboratory pour-off tubes and specimen containers).
• Verifies proper patient preparation, specimen collection, and specimen transport requirements for reference lab tests.
• Serves as a reference for healthcare professionals on the collection and processing of lab testing. Takes action to correct and solve problems.
• Performs patient care testing duties including but not limited to waived testing.
• Performs blood draws on patients to include special drawing techniques, ensuring proper tubes are used and correct amount of blood is drawn. Collects glucose tolerance specimens; instructs the patient on the proper procedures; and prepares the collection site and draws blood cultures.
• Receives telephonic inquiries and communicates results to appropriate personnel.
• Performs quality control procedures and documents and reports any quality control deviations.
• Uses a variety of computer software packages and laboratory systems to perform administrative/clerical duties to document and maintain laboratory records.
• Performs other related duties as assigned

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcrip