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Medical Technician

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located within the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service at the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System in Columbus, GA, Fort Benning, GA and Montgomery, AL. Occasional travel to other CAVHCS facility as necessary or required. The Medical Technician is responsible for collecting a broad range of routine and emergency blood samples.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/30/2020 to 07/07/2020
Salary
$31,208 to - $40,569 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 4
Locations
3 vacancies in the following locations:
Montgomery, AL
Columbus, GA
Fort Benning, GA
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Announcement number
CARZ-10852775-20-SCH
Control number
572264800

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Duties

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DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: Applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

Duties include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Collects blood specimens by venipuncture utilizing correct technique and skill to avoid patient harm and specimen integrity;
  • Correctly identifies each patient and labeling of the blood specimens;
  • Uses appropriate infection control standard precaution procedures and safeguards to prevent the spread of infection;
  • Processes specimens according to strict requirements in order to maintain the integrity;
  • Uses independent judgment to assess patient collection sites and determine the best to obtain sample;
  • Draws appropriate number and type of tubes of blood, ensuring the tubes meet quality and volume standards required for optimum clinical sampling;
  • Attends to the patients while in their care during the phlebotomy procedure;
  • Performs proper collection employee and pre-employment Drug Screens throughout the healthcare system;
  • Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday - 7:00-3:30pm, 7:30-4:00pm and 8:00-4:30pm
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Subject to a background/security investigation
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • May be required to serve a probationary period
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

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.

-AND-
TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-04 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
GENERAL/SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Have (6) months of general experience and (6) months of specialized experience which equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the Medical Technician - Phlebotomy, GS-4. General Experience is: (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Examples of specialized experience include: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. NOTE: Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Have successfully completed (a) an associate - degree course of study of which the 2nd year of the two (2) year program included successful completion of a training course of approximately a year's duration in a certified laboratory assistant school approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; (b) One (1) year of study that included six (6) semester hours in chemistry and/or the biological sciences, plus successful completion of a full-time training course of approximately a year's duration in a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) school that included instruction in chemistry, hematology, blood banking, and microbiology (including serology) and that, in addition, included supervised laboratory practice incident to the diagnostic process and the treatment of patients; or (c) two (2) years of study that included at least twelve (12) semester hours of chemistry and/or biological science course work that must have been directly related to the specialization of the position to be filled. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

-OR-

COMBINATION: Have equivalent combinations of successfully completed post high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position and must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.


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

  • Analytical Reasoning
  • Communications
  • Specimen Collection
  • Technical Competence


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.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Physical Requirements: Physical Demands: The work will typically require a considerable amount of walking to and from the buildings of the medical center, including buildings on the outer perimeter of the medical center grounds, sometimes during inclement weather. The work also requires regular and recurrent standing to perform test, walking, reaching, bending and kneeling to obtain supplies and operation instruments. The work involves regular and recurrent exposure to moderate risks or discomforts which requires special safety precautions. Occasionally lifts weights up to 75 pounds.

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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (334) 272-4670.

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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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.

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).

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