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The incumbent will perform point of care testing, Waived testing, phlebotomy, accession specimens, and perform other procedures necessary such as appropriate specimen receipt, handling, and processing to ensure accurate, reliable laboratory results. The incumbent must be available to work various shifts assigned and may be assigned to rotate evenings, nights, and weekend shifts and have rotating days off during staff shortage dependent on service's needs.

Duties include bat are not limited to:

• Phlebotomy Duties and Specimen Collection
• Responsible for proper patient identification, proper sample procurement, and proper specimen labeling. Correct identification is critical to patient care. Misidentification could result in various degrees of patient harm, potentially leading to death. Properly identifies all patients with two identifiers to assure the accuracy of the specimen collected and documentation collection appropriately. Uses judgment and independently resolves identification discrepancies through contacts with ward staff and PBS staff as needed.
• Performs phlebotomy procedures following a sequence of complex steps approved for sample collection. Independently responsible for selecting the best venipuncture site, most suitable phlebotomy equipment ( needle type, size and length), most appropriate cleansing agent(s), proper collection vials and assessing the patient's condition before, during and after the procedure.
• Attends to the patients while in their care during the phlebotomy procedure. Is attentive to patient needs, actions and complaints. Has knowledge of medical conditions/therapy (e.g. diabetes, anticoagulation, fainting, hematomas) and applies that knowledge while the patient is in their care.
• Independently determines the need and initiates a Medical Emergency, Code Blue and/or Code Orange. In the event of a Medical Emergency or Code Blue, the phlebotomist administers initial intervention until specialized assistance arrives on the scene.
• Follows the Laboratory procedures for collecting specimens in the appropriate container, maintains specimen under appropriate conditions, follows guidelines for collecting timed specimens at the appropriate times to insure specimen viability.
• Evaluates suitability of specimens for analysis, requesting new specimens if determined to be unusable. Controls sample physical conditions and responds to time factors to insure that the physiologic state of the specimen is maintained.
• Responsible for the sterile collection and dispersal of physician requested patient clean catch urinalysis specimens and 24-hr urine collections. Provides education to patients for proper collection techniques.
• Instructs patient in the collection of urine for chain of custody (legal) urine drug screens, processes specimen and paperwork appropriately.
• Patient Care Testing Duties
• Independently, performs set-ups and waived tests, which involve multiple complex steps and interrelationships (e.g. computer accessioning, sample suitability, sample analysis and result reporting). These include waived tests such as Urine Bhcg, Urinalysis, Fecal Occult Blood, Bleeding Time, Water analysis, Flu testing, Protime, INR testing and sample transfers into Blood Culture Media. Performs instrument maintenance (e.g. Iris) and Quality Control for these tests.
• Independently performs confirmatory testing when indicated to validate results prior to reporting (e.g. Ictotest for bilirubin).
• The incumbent performs established quality control procedures to check the accuracy and validity of the test results. Any deviations in quality control results are documented and reported to the supervisor. Prior to reporting patient test results, the incumbent takes action to correct the quality control deviations. He/she identifies instrument malfunctions, if applicable, and takes appropriate action to correct them.
• Maintains Laboratory Records
• Maintains and controls laboratory records. Incumbent is responsible for presenting the data to the supervisor in a logical and systematic fashion. As such, the technician is responsible for some data analysis including arithmetic calculations, algebra, graphing of data using interactive computer programs and preliminary statistical evaluations.
• Collateral Duties
• Collateral Duties may be assigned at 5%. Examples include but are not limited to the following:
• Quality Assurance, Safety, POC testing, pipette calibration, timers and thermometer calibration.

Conditions of employment

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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/13/2022.

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-04 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-03. 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. 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:

Grade Requirements:

GS-04

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-03 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Phlebotomy work including proper specimen collection by venipuncture collection techniques, proper patient identification, using 2 approved patient identifiers, understanding specimen handling requirements and specimen viability, understanding and processing laboratory orders, provides patient instruction on specimen collections such as random or 24 hour urine collections, sputum collections or other patient collected specimens.
.

OR,

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must possess successful completion of (a) an associate-degree course of study of which the 2nd year of the 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) 1 year of study that included 9 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 diagnosis process and the treatment of patients; or (c) 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours of chemistry and/or biological science course work that must have been directly related to the specialization of the Medical Technician position. (Transcripts must be provided).

OR,

Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-4 level. This is computed by determining your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required; then determining your education as a percentage of the education required; then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100% to qualify. To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of undergraduate education by 60; then add the two percentages together. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. (Transcripts must be provided).

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

Competency 1 - Attention to Detail

Competency 2 - Plan and organize work

Competency 3 - Specimen Collection

Competency 4 - Customer Service

Competency 5 - Technical Creditability

Competency 6 - Decision Making

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.

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.

Physical Requirements: Finger dexterity and hand/eye coordination required to perform phlebotomy of patients and to manipulate a variety of laboratory devices such as computerized instruments and computer terminals. May lift or otherwise assists other personnel in positioning patients (avg. 200 lbs.) for routine and emergency procedures, position under/on top of laboratory counters or in instrument cabinets the reagent and supply items, some of which can weigh in excess of 45 pounds also, prolonged periods of standing, walking, pushing, and reaching. Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. Ability to operate laboratory equipment, computers and other equipment. Must wear personal protective equipment or film badges as required for the designated work area. The work requires some physical exertion, such as walking or bending to collect samples. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. In the laboratory, there may be special requirements for agility or dexterity such as exceptional hand/eye coordination.


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/.

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.

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.