Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

This position serves as an advance technician for outpatient care settings such as; primary care, mental health, and specialty clinics. As an ICT Generalist the incumbent may serve in a medical center, community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC), mobile medical unit or may have virtual/remote assignments.

Major Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Performing observation-based screening and collecting patient information in collaboration with licensed personnel.
• Completing clinical reminders, obtaining patient health history, chief complaints, medication history, and identification of health-related conditions that may impact the patient's health status.
• Complete approved templates and tools, such as the outpatient intake form, normal result notes, and follow up treatment.
• Assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention, management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients, by providing one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques (PMDB).
• Maintain a safe and therapeutic environment for the patient while promoting a sense of worth and dignity under the supervision of the licensed personnel.
• Assists licensed staff with preparing patients for medical evaluation, setting up equipment, passing instruments and providing treatment during in-person or virtual visits.
• Operates specialized medical equipment to obtain diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes.
• Collecting a wide range of specimens and preparing them for transfer to processing. Observes patient status and
• Clinical responsibilities include but are not limited to:
  • Vital signs. Examples: vital signs, 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG).
  • Point-of-care (POC). Examples: Abbott hand-held blood analyzer (I-STAT), glucometer.
  • Equipment and surgical instrumentation set up. Examples: skin biopsies (excisional, shave, punch).
  • Treatments and interventions. Examples: Cryotherapy, incision and drainage, ambulation, and Foley coude' catheter insertion.
  • Wound care. Examples: bandaging, application of dressings and wound measurements.
  • Specimen collection and Preparation. Examples: collecting and labeling venous blood samples and mucous specimens.
  • Assisting with patient exams and screening. Examples: gynecology exams.
  • Mental health care. Examples: Crisis intervention, performs behavioral/mental health screens, conducts interviews, and observes behavioral patients.
  • Preparation of lab specimens and transfer to the lab for processing. Examples: Labeling, placing in the proper bin or tube system.
  • Assisting with patient exams and screening, utilizing technology such as telehealth peripherals. Examples: primary care physical exams (heart, eye, ear, nose, throat (EENT); gait exams, and skin exams.
  • Patient education within scope of care or while providing an intervention. Examples: postprocedural care, splint care and wound care.
  • Follow-up care: Examples: Suture removal.
  • Electronic Health Record (EHR): Thoroughly and appropriately documents actions, interventions and procedures in the medical record. Examples: Procedural notes, progress notes, screenings, photo-documentation and secure messaging.
• Administration methods may include intramuscular, oral, topical, eye drops, ear drops, intranasal, rectal suppositories, local anesthetics, nebulized medications, subcutaneous, and intradermal.
• Follows national and local pharmacy and facility guidelines for disposal of medications.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Position Description Title/PD#: Intermediate Care Technician/PD518-99968-A

• This position is in the Competitive Service.
• This position is a NAGE Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation which waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.

Qualifications

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

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.

In addition to meeting the English Language Proficiency, to qualify at the GS-7 level, applicants must meet one of the following:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-06) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Practical knowledge of the major body systems, i.e., skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, circulatory, digestive and genitourinary, to perform patient examination and to provide prompt and efficient patient care and appropriate patient handling; performs patient evaluation, to provide patient care, and to ensure appropriate patient handling; communicates techniques and the operation of equipment accurately to health care providers; and administers medications through intramuscular, oral, topical, eye drops, ear drops, intranasal, rectal suppositories, local anesthetics, nebulized medications, subcutaneous, and intradermal while following national and local pharmacy and facility guidelines for disposal of medications.

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate education or internship directly related to the position at the next lower grade level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted)

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine equivalent combinations of creditable specialized experience and education as described above to meet the total experience requirements for the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Only education beyond a one-half year (e.g. 6 months; 9 semester hours) of graduate level education may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. (NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted)

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: The work involves extended periods of bending, standing and walking. Generally, the work requires recurring physical exertion with assisting patients.

This position will be posted via two announcements for two different occupational series which can be considered to fill this vacancy. Qualified applicants from all two announcements will be referred to the service for consideration but only one of the announcements will result in an applicant filling the position. The other job announcement for this vacancy is:

• Licensed Practical Nurse vacancy number: 12379404

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.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Resume Reminder: Your resume must include the following information each job listed:

• Job title
• Duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held

Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.

Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.