Clarification from the agency

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The Supervisory MST functions as a first-level supervisor responsible for the oversight of a group of MSTs, with administrative responsibility for planning and directing the work.

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

• Plan work to be accomplished by subordinates, set and adjust short term priorities and prepare schedules for completion of work.
• Plan and assign work on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis and adjust assignments during a workday to alleviate choke points in reprocessing activities.
• Oversee attendance and leave, including approval of sick and annual leave and vacation schedules.
• Participate in Interview Panels and make recommendations regarding hiring decisions.
• Provide recommendations regarding promotion and advancement of the Medical Supply Technicians on respective shifts.
• Resolve complaints from employees, referring group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher-level supervisor or manager.
• Identify developmental and training needs of employees by providing and arranging for needed development and training.
• Find ways to improve production or increase the quality of work by directing and assisting in the development of performance standards.
• Establish guidelines and performance expectations for staff, which are clearing communicated through the formal employee performance management system.
• Observe workers' performance, demonstrate and conduct work performance critiques. Provide informal feedback and evaluate employee performance.
• Resolve informal complaints and grievances.
• Develop work improvement plans, recommending personnel actions as necessary.
• Provide advice and counsel to workers related to technical work and administrative matters.
• Provide training to subordinates to fully comply with provisions of safety regulations.
• Make operational decisions based upon findings, observations or problems presented by subordinate technicians and direct observation.
• Advise the Assistant Chief and Chief, SPS of problems in the organization's activities, and provide input to the Assistant Chief that may lead to disciplinary actions, such as counseling and formal disciplinary action, within the framework of progressive discipline; recommendation may include termination, especially separation during the probationary period.
• Oversee the work of employees under his/her supervision, orient new employees to their duties, validate competencies of employees, identify equipment requirements, and recommend methods to improve the quality and productivity of the service.

Reusable Medical Devices (RMD):
Reusable Medical Devices (RMD) is any medical equipment designed by the manufacturer to be reused for multiple patients. All personnel who are involved in the reprocessing of RMD are responsible for knowing what reusable instruments, equipment, medical devices or supplies are used (inventory) in their clinical area.

All personnel who are involved with the use of RMD must be familiar with which items are reprocessed locally (on unit) and/or which items are sent to Sterile Processing for reprocessing and/or sterilization. If items are transported for reprocessing, personnel must be aware of the individual decontamination steps that must be taken prior to transport of item and the appropriate method of transport.

All personnel who are involved in reprocessing of RMD are responsible for following the local Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) drafted in accordance with the manufacturer's written recommendations. Sterile Processing and Infection Control should be consulted when clarification of written instructions are needed. No one should be reprocessing any reusable medical equipment based upon vendor's verbal instructions alone; this is not an adequate practice.

All personnel that are in any way involved in the reprocessing of RMD must have documented training in the setup, reprocessing and maintenance of specific equipment. Validation of competency will be done according to national policy guidelines.

All personnel that have the responsibility of reprocessing reusable medical equipment can suspend the reuse of any RMD if they suspect that the device was not properly cleaned, disinfected or sterilized according to the SOP and manufacturer's guidelines.

Single-use (disposable) medical devices will not be reused or re-sterilized. All personnel must have an understanding of the importance of RME and the significant impact on our Veteran population through the risk of infectious disease.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:Not Available.
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All 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.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• 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.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3g.)
• Experience and/or Education
  • (1) Experience. Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; or
  • (2) Education. One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; or
  • (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• English Language Proficiency. MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with Veterans Affairs Handbook 5005.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements, the following criteria must be used when determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates.

GS-08 Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)
Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds.
2. Ability to direct staff and manage tasks to be completed.
3. Ability to oversee and supervise all aspects of decontamination, preparation, sterilization, monitoring, and distribution of RME.
4. Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues.

Preferred Experience: One year of sterile processing experience. National SPS certification is preferred but not required. Computer literacy is preferred in MS Outlook, MS Word and MS Excel.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The GS-8 is above the full performance level for this vacancy. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is the GS-08.

Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation) and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation.

On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment.

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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for 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.

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.

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.