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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

The Pathology Specialist manages the operations of the Surgical Pathology and Autopsy services, integrating and educating pathology residents, and representing these services in a variety of interactions with clinical physicians and residents, nursing personnel, hospital administrative and other personnel, and personnel from outside facilities. The Pathology Specialist independently plans and carries out assignments in order to accomplish the goals of the service and initiates and completes new projects which extend the applications of current technologies and incorporate new technological advances.

Duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Work independently to perform these highly complex functions or in collaboration with pathology residents, medical students, technicians and technologists.
• The employee's thorough understanding of the gross appearance of the pathologic processes in a wide variety of patient's samples allows him/her to comfortably adapt traditional methods to handle unique cases containing unknown abnormalities.
• Photography of gross specimens and maintenance of a teaching collection of gross photographs.
• Maintains regulatory compliance related to his/her duties daily.
• Plays a central role in the education and training of residents in pathology.
• Teaches other health care workers including technicians, technologists, nurses and administrative personnel.
• Develops or participates in the development of Anatomic Pathology protocols.
• Performs autopsies in rotation with residents and senior staff under the supervision of the Pathologist.
• Participates in the development and implementation of methods in all areas of anatomic pathology relevant to Grossing and Autopsy.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: Bachelor's or higher level degree with a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position (i.e. pathology, histopathology, etc.). This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. NOTE: Transcripts are required at the time of application.
AND
In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, applicants must have specialized experience directly related to the work of this position as stated below:

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in Federal Service that has given you the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Pathology Specialist GS-12. Specialized experience includes performing biopsy and organ grossing; completing post-mortem/autopsy procedures; applying knowledge of biological and environmental safety regulations, medico-legal requirements, and acceptable practices; distinguishing normal versus disease states; performing frozen sections and staining; using and maintaining relevant complex instruments (e.g. cryostat, cameras, and automatic tissue processors); and provides training to other qualified histology technicians in pathology specimen examination. NOTE: Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.


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

• Communication
• Medical Information
• Quality Assurance
• 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.

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as prolonged standing, bending over microscopes, reaching for supplies or materials, and lifting heavy items such as centrifuges and record boxes or occasionally lifting heavier items such as bodies. The work may require specific physical characteristics and abilities such as above average dexterity to perform intricate collection or analysis procedures. Good color vision is required. Fine muscle movements of the hands may also be required.

The work involves moderate risks and discomforts associated with working in a laboratory with regular and recurring exposure to hazards such as potentially infectious materials and irritating and volatile organic chemicals requiring incumbent to use safety precautions. Incumbent must use personal protective clothing and gear such as lab coats, gloves, facemasks, and biological safety hoods as required.


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. 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.