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Surgical Technician (Podiatry)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Surgical Clinic - Podiatry- Northern California Health Care System (NCHCS)

Summary

The incumbent serves as Surgical Technician for the Surgical Clinic - Podiatry, VA Clinic, Outpatient Clinics, VA Northern California Health Care System. The Surgical Health Technician is assigned to the Podiatry Outpatient Clinic which is organizationally responsible to the Podiatric Division of the Department of Surgery. Incumbent works under the general supervision of the Chief, Podiatry Section.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 07/01/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 1, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$50,335 - $72,716 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6 - 7
Promotion potential
7
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSW-12992398-26-SEF
Control number
874170800

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Duties

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Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Duties of position will include but not limited to:

  • Provides assistance of a technical, specialized, or support nature to health and medical personnel in the diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses or medical conditions and procedures.
  • Sets up and assists Podiatric surgeons and other providers in the performance of treatments and procedures following aseptic technical to include minor surgical procedures
  • Reviews patient charts for verification of identity and proper documentation including surgical consent following site and procedure verification process.
  • Responsible for setup of equipment for all procedures including excisional biopsies, tissue removal, incisions and drainage of abscesses, and amputations.
  • During these procedures, incumbent is responsible for the proper functioning of the equipment used during the process and through procedure completion.
  • Incumbent cleans and replaces all surgical equipment.
  • Sets up and preserves a sterile field for minor surgical procedures such as intra-articular injections, aspirations, soft tissue mass excisions, and subcutaneous hardware removal.
  • Notifies appropriate staff of test/procedure results and ensures they are made part of the medical record.
  • Performs a variety of technical and administrative tasks in support of clinic operations.
  • Performs various routine and general clinic administrative functions including ordering and stocking of supply items, medications accountability, ensuring quality control stock rotation Makes regular inventory and revision of stock to insure current stocking of high demand and readily required items.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 08:00am - 04:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician (Podiatry)/PD00748-A and PD00749-A

Requirements

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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 identification 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 or 2-year trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/01/2026.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirements:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

GS-6: Applicants must have One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Knowledge of highly technical instrumentation, human anatomy, and aseptic technique to prepare and protect the sterile field during surgery; Knowledge of sterile technique must include the ability to determine the effectiveness of sterilization, packaging, storage and shelf life; Knowledge of standard precautions and know how to implement infection control policies and procedures; Knowledge of all appropriate technical names, uses, physical characteristics, function and processing procedures for the full range of surgical instrumentation, supplies and equipment.

GS-7: Applicants must have One (1) 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. Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Knowledge of highly technical instrumentation, human anatomy, and aseptic technique to prepare and protect the sterile field during surgery; Knowledge of sterile technique must include the ability to determine the effectiveness of sterilization, packaging, storage and shelf life; Knowledge of standard precautions and know how to implement infection control policies and procedures; Knowledge of all appropriate technical names, uses, physical characteristics, function and processing procedures for the full range of surgical instrumentation, supplies and equipment.

Preferred Experience: Podiatry, Wound care, Clinical or medical patient care

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Interpersonal Effectiveness
  • Medical Information
  • Reading
  • Writing


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 position includes physical exertion such as regular and recurring walking, stooping, bending, reaching and lifting of equipment and supplies, lifting and positioning of patient limbs and/or patients (average 150 lbs adult male) with assistive devices, such as patients' lift for transfers. Hand-eye coordination to apply casts and braces and to assemble and maintain DME and reusable surgical equipment.

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

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

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

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the 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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define "who we are," our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries.

The Values are Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence ("I CARE").As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips.

Agency contact information

Sara Flores
Phone
369-873-3561
Email
Sara.Flores3@va.gov
Address
VA Northern California Health Care System
10535 Hospital Way
Mather, CA 95655
US

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