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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***

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

• Prepares and maintains the surgical area.
• Maintains proficiency in scrubbing for all operative procedures within the scope of the operating room responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures.
• Assists the team members with care of the patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies.
• Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as air-powered equipment, fiber optic equipment, laparoscopic equipment, microscopes, lasers, arthroscopy equipment, urologic equipment, recording devices, robotic equipment, and other operating room supplies and equipment.
• Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure.
• Prepares, organizes, and maintains highly complex sterile surgical setups.
• Assists and anticipate the surgeon's needs by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures.
• Prepares prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures.
• Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time.
• Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment.
• Accounts for all surgical instruments and equipment during the surgical procedure.
• Assists in training residents, medical students, nursing students, operating room technology students, and new Operating Room (OR) staff in the operation of equipment, sterile technique, handling of instruments, and OR procedures to include the scrub role in surgical procedures.
• Assist in positioning, preparation, and draping procedure.
• Performs simple wound closure as directed by the surgeon.
• Handles all specimens appropriately to ensure accurate identification/maintenance of specimens.
• Cleans instruments, equipment, and room as appropriate when procedure is completed. Ensures proper disposal of instruments, linen, trash, needles, sponges, and all biomedical waste.
• Assists in the implementation and utilization of the Generic Inventory Package to maintain adequate surgical supplies.
• Assists with preparing daily surgery schedules, ordering case carts, case scheduling duties, telephone calls, entering work orders, and monitoring the OR Front Desk, updating physician preference cards.
• Functions as an expert resource for equipment set-up, operation, and maintenance. Troubleshoots equipment as needed.
• Preforms other duties assigned

Work Schedule: 6:30am-5:00pm or 8:30am-7:00pm, Monday-Friday, variable, depending on the needs of the service
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Designated Drug-Testing Position: 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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

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
• 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
• 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

IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-8 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING:

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.

~AND~

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: 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. You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level in the Federal Service. 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. Specialized experience includes: Works as a surgical technician in general, urology, podiatry, plastic, gynecology, and some orthopedic surgeries. Uses knowledge of technical medical instruments, human anatomy, physiology, and aseptic technique to prepare and protect a sterile field during surgery; possessing knowledge of pathology care and handling of specimens correctly; utilizing proper patient positioning skill to position the patient depending on the type of procedure; handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during surgical procedures; selecting the correct instruments for a procedure, anticipating the needs of the surgeon during the procedure, and recognizing and responding to a variety of critical situations appropriately. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE.)

~OR~

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: You must have successful completion of one and one-half (1.5) full years of graduate level education that is directly related the specialization of the position to be filled. 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, eighteen (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. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION - Education cannot be credited without documentation.)

~OR~

COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: You must have equivalent combinations of specialized experience and successfully completed graduate education as described above to meet the total experience requirements to qualify for this position at the GS-8 grade level. (Transcript Required) Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE AND COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION)

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

• Interpersonal Skills
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence
• Technology Management

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/Working Conditions: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of who are at stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. The Technician must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. Duties are performed in the operating rooms which require special OR attire with regular and recurring exposure to toxic and noxious gases such as: methylmethracrylate, exposure to x-rays, and pure oxygen, exposure to blood and body fluids which are often infectious, and laser beams requiring special safety precautions. Appropriate scrub attire is required, including sterile gown and gloves, surgical caps to cover the Technician's hair, and surgical mask in order to provide aseptic special attire such as a "space helmet" or hood used during total joint replacements. The Technician must wear protective eyewear such as goggles or face shield to prevent inadvertent splash injuries to his or her eyes. Appropriate laser glasses must be worn when working with lasers. The Technician must frequently wear a 20-30 pound lead apron as protections from radiation during various procedures. Required personal protective equipment is provided by the facility. The operating room work environment is complex, intense and fast paced. Good mental and emotional health is required in order to function at an optimum level.

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.