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.

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CTVHCS is in the process of making a cultural change, shifting from a disease-focused approach to a health and wellbeing approach, in order to implement the Whole Health System of Care. This is a VA-wide initiative to provide a comprehensive and systematic approach to improve healthcare delivery at all stages of Veteran care. This entails moving from an episodic, "siloed" approach to an interdisciplinary, holistic approach, emphasizing self-care in the larger context of well-being. All staff in this facility will be part of this process, shifting the focus from the question, "What's the matter with you?" to the question, "What matters to you, and how can we help you live your best life?" This strategy also involves integrating a full range of conventional approaches with Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) approaches in order to optimize lifelong health and well-being, as defined by the Veteran, rather than narrowly focusing on disease management.

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.

This Intermediate Care Technician (ICT) position is located in the intensive Care Unit (ICU) within the Department of Veteran Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This position serves as an advanced technician for the ICU, Step-down Unit, and Postanesthesia Care Unit (PACU) for patients who are present for treatment.

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Performing ongoing patient care duties in a critical care setting under the delegated authority of the supervising physician, licensed independent provider (LIP), and/or advanced practice provider (APP) assigned.
• Communicating effectively with their supervising physicians, licensed independent provider (LIP), and advanced practice provider (APP) to provide collaborative, timely and appropriate patient care.
• Performing observation-based screening and collecting patient information in collaboration with licensed personnel.
• Assisting in behavioral/psychiatric situations in a clinical care setting.
• Assisting critical care licensed personnel with the delivery of care to patients with complex, specialized, and potentially life-threatening situations.
• Operating specialized medical equipment.
• Providing support, relief, and coverage as needed to central telemetry station.
• Performing specimen collection.
• Responding to medical emergencies on the facility grounds, and sometimes encounters situations which may be life threatening as part of the Rapid Response Team (RRT), Code Blue, or medical transport team.
• Performs other duties as assigned within the training and competencies of the role.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Position Description Title/PD#: Intermediate Care Technician/PD99794S
Physical Requirements: The work involves extended periods of heavy moving and lifting of patients. Generally, the work requires recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, and positioning of patients. Must be able to lift and/or move heavy objects over 45 pounds. Must be able to carry objects over 40 pounds for distances of at least 200 feet. The work involves regular and recurring exposure to infection and contagious disease, known as Category I classification, based on exposure risk. Specific gloves, gowns, or masks are required as safety precautions. Observes, corrects, and reports safety hazards to the licensed staff. As part of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) or Code Blue team the incumbent may be exposed to all types of weather conditions, and face risks and discomforts at the scene of accidents, to include the possibility of noxious fumes and dangerous substances, requiring the employee to comply with special safety and health precautions and/or to use protective gear.

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/trial 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. 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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 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 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.

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 -
In addition to meeting the English Language Proficiency, to qualify at the GS-07 level, applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements:

GS-07 grade level: 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 at least one year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of Intermediate Care Technician 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-6 grade level in the Federal Service. Qualifying specialized experience includes: recognizing life threatening situations and act to correct these emergent situations according to established national or local protocols; understanding the legal/ethical considerations of critical care (e.g., actual/implied consent, patient rights, advanced directives, etc); taking and recording diagnostic signs to perform patient evaluations and screenings; assisting in behavioral/psychiatric situations; and assisting licensed personnel with complex, specialized, and potentially-life threatening situations.

OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: 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. (COPY OF OFFICIAL OR UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: 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: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.

To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-07. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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.