Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

VA Careers - Microbiology/Molecular Medical Technologist: https://youtube.com/embed/eSDGhIwZKdw

• The incumbent serves as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist for the Pathology and Laboratory Service (P&LMS) at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The Clinical Laboratory Specialist at this level has specialized training and experience in a specific laboratory specialty (Chemistry, Microbiology, Immunology, Hematology, and/or Immunohematology). The incumbent works in all sections of the laboratory with primary focus on a particular laboratory specialty. The incumbent may provide coverage on weekends and holidays on a rotational basis as assigned by the Supervisory Clinical Laboratory Scientist.
• The Clinical Laboratory Specialist facilitates team processes by working in collaboration with team members to ensure, tasks, priorities, goals, and achievements are coordinated with managements. They act as a liaison to other departments of the medical center for the appropriate laboratory specialty and independently carries out daily operations in the laboratory.
• The Clinical Laboratory Specialist may be assigned special assignments varying in complexity that require exercising independent judgement and responsibility, organizing and setting priorities, and collaborating with interdisciplinary team members. The Clinical Laboratory Specialist will assess a situation, considers the options, and formulates an appropriate plan of action with minimal technical supervision.
• John J. Pershing VA Medical Center (JJPVAMC) is a Level-3 Complexity medical center compromised of a 38-bed Community Living Center (CLC) and 10 acute medicine beds. The CLC provides long term care, short-stay continuing care, short-stay rehabilitation, short-stay skilled nursing, respite, and end-of-life care. Primary Care, Urgent Care, Ambulatory Specialty Care, Mental Health, Telehealth and Community Health/Home Care are offered by this facility. The main medical center is in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) are in Farmington, Sikeston and West Plains, Missouri and Pocahontas and Paragould, Arkansas with one Health Care Center in Cape Girardeau. The medical center provides healthcare services to a 29-county catchment area.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE ASSIGNED DUTIES
Primary duties and responsibilities of the GS-11 Clinical Laboratory Scientist include, but are not limited to the following,
a. Develops, performs, evaluated, interprets, correlates, and validates the accuracy of laboratory procedures and results in line with current laboratory regulatory requirements.
b. Testing procedures are performed on a variety of biological specimens and/or environmental samples using manual or automated methods.
c. Conducts quality control and routine maintenance of instrumentation.
d. Troubleshooting instrument issues.
e. Correlates abnormal lab data with pathological states, determining the validity of test results and need for additional testing.
f. Specific laboratory responsibilities or projects may include laboratory safety officer, analyzer specialist, primary operator (on new test systems), quality control specialist, supply control, laboratory competency assessment coordinator, etc.,


Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Mon- Fri 10:30am- 7:00pm with rotating call, weekend, and holiday coverage.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact visn15edrp@va.gov> the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: No
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000

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.
• 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).

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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education and/or Experience Combination
  • A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in medical laboratory science, medical technology, clinical laboratory science or in a related science (e.g., laboratory sciences such as chemistry, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, immunology, etc.). AND completion of a medical technology clinical practice program. Clinical practice programs completed after 1974 must have been accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP, formerly CAHEA), or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). The professional curriculum may have consisted of a post-baccalaureate certificate program or be integrated into a four-year program of study that culminated in a baccalaureate degree. OR,
  • A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND two years of post-certification clinical laboratory experience (e.g., blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, clinical microscopy, etc.) within the last ten years as a certified Medical Laboratory Technician by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR) or American Medical Technologists (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. OR
  • A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND five years of clinical laboratory experience within the last ten years performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory.
  • Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational and/or experience requirements if the degree is found to be equivalent to degree programs recognized by the NAACLS or clinical laboratory experience as described in paragraph 2b (2) or (3) above. This finding may be based on either of the following: (1) A letter from a college or university with a baccalaureate program recognized by the NAACLS stating that the individual's foreign degree has been evaluated and been found to be equivalent to its Bachelor of Medical Technology degree. (2) A letter from ASCP-BOC or AMT stating that the individual is eligible for the certification examination.

• Certification. Candidates must have either (1) or (2) below:
• (1) Candidates must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT.(2) For positions up to the full performance level, candidates must currently possess the categorical or specialist technologist level certification from the certification agencies listed above, such as, but not limited to, chemistry (C/SC), hematology (H/SH), microbiology (M/SM), molecular biology (MB/SMB) and blood bank (BB/SBB). Technologists with categorical or specialist certifications may only perform duties within the area of the laboratory specific to their categorical certification (e. g., an individual with a chemistry (C) certification can only perform duties in chemistry).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 GS-11:

• Experience. Must have 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the full performance level (GS-9), which is directly related to the position to be filled. OR,
• Education. Must have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in medical technology or a directly related field.

AND, in addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of professional clinical laboratory science principles, practices, concepts, and theories that support sound, independent work.
(b) Knowledge of laboratory quality control and quality assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement.
(c) Skill in informatics, laboratory data flow, and laboratory processes.
(d) Ability to maintain, troubleshoot, and repair instrumentation.
(e) Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze and interpret laboratory results.
(f) Ability to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions.
(g) Ability to communicate, consult, and interact with other members of the health care team, external relations, customer service, and patient education.

Preferred Experience: At least 2 years of clinical laboratory experience in all areas of the lab including hematology, chemistry, microbiology, molecular diagnostics, immunohematology, and phlebotomy including ABG's. Preferred candidate will possess particular knowledge in immunohematology (blood bank) and ABG's.

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/72 PART II APPENDIX G24

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular physical exertion that consists of mainly long periods of standing, some bending and lifting as required for the handling of supplies and equipment, lifting of weight 15-44 lbs., pushing of weight 15-44 lbs., as well as long periods of sitting. In addition, manual skills are required to be able to perform delicate procedures and fine manual dexterity procedures and requires eye-hand coordination for multiple repetitive motion activities of the hands, wrists, and arms. Requires ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of color

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Transcript

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Documents uploaded as a resume that have more than 2 pages will result in the application being rejected. If resume exceeds 2 page limit upload as "other"
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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