Health Technician- Monitor Tech ICU

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.

The Health Technician (Monitor Tech) aids and assists ICU nursing staff in providing quality care for Veteran patients. They provide continuous cardiac surveillance, interpretation, and reporting of monitor and telemetry tracing of patients within Patient Care Services. In addition, the incumbents perform patient care support functions.

Additional Duties Include But Not Limited To:

• Maintain ongoing, high-level surveillance of patients' cardiac rhythms and notifies nursing/clinicians of any rate/rhythm changes according to clinician/provider orders.
• Measure and interprets patient's heart rhythm and documents on patient record per departmental standards.
• Initiate and discontinues monitoring equipment on admission, transfer, or discharge.
• Perform clerical duties related to admission, discharge, and documentation of patient information from Heartbeat Central station.
• Serve as a resource for training and troubleshooting to both Heartbeat Central station and clinical areas.
• Maintain and stocks all designated equipment, including telemetry, and transport monitors.
• Adhere to confidentiality of information acquired pertaining to patients, clinicians, employees, and visitors.
• Provide assistance of a technical, specialized, or support nature to health and medical personnel in the diagnosis or treatment of patient illnesses or medical conditions.
• Support medical and health care professionals in tests and procedures to diagnose and treat medical conditions.
• Perform a range of diagnostic support duties such as taking, recording and reporting to supervisor deviations in vital signs, taking specimens, labeling specimens for the laboratory.
• Perform and assists RN with personal care such as body and oral hygiene, dressing/undressing, and toileting/elimination always ensuring patient privacy.
• Answer call lights and if unable to independently assist, communicates patients' needs to assigned RN or Charge Nurse Performs other duties as assigned.
• As directed, assist in postmortem care including disconnecting patients from monitors and other equipment, bagging up and labeling patients' personal items, and assisting in transferring patients to the morgue.
• Collect and sends routine urine, stool, blood, and sputum specimens per established protocol.
• Perform other duties as assigned including floating to other units.

Work Schedule: Various, days/nights, weekends, holidays
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician- Monitor Tech ICU/PD01643A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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 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.

Individual Occupational Requirement: 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, you are required to have technician experience, which is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.

• Cardiac Monitor experience.
• ICU experience.
• Cardiac Rhythms class/training.
• EKG competency.
• Previous hospital acute care setting.

In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement, applicants must also meet the specialized experience.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

GS-06 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes:

• Performing both clerical and clinical duties in a medical/healthcare environment.
• Observing patients' cardiac rhythms.
• Notifying nursing/clinicians of any rate/rhythm changes according to clinician/provider orders.
• Operate and monitor equipment for both 12 lead and IS lead EKG readings.
• Measures and interprets patient's heart rhythm and documents on patient.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Customer Service: Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
• Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Security: Knowledge of the laws, regulations, and guidelines related to securing personnel, facilities, and information, including the requirements for handling, transporting, and protecting classified information and proper reporting of security incidents.

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 variety of duties reflects a variety of potential extended periods of sitting, walking, standing, carrying items, typing, writing, as well as lifting heavy, sometimes immobile patients. The incumbent is expected to utilize good body mechanics and have stamina to withstand a stressful environment.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

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.

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

• Cover Letter
• Other (1)
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Resume

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application. Not every applicant will require the
same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

Next steps