Clarification from the agency

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

• Properly identifies patients utilizing the full name and social security number before collecting, processing and /or hospital computer entry of requests.
• Compares orders from multiple physicians and request the medical technologist to combine the orders.
• Properly identifies, labels and collection blood bank specimens for STAT and routine testing while next to the patient bedside or chair side.
• Proficient in phlebotomizing patient in varying debilitation (i.e., paralysis, stroke, mentally unstable, spinal cord injuries in fetal position and contractures).
• Performs phlebotomy using specialized techniques for cleansing the blood collection site to prevent bacterial contamination that's critical to patient care, to ensure the contamination rate of blood cultures remains with in guidelines with blood culture contamination.
• Draws the blood tests ordered by providers for inpatients, outpatients, CBOC patients and for requested drug screens.
• Applies knowledge of human anatomy, aseptic and sterile techniques and phlebotomy equipment in selection of the phlebotomy site, taking into consideration the condition of the patient, age group, and the type of test requested.
• Selects proper vacutainer tubes for testing using various sized needles, and/or butterfly collection devices to collect appropriate specimens.
• Establishes proper identity of all patients, ensures accountability of specimens by proper and complete labeling with patient's name and identification and initials all tubes drawn.
• Follows standard precautions in the use of personal protection equipment and complies with other Medical Center infection control requirements and the handling and disposal of biohazardous materials.
• Organizes work in the collection room to ensure optimal patient flow. Keeps phlebotomy work areas, carts, and storages clean, well-stocked and organized with supplies.
• Rotates supplies as needed.
• Removes expired supplies.
• Completes weekend duty list. Answers telephone in the main laboratory assist with collection questions and refer other question to the medical technologist on duty.
• May be occasionally assigned to perform Stat/On Demand blood draws.
• Responsible for maintaining the integrity of the sample. Sample integrity requires 1) appropriate sample submitted for testing, 2) adequate volume of same, 3) correct tube 2 type 4) correct storage and packing of sample, 5) sample is free of contaminants which may compromise the reporting of results, and 6) correct collection of the presence of an intravenous infusion site.
• Performs blood drawing in a courteous manner and monitors the patient throughout the collection process, ensuring patient safety, observing blood flow, adequate mixing of specimen, and confirming blood flow stops at appropriate time.
• Possesses proficiency in phlebotomy, being able to draw all but the most difficult patients and follows proper procedures for redrawing blood.
• Completes the urine drug screen and blood draw quickly to produce quality specimens.
• Administers first aid, if necessary, to counteract unfavorable patient reactions.
• Provides care based on physical, psychosocial, safety, and related criteria, appropriate to the age of the patients served.
• In patient emergencies, completes appropriate alert notifications, or initiates emergency patient treatment procedures, to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation or other basic patient support functions.
• Monitors patients or directs monitoring of patients during and after procedures.
• Provides training and guidance in phlebotomy techniques to intern students, volunteers, medical technologist and new hires when directed.
• Records workload data is required for turnaround times and STAT's. Notify the Team Leader or supervisor of all uncollected specimens immediately.
• Documents each instance on the phlebotomy forms.

The Health Technician also performs other duties as assigned.


Work Schedule: (Part-Time); M-F 0800-12 Noon, 5 days per week
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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.
• 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 dentification 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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: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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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.


IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.


Selective Placement Factor: Must Have experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients.


You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:


GS-05 Specialized Experience:


You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.


Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

• Knowledge of DHHS standards for chain of custody drug screen collection and is certified to collect the specimens. Knowledge of specimen collection and specimen handling requirements for a wide array of analytical tests.
• Knowledge of human anatomy, aseptic and sterile techniques and phlebotomy equipment to select phlebotomy site and skill in using collection systems, syringes, butterfly needle devices and capillary puncture techniques.
• Knowledge of the laboratory regulatory and legal requirements involved in processing and testing various laboratory specimens and the Code of Federal Regulations requirements to certify/transport infectious or bio-hazardous material.
• Knowledge of various precautions to prevent the spread of infections.
• Knowledge of general safe work practices, physical security, and incident reporting. Knowledge of pre-analytic processing procedures, including the identification and resolution of specimen errors.
• Knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations, laboratory accrediting and regulatory requirements sufficient to understand procedures in the areas of safety, phlebotomy/specimen collection, and accessioning and processing. T
• Technical proficiency in the safe operation of specialized and common laboratory equipment and the established normal values of each test.
• Skill in oral communication in explaining testing procedures to patients and put them at ease and clarify test requests with hospital staff members.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements for shipments, including infection control regulations, and the handling, storage, packaging, and disposal of biohazardous materials.
• Possess a thorough knowledge of and skill in using various software systems including LIS, Cerner, VISTA, CPRS, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook for input/retrial of medical information.

OR,Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation.OR,Combination of Experience and Education. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to 1 year of specialized experience.


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: Work is performed in a laboratory atmosphere and requires regular and physical exertion such as walking, bending, recurrent standing and moderate lifting. The work requires specific physical characteristics and abilities and dexterity needed to perform intricate analytical and technical procedures. The position may also require assisting geriatric and/or disabled patients. The incumbent must have normal color vision, pass mask fit testing, and complete Heartsavers/BLS training.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 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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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:

• Resume

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
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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