Summary
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Intermediate Care Technician (ICT) Program is a program designed to hire transitioning service, National Guard, Reserve, and Veteran corpsmen, combat medics and medical technicians into positions at VA Medical Centers as an integral part of the medical team. Candidates generally qualify based on U.S. Armed Forces experience or equivalent education.
This job is open to
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.
Duties
This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. NOTE: This posting will remain open until no longer needed but no later than August 12, 2024.
The Intermediate Care Technician is an occupational specialty, especially for former military combat medics, medical technicians, and corpsmen.
As an ICT, you will operate within clearly defined clinical competencies. For the purposes of this open continuous announcement, you may work in multiple clinical settings based on facility needs, these include but are not limited to:
Social and Behavioral Health Clinic: The incumbent is responsible for providing direct and/or indirect patient care to an assigned group of patients, not limited to patient screening and testing, other clinical tasks, medication administration, providing patient/family education.
*Primary Care Clinics: The PACT ICT is responsible for providing direct and/or indirect patient care to assigned group of patients. Will have knowledge, skill and experience to carry out assignments involving point of care testing, providing treatments, vaccinations, performing diagnostic studies and patient/family education. ICT demonstrates active collaboration and communication.
The clinical activities for the hospital will include but are not limited to:
- Performing observation-based screening and collecting patient information in collaboration with licensed personnel, this may involve completing clinical reminders, obtaining patient health history, chief complaints, medication history, and identification of health- related conditions that may impact the patient's health status.
- Completing approved templates and tools, such as, intake/outtake forms, normal result note follow up, clinical reminders, procedure and intervention notes established by the agency.
- Assisting in behavioral/psychiatric situations in an outpatient setting. This can include assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention, management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients, by providing one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques (PMDB). Assists licensed staff with the delivery of care to patients with complex, specialized, and potentially life-threatening situations. You will assist licensed staff with setting up equipment and providing treatment during in person or virtual visits.
- Operating specialized medical equipment to obtain diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes. Observes patient status and keeps licensed clinical staff informed of any change in condition. You will assist clinical providers with emergency medical care, provides emergency response as part of the Rapid-Response-Team (RRT), and assists with training of other hospital clinical staff.
- Performing Diagnostic Tests. Examples: Vital Signs, 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG)
- Point-of-Care. Examples: glucometer, COVID swabbing
- Specimen collection and Preparation. Examples: collecting and labeling venous blood samples
- Minor Procedures. Examples: simple one-layer laceration repairs, incision and drainage, skin stapling, STERIS trips, Dermabond
- Medication Administration: nebulized medications, topical, limited PO meds, vaccine administration
- Wound Care. Examples. wound debridement, Wet-to-Dry dressings, Unna Boot placement, compression dressings- Forflex and Profour, wound vac placement, graft application
- Patient education within scope of care or while providing an intervention
- Electronic Health Record (EHR): Thoroughly and appropriately documents actions, interventions and procedures in the medical record. Examples: Procedural notes and progress notes
Work Schedule: Mon-Fri, 08:00 am- 4:30 pm (Work Schedule varies by department)
Compress Schedule: Available 5-4-9 (Varies by department)
Position Description Title/PD#: Intermediate Care Technician (Medical Assistant)/PD99968S
Requirements
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 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
- 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.
- 5 CFR 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment applies
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within the 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
Minimum Qualifications:
English Language Proficiency: Individuals serving in direct patient care positions must be proficient in [both] spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 0640 occupational series. Education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for this occupational series, applicants MUST have one of the following listed below:
GS-07 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 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: 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. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to:
- Prepare and administer medications through various methods, examples include, intramuscular injections, subcutaneous injections, intradermal injections, oral, aerosolized including oxygen, topical, intraocular (eye drops), Otic (ear drops), intranasal, rectal (suppositories), local anesthetics, intraurethral, and intravenous.
- Perform minor surgical procedures, medical interventions and administer treatments to manage care to combat disease or disabling symptoms example incise and drain various skin infections or abscesses.
- Order appropriate diagnostic studies under the direction of the supervising Licensed Independent Practitioner (LIP) obtains and Reports Diagnostic and laboratory results.
Your experience must be detailed in your resume to receive full credit.
OR
Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07 level. You have successfully completed one (1) full year (18 semester hours) of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position. (Transcripts Required)
Preferred Qualifications: Experience in the military as a Hospital Corpsman, Combat Medic, Medical Technician is highly desired.
Examples of military occupational specialties highly desired, include but are not limited to: 4NOX- Basic Medical Technician, 4NOIC- Independent Duty Medical Technician, X4NO- Aeromedical Evacuation Technician, 1T2X1- Para-rescueman, 68W- Combat Medic Specialist, 18D- Army Special Forces (Medic), 68WW1- Special Operations Flight Medic, HM0000- Basic Hospital Corpsman, HM8404- Field Medical Service Technician, HM8425- Surface Force Independent Duty Corpsman, HM8402- Submarine Force Independent Duty Corpsman, HM8401- Search and Rescue Medical Technician, HM8403- Fleet Marine Force Reconnaissance Independent Duty Corpsman, HM8406- Aerospace Medical Technician, and HS- Basic Health Services Technician.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Diagnostic Medical Testing
Emergency Care
Clinical Data Collection/Documentation
Patient Care
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.
Education
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.
If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.
Preferred formal education under one of the following:
- Military Training Records, Transcripts and/or Certifications for medication administration
- Hold an active and unrestricted Medical Assistant Certification
- Successfully passed one of the following exams
- Certified Medical Assistant Exam through the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA); or
- Registered Medical Assistant Exam through American Medical Technologists (AMT); or
- Clinical Medical Assistant Exam through the National Health Career Association (NHA); or
- National Certified Medical Assistant Exam through the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT).
- Clinical Medical Assistant Certification Examination through the American Medical Certification Association (AMCA).
- Completion of a medical assistant program offered by a school accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) or a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
- Completion of a medical assistant program offered by a school accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the US Department of Education, which includes a minimum of 720 clock hours of training in medical assisting skills, including an externship of no less than 160 hours
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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.
Resume Reminder- Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
- Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
- Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
- Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
- Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
DO NOT include the following types of information in your resume:
- Classified or Government Sensitive Information
- Social Security Number (SSN)
- Photos of yourself
- Personal Information such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. The experience stated in your resume must support your assessment responses.
Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.
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.
Required Documents
Documents Accepted:
- Cover Letter
- DD-214/ Statement of Service
- Disability Letter (Schedule A)
- Disability Letter (VA)
- Other (1)
- Resume
- Separation Notice (RIF)
- SF-15
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
- Transcript
Documents Required:
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/RPL 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.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/12/2024 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12444901.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Next steps
After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.
NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.
Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.
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