Medical Supply Technician ( Sterile Process)

Clarification from the agency

* First area of consideration will be given to current, permanent employees of the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center. * Second area of consideration will be given to current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. * All others will be considered thereafter.

Duties:

• Receive contaminated critical and semi-critical RMD in decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment in the decontamination area as well.
• Disassembles the RMD and determines the correct cleaning method, such as but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washer and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents as determined by manufactures instructions.
• Inspects, prepares, assembles and determines the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to steam, STERRAD, Steris, ETO and high-level disinfecting re-processors: may prepare operating room case carts daily utilizing surgery schedule.
• Removes soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids and other contaminants by wiping, soaking, rinsing and scrubbing.
• Inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembles basic sets and trays throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room.
• Performs work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of trays for use in the medical center.
• Operate equipment involved in the sterilization process and may be required to prepare operating room case carts.
• Documents daily operational checks and records data for all sterilization equipment.

Medical Supply Aide and Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Medical-Supply-Aide-Career-Flyer.pdfTotal Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 11:00 PM to 07:30 AM. Schedule may be subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 94478-A
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

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.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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

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.
• English Language Proficiency. MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English
• Experience and/or Education:
  • Experience: Six (6) months of experience demonstrating the ability to perform the work or provide an understanding of the work; OR,
  • Education: One (1) year above high school that included at least six (6) semester hours in health care related course such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; OR,
  • Combination: A combination of the above prescribed experience and education.

Creditable Experience

1. Knowledge of Current MST Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with MST responsibilities. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as a MST. 3
2. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MST experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
3. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as a MST is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a MST employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service.

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-03 Experience/Education Requirement: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-04 Experience/Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-04 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:

• Experience: Six months experience as a MST, operating room or surgical technician or other position that demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing in a clinical setting; OR
• Education: Two years of education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation. NOTE: Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or nursing assistants obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces, the US. Maritime Service, or hospitals under close medical and professional supervision, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to 6 months of experience.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:

• Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology to assemble specialty operating room/clinic instrument sets.
• Basic knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.
• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing.

GS-05 Experience/Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-05 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-4). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Performing segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME); completing segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center; operating equipment involved in sterilization processes; preparing operating room case carts; OR
• Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor's degree.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:

• Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
• Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility.
• Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.

GS-06 (Full Performance Level) Experience Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-06 you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-5). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Removing soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing; Inspecting packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembling basic sets and trays used throughout a medical facility including those used in the operating room; preparing, loading, and operating sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor; prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
• Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
• Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, medical conditions and procedures.
• Knowledge of sterility principles in regard to instrumentation.
• Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures.

Preferred Experience: 3-5 years experience in hands on in Sterile processing within an accredated health care facility, in a large hospital setting.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS 03 to GS 6.

Physical Requirements: Work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation), gastrointestinal intestinal endoscope reprocessing hub, and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. May be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. Requires proper body mechanics when standing for up to 8 hours per day and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages/instrument trays should height (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). Requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. Uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers, subject to burns form accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gases are unknown. Often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or RME.

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.

Resume building tools can be found at:

• https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit
• https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/

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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility
2. All other VA employees
3. All other applicants

Note: Veterans' Preference is not applicable to VA employees or employees of other Federal agencies.

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

• Resume
  • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include:
    • Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
    • Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 - 08/2022)
    • The number of hours you worked per week
    • Detailed duties performed

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
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action - To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (dated in the year 2026), Standard Form 50 (SF-50). You may obtain a copy of your SF-50 from your eOPF. Failure to provide this will exclude you from your claimed eligibility
• 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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