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: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:
English Language Proficiency. Histopathology Technologists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
Education. Individuals must meet one of the requirements below:-
Transcripts Supplied
- Successful completion of a full four-year course of study from an accredited college or university, leading to a bachelor's or higher degree, that included a major study in an academic field related to health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of a histopathology technologist, such as, but not limited to clinical biology, microbiology, physiology, pre-medical, medical lab technology, chemistry, immunology, physiology, anatomy; OR
- Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university with a combination of 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of biology and chemistry (must include credit hours in both); OR
- Successful completion of two years of progressively higher level graduate education, leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree, with a major study in an academic field related to health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the position of histopathology technologist, such as clinical biology, microbiology, physiology, pre- medical, medical lab technology, chemistry, immunology, physiology, anatomy.
Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization approved by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials, and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.
Certification-Documentation Supplied. Candidates must currently possess the histotechnologist (HTL) certification given by the ASCP Board of Certification. The ASCP requires completion of one of the following for a candidate to be considered "board eligible" to take the certification exam:
- Successful completion of a histotechnician or histotechnology program accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS); OR
- One year of full time experience in all of the following: fixation, embedding, microtomy, processing, and staining in a histopathology (clinical, veterinary, industry, or research) laboratory.
Grandfathering Provision. All histopathology technologists employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series, who perform the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date (11/25/2019) of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
Grade Determinations: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
GS-12 Supervisory Histopathology Technologist
Experience. Must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, which is directly related to the position to be filled.
Demonstrated KSAs. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
- Knowledge of Federal and state laws, regulations, and accrediting/regulatory requirements in order to develop plans and procedures for the laboratory.
- Skill in communicating with individuals, in order to obtain the desired effect, ensuring compliance with established policies, regulations, and procedures.
- Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties, which includes responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, recommendation of awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.
- Knowledge of laboratory quality management procedures and principles sufficient to establish and monitor a laboratory quality management program, and/or education and training of the laboratory staff.
- Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills including skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution in order to deal with employees, team leaders, and managers.
- Ability to plan, organize, set short and/or long-term goals, and conduct studies on technical and administrative problems, including fiscal matters, budget execution, personnel shortages, organizational structure, and new technology.
Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The incumbent supervises a large staff of nonsupervisory personnel, including at least one subordinate in the performance of complex anatomic pathology testing in multiple specialties, such as Mohs testing, cytology testing, immunohistochemistry, molecular testing, or electron microscopy. The supervisor performs the full range of supervisory duties for one or more sections of the anatomic pathology laboratory, including responsibility for assignment of work performed; performance evaluations; recommendations for appointment, awards, advancement, and disciplinary actions; identification of continuing education and training needs; and resolving interpersonal issues. The supervisor ensures compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements and establishes and monitors the quality of the pre-analytical processes, as part of the overall laboratory quality management program, and initiates corrective action. The supervisor is responsible for fiscal matters, including budget execution, sets short-term and/or long-term goals, develops policies and procedures, manages document control, and develops performance standards, position descriptions, and functional statements.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit
https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019