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:
- United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
- Education: Must possess a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in medical laboratory science, medical technology, clinical laboratory science or in a related science (e.g., laboratory sciences such as chemistry, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, immunology, etc.). AND have completed a medical technology clinical practice program or are currently completing a clinical training program on a paid or without compensation basis. NOTE: Clinical practice programs completed after 1974 must have been accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP, formerly CAHEA), or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).
OR
- Must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics). AND, have two years of post-certification clinical laboratory experience (e.g., blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, clinical microscopy, etc.) within the last ten years as a certified Medical Laboratory Technician by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR) or American Medical Technologists (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory.
OR
- Must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics. AND have five years of clinical laboratory experience within the last ten years performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory.
Certification: Must possess a current certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT
GS11: Must possess 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the full performance level (GS-9), which is directly related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience includes: carrying out the day-to-day operations in the laboratory including routine testing, quality control, routine maintenance of instrumentation and troubleshooting. Developing, performing, evaluating, interpreting, correlating and validating the accuracy of laboratory procedures and results ensuring all laboratory regulatory requirements are met. The work performed is in a variety of laboratory disciplines, such as chemistry, microbiology, immunology, hematology, and immunohematology. -OR- Have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in medical technology or a directly related field.
Supervisory Medical Technologist Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to meeting the experience for the GS-11 level, you must possess the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities.
- Knowledge of Federal and state laws, regulations and accrediting/regulatory requirements in order to develop plans and procedures for the laboratory.
- Knowledge of laboratory quality management procedures and principles sufficient to establish and monitor a laboratory quality management program and/or education and training of 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 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.
- Ability to plan, organize, set short and/or long term goals and conduct studies on technical and administrative problems, including personnel shortages, organizational structure, new technology, etc.
- Knowledge of concepts, principles and methods of clinical laboratory technology and operations.
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).
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit
https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires mostly periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients/residents who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on stakeholder needs.