Surgical Technician Job in Muskogee, OK

Vacancy No. CBSU-12707378-25-GL Department Veterans Health Administration
Salary $49,960.00 to $64,952.00 Grade 7 to 7
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 3/17/2025 Close Date 3/25/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Muskogee, OK


Summary

The Health Technician - Surgical Technician is a member of the surgical team and assists the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the Chief of Surgery and Surgical team.

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

Scrub Duties:

  • Responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during a variety of surgical procedures performed in all surgical sub-specialties/procedures; includes general surgery, urological surgery, vascular surgery, ENT surgery, orthopedic/podiatry surgery and ophthalmological surgery.
  • Sets-up sterile field with required items for each procedure
  • Participates in official time out with surgical team and ensures correct site, correct procedure, correct laterality, correct patient, position, and all testing results are in place; verifies sterility and dates of implants per Veterans' Health Administration (VHA) Directive.
  • Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure.
  • Observes and responds promptly to each state of surgical procedure and anticipates needs of the surgeon.
  • Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures.
  • Assists team members with care of the patient.
  • Handles all specimens appropriately.
Training:
  • Assists in training residents, medical students, nursing students, operating room technology students and new Operating Room (OR) staff in the operation of equipment, sterile technique, handling of instruments, and OR procedures.
Other OR/Surgical Duties:
  • Performs non-technical maintenance of equipment.
  • Maintains safe/clean work environmant.
  • Provides patient information to Registered Nurse (RN)/Anesthesia Team for inclusion in patient's plan of care; supports healthcare team through reinforcement of patient education; organizes/prioritizes patient care activities.
  • Assists in answering phones and relaying messages.
  • Adheres to VA nursing policies, procedures, and standards; delivers care to patients in respectful, non-judgmental manner; maintains patient privacy/confidentiality; sets limits within the ST/patient relationship.
  • Recognizes changes in patient condition including emergencies, perioperatively and takes appropriate actions in response to patient emergent situation.
  • Recognizes potentially hazardous situations e.g. frayed cords, water on floor, and takes corrective action.
  • Reports unsafe equipment and working conditions to appropriate individuals.
  • Incumbent may be placed in an on-call status which may include some weekends and holidays.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 7:30 am - 4:00 pm; includes an on-call component; may include some weekends and holidays.
Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD12902A
Physical Demand and Work Environment: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting, and positioning patients, most of which are in stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifitng, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. Duties are performed in the operating rooms (ORs) which require special OR attire with regular and recurring exposure to toxic and noxious gases such as methyl methracrylate, peroxyacetic acid, exposure to x-rays, exposure to blood and body fluids which are often infectious, and laser beams requiring special safety precautions.

Appropriate scrub attire is required to provide an aseptic environment. The incumbent is often required to wear protective attire such as eye wear, hoods during total joint replacements, appropriate laser glasses when working with lasers and must frequently wear a lead apron as protection from radiation during various procedures.

The operating can be an exceptionally stressful work environment. Good mental and emotional health is required to function at an optimum level.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
  • Subject to a background/suitability investigation
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • 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. 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.
  • In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
  • You must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license.
  • 90 day general restriction on movement applies for Direct Hire Authority ONLY. 5 CFR 330-502.
  • In accordance with VA Handbook 5007/57 Part V Chapter 5 3. [ON-CALL DUTY FOR OTHER GENERAL SCHEDULE and FWS EMPLOYEES. Selected applicant may be placed in an on-call status.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

All applicants for Health Technician - Surgical Technician, GS-0640-07 must meet the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for further consideration:

Specialized Experience (for positions GS-04 and above): 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.

In addition to Individual Occupational Requirement, you must meet Qualification for GS07.

Specialized Experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to GS06 in the Federal Service that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and that is related to the work of a Health Technician - Surgical Technician. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Providing assistance to a surgical team during surgical procedures; utilizing knowledge of highly technical medical instruments, human anatomy and aseptic technique to prepare and protect the sterile field during surgery; functioning as primary scrub person handling instruments, supplies, equipment during all surgical procedures; preparing, organizing, and maintaining highly complex sterile surgical set-up; observing and responding to each state of a surgical procedure to anticipate the needs of the surgeon; handling specimens appropriately; cleaning and decontaminating instruments before and after procedures; Note: Applicants who have the 1 year of appropriate specialized experience, as indicated, are not required by this standard to have general experience, education above the high school level, or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements; OR,

Education: One full year of graduate education in a field related to the position, meets the requirements for GS-07. Note: One year of full-time graduate education is the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If this information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. (transcript required)

Preferred Experience: Scrub Tech experience preferred but not required.

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.

Incidental operator: An employee, other than one occupying a position officially classified as a motor vehicle operator, who is required to operate a Government-owned or -leased motor vehicle to properly carry out his or her assigned duties. As an incidental Operator, you are required to possess a valid state issued driver's license.

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.Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.

Required Documents

Documents Accepted:

  • Cover Letter
  • Professional Certification
  • Resume
  • Separation Notice (RIF)
  • SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
  • Transcript

Documents Required:
  • Resume

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 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 03/25/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12707378.

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. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.

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.

Agency contact information

VISN 19 HR Contact Center
Address
VA Eastern Oklahoma Health Care System
1011 Honor Heights Drive
Muskogee, OK 74401
US

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: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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