Health Technician (Outpatient Lab)

The Primary Purpose of the Position: The Health care Technician is responsible for the collection and processing of specimens from patients admitted to the Unit.

The Organizational Location of the Position: The Health Care Technician works under the supervision of a Registered Nurse and is directly accountable to the Nurse Manager of the Unit. The Position is located in VA North Texas Health Care System, Nursing Service, Patient Care Section, Plano, TX.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/15/2024.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Health Technician requires the Individual Occupational Requirements be met

Individual Occupational Requirement:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

In addition to the individual occupation requirements listed above, you must also have:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Initiates patient care such as collection of laboratory specimens (blood, urine, and stool); documents in clinical record; promotes infection prevention control such as hand washing, wiping down exam tables or equipment in between patients; provides emergency care such as but not limited to: vital signs, patient condition, pain level and recognizes abnormal findings and reports to Charge Nurse.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Diagnostic Medical Testing
• Infection Control
• Specimen Collection
• Accountability
• Emergency Care

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Responsibilities:

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until May 15, 2024. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be November 30 2023, with subsequent cut-off dates every two weeks until 05/15/2024. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. Applicants who are referred will be considered for 90 days, after 90 days applicants will have to reapply.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Collection of laboratory specimens (blood, urine, and stool). Processing of specimens by centrifuge to separate plasma and serum. Separation of specimens into correct tubes for transportation to various labs. Performs D- Sticks for Metabolic studies.
• Obtains timely and appropriate blood samples as ordered per unit policies and procedures. Recognize abnormal lab values and reports to Charge Nurse and Physician.
• Exercises sound judgment to identify patient care needs, implement treatment protocols and collect pertinent data.
• Directs and supports patients in the implementation of unit protocols, treatment goals and provides input into the treatment and discharge plan. Instructs patients on their role in various procedures and metabolic protocols covering information previously discussed with the patient by the Physician or RN.
• Reviews current treatment plan, CPRS records on assigned patients prior to initiation of any procedures or protocols, to ensure quality care.
• Documents in the clinical record the patient's progress toward protocols, medical treatment needs and interventions; discharge planning and referral data.

Other duties may include:

• Obtain venous blood samples by aseptic venipuncture technique from patients in the Outpatient Clinic
• Proficiently collects blood samples with a minimal number of failures, patient bruising, or required resticks.
• Verifies patient information and tests ordered in the computer system.
• Specimens must be properly labeled and initiated, following specimen procurement policies and procedures.
• Performs a range of support duties to include obtaining specimens, including, but not limited to, blood (phlebotomy), urine, feces, nasopharyngeal swabs, fecal occult blood specimens (FOBT kit).
• Performs the processing of all clinical laboratory specimens and is responsible for the timely and proper distribution of specimens to the reference laboratories to include centrifuges, decants, and aliquots specimens as appropriate.
• Responsible for proper disposition of laboratory waste in the laboratory.
• Packages supplies and specimens for pick up or shipment, following established packaging requirements.
• Obtains and documents patients' vital signs, 12 Lead ECGs and reports abnormal findings to PACT team members.
• Moves, lifts, transfers, and transports patients as necessary.
• Knowledge of pain scale monitoring
• Incumbent is also responsible for monitoring technical equipment and performing maintenance and quality assurance on instrumentation.
• Incumbent also monitors lab environment: such as temperatures, freezers, refrigerators and incubators to ensure that they are working as expected.
• Incumbent has a general knowledge of Laboratory accreditation requirements that are recommended by CAP, FDA and Joint Commission.
• Performs ancillary testing such as CLIA waived testing and operates instrumentation necessary for testing.
• Completes eyewash station testing.
• Performs urine pregnancy testing to include controls.
• Perform quality control (QC) on glucose testing machine.
• The incumbent must possess the ability to work with all levels of healthcare system personnel and willing to assist the healthcare system staff with a variety of laboratory policies and procedures.
• The incumbent will have contact with veteran patients, family members, all levels of NTX staff including physicians, nurses, technicians, etc. The employee must be able to effectively interact with personnel at all levels of the facility and foster harmonious working relationships, and is expected to maintain an attitude of professionalism, courtesy, cooperation, and respect towards all contacts.
• Patient/family teaching
• Basic computer knowledge

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, Day Shift. May be required to work other shifts, be on call, work weekends and/or holidays as patient care and needs of the service require. Should operational needs dictate, candidates must be willing to work within other units (including community based outpatient clinics, for example) to assist and support continuation of the provision of care/services.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Outpatient Lab)/PD05022A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required