Health Technician

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

Richland, WA

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JOB DETAILS

SKILLS

Administrative Skills, Blood Bank, Calendar Management, Cerner Millennium, Computer Systems, Department of Veterans Affairs, Documentation, Electronic Medical Records, Emergency Care, Emergency Procedures, Fitness, Healthcare, Hospital, Human Anatomy, Human Resources, Infectious Diseases, Intensive Care, Laboratory Testing, Law Enforcement, Logistics, Medical Record System, Medical Records, Medical Terminology, Medical Treatment, Operational Audit, Operations Security (OPSEC), Outpatient Care, Patient Care, Patient Care Authorizations, Patient Follow-up, Phlebotomy, Physical Demands, Problem Solving Skills, Rehabilitation Act, Sample/Specimen Processing, Specimen Collection, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Test Requirements, Testing, Trend Analysis, Vaccination, Work From Home

LOCATION

Richland, WA

POSTED

29 days ago

Summary You will serve as Health Technician with Diagnostics Services at the Richland Community Based Outpatient Clinic. Responsibilities Serve as a key contact for Veterans and beneficiaries seeking Diagnostic services, experiencing problems, and/or requesting information. Greet and welcome Veterans requesting assistance, determining nature of diagnostic needs, questions or complaints, answers questions, provides information, gives guidance, and initiates action as appropriate. As the administrative assistant to professional staff, ensure clinical staff are relieved of clerical/ administrative duties, and provide full, complete, technical advice, administrative support, training, guidance, problem solving/resolution for efficient coordination of diagnostic services. Serve as liaison and resource person between supportive staff, clinicians, veterans, families, law enforcement, medical or public agencies, utilizing independent judgment as interpreted from guidelines for decisions. Interpret providers' orders, requests for laboratory testing, follow-up paperwork, paperwork for fee of contractual agreement with appointment notifications to veteran/clinical staff. Schedules examinations and laboratory tests coordinating date and time. Collect specimens when needed in the emergency room, hospital rooms, extended care rooms and out-patient specimen collection area. Identify tests that require special handling conditions and appropriately perform proper specimen collection. Perform emergency care procedures in the event a patient has a reaction to blood collection procedures, including fainting, hematoma, and anxiety. Maintain an adequate supply of phlebotomy supplies and reports shortages to logistics staff or the supervisor for resolution. Ensure that only in-date supplies are used, rotate supplies appropriately to minimize waste and discard expired supplies appropriately (biohazard, sharps, or routine waste containers.) Perform other duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM PDT. Telework: This is not a telework position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD80397A and PD80399A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. Physical Requirements: The work involves various physical demands requiring the employee to be versatile in the many functions performed. These include sedentary work performed at a desk with intermittent standing, walking, bending, lifting, stooping, and stretching. When transferring patients, providing patient care, the employee must practice good body mechanics to prevent injury to self and others. The demands may be unpredictable requiring the incumbent to adjust accordingly. Requires the ability to work under pressure, make sound decisions, and maintain composure in different situations if necessary. Work is performed at a fast pace. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. Position requires occasional lifting of reagent and supply containers weighing up to 20 pounds. Work Conditions: Work is performed in inpatient, outpatient, intensive care, and extended care areas of the hospital. The areas are typically well lit, ventilated and air conditioned. Outside noise interference is reduced to a minimum. Work is performed within full view and hearing of patients and the public. There are moderate risks which require safety precautions: These may involve stress, verbal or physical abuse caused by disturbed or agitated patients or family. The employee is subject to exposure to communicable diseases. Contact with patients Increases significant chances of needle sticks. The use of protective equipment, such as, but not limited to, gloves and protective clothing is required. The technician is regularly exposed to bio-hazardous material encountered in a clinical laboratory. This includes daily exposure to potentially infectious patients or materials, and occasional exposure to hazardous chemicals. The incumbent works days, evening or weekend shifts as mission requires to provide quality patient care. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/25/2026. This occupational series (0809) has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the Construction Control Technician occupational series. All applicants, regardless of grade level must meet minimum specialized experience requirements. Applicants must meet the following requirements. 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. OR Education for GS-5: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Time in Grade requirements: Applicants who are current Federal employees must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. To be eligible for the GS-06 position applicants who are current Federal employees must have held a GS-05 grade any time in the past 52 weeks. To be eligible for the GS-05 position applicants who are current Federal employees must have held a GS-04 grade at any time in the past 52 weeks. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: For GS-05 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: clinical support under direct supervision of the Clinical Staff; knowledge of medical terminology, especially laboratory test names and specimen requirements based on tests ordered; knowledge of human anatomy as it relates to phlebotomy and impact on laboratory testing; knowledge of impact of drawing above or below an IV, mastectomy or fistula site, and knowledge of vein selection for optimal results. OR, EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. OR, COMBINATION: EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained at an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. For GS-06 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: phlebotomy techniques such as capillary collection, blood culture collection, and venipuncture utilizing a syringe, butterfly, or vacutainer collection system; receiving and following through on patient requests for service, obtaining and reviewing patient medical records regarding clinic appointments, scheduling patient appointments, and determining eligibility for clinic appointments; recognizing and properly processing specimens using equipment and supplies in a variety of diagnostic procedures for the purpose of carrying out specimen collection, processing, or testing; evaluates operations, analyzes, and provides problem trend data, solutions, offers recommendations to all levels of management; adept at combining knowledge and use resourcefulness, initiative, and judgment in following standard operating procedures and resolving problems, and knowledge of electronic medical records and hospital/laboratory computer systems is needed to promptly access correct lab orders, build lists, cancel tests, and add tests. OR, EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): As a general rule, education is not creditable above GS-5 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position. Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully nine (9) credit hours of graduate education that is directly related to the duties of the position. The preferred selection will have multiple years of experience in performing phlebotomy work and using the Cerner Millennium electronic health record program. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. 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. 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 qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

About the Company

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

INDUSTRY

Other/Not Classified