Summary Position is in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service at Fort Harrison Montana. Incumbent performs a variety of functions: Accessioning specimens into computer system; collecting, evaluating, and processing specimens; answering questions related to sample collection; instructing and assisting patients; sending out specimens for testing; following policies and procedures established by the service, medical center, the Veterans' Administration (VA), and regulatory agencies. Responsibilities Phlebotomy Duties - Incumbent collects and processes blood and body fluid specimens, ensuring safety and non-traumatic processes are used with critical concern for patient and quality of the specimen with minimal number of failures, patient bruising, or required re-sticks; involves correct patient identification; verifies proper tubes are used and correct amount of blood is drawn; labels all tubes with the patient's name, full social security number. date, time and phlebotomist's initials - Performs blood collection duties in courteous manner; makes patient feel comfortable; explains what is about to happen and any processes required of the patient for specimen collection. - Adheres to safety, infection control and universal precautions at all times while collecting samples, including wearing appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); proficient in the area of phlebotomy; must develop essential speed required to complete blood drawing duties. - Must be familiar with tests performed throughout the laboratory, i.e. chemistry, Immunohematology, urinalysis, coagulation, microbiology, and cytology; must be familiar with multitude of laboratory send-out tests, respective requirements, and requirements noted by the laboratories where they are performed. - Must be familiar with the Vista and CPRS computer systems. - Responsible for special blood drawing procedures to include but not limited to: a) collecting timed specimens for growth hormone, peak and trough drug levels, glucose and lactose tolerance specimens; b) collecting blood cultures using aseptic technique and; c) urine collection in accordance with the Federal Workplace Drug Testing Program as administered and regulated by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for drug testing of new employees. - Instructs patients in sterile midstream urine collection, 24 hour urine collection, and collection of stool specimens for culture and sensitivity, ova and parasites and occult bloods. - Assists in teaching laboratory and clinic personnel phlebotomy, specimen collection and specimen requirements. - Must be able to respond to, report and assist in emergency situations; must know CPR and First Aid procedures. - Provides care based on physical, psychosocial, educational, safety and related criteria appropriate to age of patients served. - Maintains clean workspace and continuously monitors area for contamination; procedures for properly decontaminating spills and safe disposal of all contaminated materials must be understood and followed at all times. Clerical Duties - Functions as a resource person and troubleshooter for clinic personnel in executing VISTA order entry and results options; reviews orders in CPRS. -Investigates missing or incomplete patient laboratory orders and ensures missing or incomplete orders are placed or corrected prior to patient presenting for sample collection. Accessioning and Processing Duties - Recognizes emergency situations and takes necessary action; establishes priorities for emergency orders. - Identifies unusual conditions and discrepancies which may cause erroneous test results; processes all specimens according to strict guidelines to assure specimen integrity. . - Incumbent is responsible for receiving and storage of Laboratory supplies; required to check expiration date of all reagents and supplies in the room temperature storage room for sequestering the item and notifying the supervisor of the findings. Work Schedule: Tour of duty depends on the needs of the Service Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD10174-A Physical Requirements and Environment: Work requires extensive and recurring physical exertion such as standing for long periods of time, bending, lifting, walking, stooping, and stretching. Work requires manual dexterity and a large degree of concentration. Work is performed in community-based clinic with daily exposure to patients and materials carrying infectious diseases and hazardous chemicals. Proper precautions are practiced. The technician wears protective clothing such as lab coats and gloves when working with specimens. There is frequent contact with patients with undiagnosed illnesses. The employee has the potential to be exposed to communicable disease. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. GS-05 grade level: All applicants for this position must meet one of the following Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) for further consideration: Specialized Experience (for positions 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 that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled; OR, Education (for GS-5 positions): 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; AND, In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement for this series and grade, applicants mut have 1 year of creditable Specialized Experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-04; experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Communication skills; thorough knowledge of VISTA and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS); knowledge of policies and procedures related to patient care; knowledge and skills sufficient to recognize, report and assist in emergency situations; knowledge and skills to observe and report physical or mental changes in a patient; knowledge of tests' names that are ordered and their different synonyms; skill in venipuncture and correct preparation of specimens necessary to obtain required quantities of specimens needed for laboratory examinations; knowledge of anatomy, physiology, medications, and effects of illness in order to provide patient care; knowledge and skills in phlebotomy techniques, procedures and other specimen collection procedures, including use of Vacutainer Collection System, safety needles, syringes and butterfly needles, capillary puncture techniques and use of microtainers; knowledge of infection control, safety, disaster, exposure control, chemical, hand hygiene and infection control plans and universal precaution procedures; and, knowledge of collection, processing and storage requirements, and procedures for laboratory specimens; OR, Education and/or Training: Successful completion of a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation or the completion of appropriate training such as in-service training programs, training acquired while serving in the Armed Forces, and government-sponsored developmental training programs; these programs will be allowed credit on a month-for-month basis, generally through the GS-5 level. Such training meets general or specialized experience requirements depending upon its applicability. Note: only education more than the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Transcripts are required when basing any or all qualifications on education; OR, Combining Experience and Education: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. Note: Transcripts are required when basing any or all qualifications on education. 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. 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. VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. 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.