Summary

This position is located in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the VA Central Iowa Health Care System in Des Moines - IA. The technician performs phlebotomy in the emergency room - inpatient - outpatient - and extended care areas of the hospital and associated clinics. Incumbent also performs a variety of computer - customer service - instruction - and communication tasks.

Qualifications

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: 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 be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill - knowledge - ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Must possess experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients. In addition to meeting the above requirements - applicants must also meet one of the following: GENERAL AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess six (6) months of general experience and six (6) months of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position - and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. General Experience is (l) any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position - or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Specialized experience includes experience that may have been gained in (a) technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical - microbiologic - hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field - e.g. - biological laboratory technician work - that required application of the methods and techniques for the position being filled. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Successful completion of ( a) an associate-degree course of study of which the 2nd year of the 2-year program included successful completion of a training course of approximately a year's duration in a certified laboratory assistant school approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; (b) 1 year of study that included 6 semester hours in chemistry and/or the biological sciences - plus successful completion of a full-time training course of approximately a year's duration in a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) school that included instruction in chemistry - hematology - blood banking - and microbiology (including serology) and that - in addition - included supervised laboratory practice incident to the diagnostic process and the treatment of patients; or (c) 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours of chemistry and/or biological science course work that must have been directly related to the specialization of the position being filled. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the GS-4. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Patient Care Specimen Collection IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires manual dexterity and exceptional hand/eye coordination - some physical exertion - such as regular and recurring walking - reaching - bending - and to stand for several consecutive hours during the collection and of specimens. 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/supply containers weighing up to 20 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/.

Duties

• ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION - YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** NOTE: This announcement has been extended to close on April 28 - 2025
• Applicant(s) who previously applied - do not need to re-apply
• Major duties and responsibilities include: Performs blood collection using venipunctures - arterial punctures and capillary finger sticks with a minimal number of failures - patient bruising - or required repeat collection - ensuring that samples are submitted to the clinical laboratory with the least possible delay
• Must be able to demonstrate skills and knowledge in various specimen procurement and the preservation of the specimen until testing can be performed
• Follows standard operating procedures for guidance in specimen collection
• Ability to make independent decisions on specimen procurement problems
• Identifies tests that require special handling conditions and appropriately performs proper specimen collection
• Initiates emergency care procedures in the event a patient has a reaction to blood collection procedures including fainting - hematoma - and anxiety
• Maintains phlebotomy supplies - and reports shortages to logistics staff or the supervisor for resolution
• Assists patients with laboratory check-in - obtains required pre-analytical information from patients - and provide patient-entered care and excellent customer service to patients - visitors - and other members of the health care team
• Communicates missing - erroneous - or duplicate orders to the appropriate health care staff for follow-up action
• Answers clinic laboratory phone - addresses inquiries - and forwards call to main lab when appropriate
• Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures
• Perform other related duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - weekends and holidays as assigned - 5:30 am - 2:00 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: 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.