Summary

This position is organizationally aligned under the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Consolidated Work Unit of the VISN 12 at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Danville - IL. The Medical Technician serves as a phlebotomist and is responsible for collecting a broad range of routine and emergency blood samples.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT: 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 to meet the requirements of this position.- AND To qualify for this position at the GS-4 level - you must meet one of the following: EXPERIENCE: Possess at least six (6) months of general experience - and six (6) months of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge - skills - and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position - and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. General Experience is: (1) 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 is: (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 to be filled. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title - duties - month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. ~OR~ EDUCATION: Possess 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) 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 to be filled. (Transcripts must be submitted at time of application) ~OR~- COMBINATION: Possess the equivalent combinations of post-high school education and experience - as described above. (Transcripts must be submitted at time of application)- AND 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: Experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients. 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 Quality Assurance 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: Approximately 60% of the work performed is accomplished in a standing or "bending" position while performing phlebotomy/processing procedures. Lifting and carrying of trays - specimens and supplies weighting up to 20 pounds is required. Approximately 40% of the time is spent sitting - reaching - and walking in the performance of phlebotomy and processing duties. Computer typing skills are required to appropriately input patient test requests - properly queue reports and collection labels - and for the monitoring of CR T's and printers for proper operation. The proportion of time spent standing - bending - stretching - and walking versus siting - varies depending n the assigned tasks at any time. (i.e. - phlebotomy - clerical - or specimen processing.) 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*** Major duties and responsibilities include: Provides primary support for the laboratory by assisting with filing - typing and/or updating of laboratory procedure manuals
• Assists with updating of collection manuals and specimen collection containers to make sure protocols for collection of specimens is up to date
• Identifies properly patients utilizing the full name and full social security number before processing and/or hospital computer entry of requests
• Observes Universal Precautions in performance of all duties
• Is trained and familiar with all safety practices - procedures and policies associated with laboratory work - according to the established Infection Control Guidelines
• Maintains storage and rotation of all phlebotomy supplies according to outdates as needed
• Wears proper Personal Protective Equipment when handling patients - specimens and/or contaminated waste - as required
• Appropriately disposes of contaminated phlebotomy waste as established in the Chemical Hygiene Plan
• Answers telephone requests for laboratory information and/or results from professional staff - patients - and their family members
• Recommends appropriate course of action providing detailed instructions on patient preparation - automated order entry - specimen collection - and result retrieval
• Records workload statistics as required
• Maintains lab files and records
• Performs phlebotomy by venipuncture on patient wards - the facility Nursing Home - and in the Outpatient Phlebotomy Area as required by staffing needs of the Service
• Verifies patient preparation - specimen collection and specimen transport requirements for laboratory tests
• Reacts appropriately and timely to the physical distress of any patient exhibiting an adverse reaction during or post-phlebotomy
• Collects urine specimens from designated candidates for employment and/or employees who are randomly being tested or there is a reasonable suspicion of drug use
• Performs other duties as assigned
• 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 with VA
• Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 6:00am-2:30pm or 8:00am-4:30pm - with rotating holidays and weekends Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized