This position is located in the Pathology and Laboratory Department at the Northport VAMC. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS GS-05: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level in Federal service that has required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: performing both clerical and clinical duties in a medical/healthcare environment; answering and directing phone calls; scheduling appointments; documenting medical records; and taking and recording vital signs. This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. ~OR~ 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. 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. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. Transcripts required. ~OR~ An equivalent combination of specialized experience and education as described that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. Transcripts required, and experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Hazardous Materials Infection Control Specimen Collection Technical Competence 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. ["Duties include but are not limited to: Diagnostic support - Collects and processes specimens obtained for analyses throughout P & LMS and associated reference laboratories, ensuring safety and non-traumatic processes are used with critical concert for the patients and the quality of the specimen. Performs venipuncture specimen collections from inpatient, outpatients, and ambulatory inpatients, with minimal number of failures, patient bruising, or required resticks, ensuring that samples are submitted to the clinical laboratory with the least possible delay. During collection procedures, the incumbent makes gross visual observations and identifies subtle changes regarding the patients condition, notifying appropriate emergency personnel as needed. Uses the standard aseptic procedures and safeguards. Specimens will be obtained from individuals utilizing age specific criteria for population. The use of a syringe or butterfly may be required in obtaining difficult specimens. The preanalytical phase (ie. proper skin cleansing, asking if a patient is fasting, chose the proper needle to avoid lysing cells, choosing the proper tube for particular tests) is extremely important and is observed to provide accuracy of final reported values being used in the diagnostic area of medicine. Responsible for the processing and handling of specimens in accordance with the Federal Workplace Drug Testing Program as administered and regulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Series (DHHS) for drug testing of new employees. The incumbent is totally knowledgeable of the DHHS Specimen Collection Procedures Guideline. Trained and certified, or eligible for training and certification, in the collection process which includes, but is not limited to all steps necessary to complete a collection correctly including the proper completion and transmission of the Chain of Custody Form, identification of \"Problem\" collections including attempted adulteration, etc., understanding of fatal flaws, correctable flaws, and how to correct these errors when they occur. Responsible for maintaining the integrity of the collection process, ensuring the privacy of the donor, ensuring the security of the specimen, and avoiding conduct or statements that could be viewed as inappropriate or offensive. Must also demonstrate initial proficiency to the Northport VAMC Certified Collector. Once trained and certified the incumbent must successfully perform five consecutive error-free mock collections in the following scenarios: 1. Two uneventful; 2. One insufficient specimen quantity; 3. One temperature out of range; 4. One where the donor refuses to sign the Chain of Custody Form and initial the specimen bottle tamper-evident seals. The Certified Collector must monitor and evaluate the incumbent's performance, in person or by a means that provides real-time observation and interaction between the instructor and trainee, and attest in writing that the mock collections are \"error-free.\" Responsible for processing and handling of specimens used for Drugs of Abuse screening for Veteran Outpatients. Exhibits knowledge and skills required to verify the identity of the patient using a minimum of two patient identifiers and adhere to all regulations to ensure a valid specimen collection. Demonstrates the knowledge and skills necessary to complete the Chain of Custody Form, including all required signatures of the collector and patient, and accurately adheres to and records all specimen data/temperature to insure no tampering has occurred during the collection. Incumbent is proficient in handling tamper-evident tape to insure specimen integrity. Performs work related to tests and examinations using the techniques of medical laboratory practice in one or more specialized areas. Prepares specimen's for testing, such as labeling, centrifugation, decanting, aliquotting, etc., prepared reagents, performs the test procedure, verifies the accuracy of the results and reports results in the VISTA computer system. The technician must be familiar with tests performed throughout the Laboratory, i.e. cytology, microbiology, chemistry, and hematology. Duties require that the incumbent be knowledgeable with the Laboratory Vista menu and be able to easily locate electronic requisitions. Operates centrifuges, reporting any malfunction to supervisor, as needed, and evaluates temperature requirements of refrigerators on the wards as needed. Ensures work areas remain clean. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm with every other weekend rotation. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD21269A Physical Requirements: This work requires extensive periods of standing and walking, regular and recurring bending, moderate lifting, stooping and stretching."]

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