Health Technician

Summary Located at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, the incumbent will be assigned to work in the Emergency Department (ED), supervised by the ED Nurse Manager. The Healthcare Technician (HCT) is a highly specialized position, providing both clinical and administrative support while performing duties traditionally done by multiple staff in other services and sections. Responsibilities Patient Care Tasks Performs or assists RN with personal care, such as body and oral hygiene, dressing/undressing, and toileting/elimination-ensuring patient privacy at all times. Assists RN with enema administration; transfers and ambulation of patients; post mortem care and morgue transfers, etc. Performs venipunctures, labels and sends specimens to lab; glucometer checks and notifies assigned RN or provider of results. Performs 12 lead EKGS and gives to provider for review within 10 minutes. Performs Multifunction Cardiogram (MCG) under direction of Provider or RN. Measures and records the following vital signs in CPRS vital signs package and notify assigned RN or provider: Temperature (oral, rectal, or temporal), pulse, respirations, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and pain level. Inserts peripheral intravenous access devices and documents catheter gauge inserted, location, and time of insertion as addendum to Emergency Department Acute Member Note in CPRS. Usage of safe handling and movement portable and ceiling lift equipment. Containment and Decontamination of patients infested with bedbugs and other insects. Cleaning/Stocking Cleans vacated ED treatment rooms of patients without contact precautions. Strips and cleans vacated hallway stretchers. Cleans dirty reusable medical equipment and properly identifies equipment as cleaned. Empties dirty linen hampers and replaces with new plastic linen bag. Stocks bedside carts and cabinets in treatment rooms and checks for expired supplies. Escort Obtains and delivers supplies from SPD and main supply room as needed. Obtains extra wheelchairs and stretchers as needed. Transports non-monitored patients to tests, assigned inpatient medical units, or to their vehicles in parking garage/ambulance entrance. Delivers laboratory specimens as needed. Delivers and signs for patient funds taken t agent cashier. Perform other related duties as assigned Work Schedule: 24/7 Shifts Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD00745A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/05/2022. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to patient personal care/safety tasks, nursing assistance, cleaning/stocking of supplies, patient escort duties, collection of various patient biohazard materials to aid in diagnosis, care continuum in emergency medicine, and care continuum in emergency medicine. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; OR (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces. . You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Emergency CarePatient CareSpecimen CollectionVeteran and Customer Focus 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: Requires considerable walking, bending, standing, lifting, and handling of equipment and supplies. Requires dexterity in performing technical procedures. Proper body mechanics should be utilized at all times. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at pm.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: d.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: d.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or 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. 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 pm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required exception from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. Due to COVID-19, VA is currently in an expanded telework posture. If selected, you may be expected to temporarily telework, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Once employees are permitted to return to the office, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement. Management officials will provide information about returning to the official, pre-pandemic worksite, when applicable. At that time, you may be eligible to request to continue to telework depending upon the terms of your organization's telework policy and the duties of the position. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.