Health Technician

This position, located at the Montana VA HCS, serves as a Health Technician for the Pathology and Laboratory Medical Services providing medical administrative support and certain types of nursing assistant functions within the laboratory and administrative VA staff.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/26/2025.

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 4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Specialized Experience for this position includes but is not limited to...Knowledge of management's objectives, goals, decisions, policies, and of medical and technical terminology; knowledge of clinic organization, functions, specialties, and programs such as social work, nursing laboratory, supply business offices function, etc.; knowledge of medical and administrative records system, Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act and HIPPA as it relates to release of information on patients and protecting the privacy of patient information; in-depth knowledge of College of American Pathology regulations on proficiency testing; ability to interpret rules, regulations, policies and procedures to make sound decisions using good judgment; ability to adapt to situations quickly, precisely and accurately; ability to cope with wide variety of problems and to resolve them quickly and decisively; skilled in exercising initiative and originality; ability to deal with a variety of individuals with tact and diplomacy; ability to deal with individuals who are under the influence of alcohol, drugs or has severe psychiatric problems; ability to present self in a professional attitude and to create positive impressions management's representative; ability to complete assigned projects, studies, narrative and statistical reports and reviews in a thorough, accurate and timely manner; skill and precision in use of the tools, materials and specialized laboratory equipment; and knowledge of critical lab values and the procedure for documentation of follow-up care.

OR

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have the following education requirements to qualify under specialized experience. 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.

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. Percentages of your completed education and experience are calculated to determine eligibility requirement for this position at the GS-05 level.

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/.

Responsibilities:

Major Duties of this position include but are not limited to...

• Coordinates and prioritizes phlebotomy tasks to ensure inpatient and outpatient phlebotomy and sample processing are accomplished.
• Answer phone calls for the laboratory and relay accurate information or refers to the caller.
• Assist with autopsy examinations.
• Provide professional and courteous customer service.
• Perform venipuncture and arterial blood collections for laboratory testing.
• Collecting proper tubes using correct order of draw procedures.
• Labels samples accurately while protecting sensitive data.
• Provide verbal collection instructions for urine, stool, and other sample.
• Operate and maintain centrifuge.
• Complete testing requisitions and pack samples using proper shipping labels according to the specimen types.
• Perform proper body site preparation for venipuncture and arterial blood collections.
• Perform proper application of personal protective equipment for routine and isolation blood collections.
• Recognize signs, symptoms or reactions to phlebotomy procedures (i.e. fainting or vomiting).
• Prints out appointment list for the lab clinics.
• Prepares the lab appointment lists for veterans at least one week ahead of schedule to ensure prompt attention to the patient when they present for specimen collection.
• Investigates missing or incomplete patient laboratory orders.
• Conducts the nurse or provider involved to ensure missing or incomplete orders are placed or corrected prior to the patient presenting for sample collection.
• Provides order numbers to technical staff for orders that need to be canceled for various reasons, i.e. duplicated order, patient no longer on medications, etc.
• Reviews orders in CPRS to ensure that all necessary orders are drawn.

Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD14551-A

Physical Requirements: The work requires much walking through the clinic, with occasional requirements to lift objects, computer work and operating office equipment. The position requires the ability to process written and electronic information and the ability to physically control or defend against emotionally distressed patients; above average agility and dexterity is required due to the fine skills of some of the point of care lab testing. The work may require heavy lifting of equipment or patients. The incumbent may be required to commute between two outpatient clinics within the work week, depending on the clinic workload.

Salary : $39,576