Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)

The Medical Supply Technician (MST) position is in the Sterile Processing Service of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) located in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Qualifications:

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2025 or until all positions are filled. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be January 15, 2025 with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) -Basic Requirements
To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

• Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States
• English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d)
• Experience and/or Education -
  • Experience - Six months of experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; OR
  • Education - One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; OR
  • Experience/Education Combination - Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Grandfather Provision. A Medical Supply Technician (MST) employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (May 28, 2014) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

1. Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
2. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
3. Employees who are converted to Title 38 Hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.

GS-03 Medical Supply Technician - Experience/Education Requirement: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-04 Medical Supply Technician -

• Experience/Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-04 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:
  • Experience: Six months experience as a MST, operating room or surgical technician or other position that demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing in a clinical setting; OR
  • Education: Two years of education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation. NOTE: Successful completion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or nursing assistants obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces, the US. Maritime Service, or hospitals under close medical and professional supervision, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to 6 months of experience.

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:
  • Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
  • Basic knowledge of medical terminology to assemble specialty operating room/clinic instrument sets.
  • Basic knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.
  • Ability to communicate both orally and in writing.

GS-05 Medical Supply Technician -

• Experience/Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-05 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:
  • Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Performing segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME); completing segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center; operating equipment involved in sterilization processes; preparing operating room case carts; OR
  • Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor's degree.

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:
  • Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
  • Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility.
  • Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.

GS-06 Medical Supply Technician (Full Performance Level) -

• Experience Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-06 you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Removing soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing; Inspecting packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembling basic sets and trays used throughout a medical facility including those used in the operating room; preparing, loading, and operating sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor; prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
  • Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
  • Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, medical conditions and procedures.
  • Knowledge of sterility principles in regard to instrumentation.
  • Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures.

Preferred Experience:

• Possess the ability to instruct, work with management, create/maintain relationships.
• Possess effective communication and customer service skills.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-06.

Physical Requirements. This work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation) and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. May be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation.

Responsibilities:

Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf

Medical Supply Aide and Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Medical-Supply-Aide-Career-Flyer.pdf

The Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) will be responsible for promoting a culture of safety and will fully cooperate in efforts to improve patient safety and eradicate potential events including the reporting of events resulting in actual or potential injury to a patient. The MST must demonstrate knowledge of the reporting procedures involving safety issues relating to patients.

The primary duties of the Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) may include but are not limited to:

• Providing sterilization, preparation, supply items and reusable medical equipment decontamination and distribution support for the medical center. Including instrumentation (scissors, forceps, retractors, etc.), reusable medical equipment (suction machines infusion pumps, etc.)
• Receiving contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment in the decontamination area as well.
• Disassembling the RME and determining the correct cleaning method, such as but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washers and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents as determined by manufactures instructions.
• Inspecting, preparing, assembling, and determining the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to steam, Sterrad, Steris, V-Pro Stand high-level disinfecting reprocessor, may processors.
• Removing soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids and other contaminants by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing.
• Inspecting packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room.
• Performing segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization, and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME).
• Completing segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center.
• Operating equipment involved in sterilization processes.
• Preparing operating room case carts.
• Performing and documenting daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment.

Environmental Factors: On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment.

Work Schedule: SPS is 24-hour operations that offers a variety of shifts Monday-Friday. Staff are required to be on call rotating weekends and holidays. Tour of Duty will be set based on the needs of the service and will be discussed during interview.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 598-00436-F, 598-00435-F, 598-00434-F, 598-00433-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $39,880