Medical Technician-Phlebotomy

This position is located in the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the Beckley, West Virginia Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. The position serves as a Phlebotomist and is responsible for collecting a broad range of routine and emergency blood samples.

Qualifications:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: 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 in order 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:

1. EXPERIENCE: 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~

1. EDUCATION: Successful completion of (a) an associate-degree course of study of which the second (2^nd) year of the two (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) One (1) year of study that included six (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) two (2) years of study that included at least twelve (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~

1. COMBINATION: Equivalent combinations of post-high school educationand 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. NOTE: Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Clerical
• Computer Skills
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Infection Control
• 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: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion including standing and walking for long periods of time and bending over patient to draw blood specimens. Lifts moderate to heavy supplies (15-25 pounds), rapid walking to meet STAT and life-threatening demands of critical patients. Requires good manual dexterity and coordination for specimen collections and processing. High anxiety (stress) tolerance to meet life-threatening situations of critical care demands is also required.

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:

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***


Duties will include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Follows procedures for patient identification, sample procurement, and specimen labeling
• Performs routine venipuncture specimen collections from patients
• Follows laboratory procedures for collecting specimens in the appropriate container
• Controls the physical condition of samples and responds to time factors to ensure that the physiologic state of the specimen is maintained
• Provides education to patients for proper collection techniques
• Prepares samples for testing to include labeling, centrifugation, decanting and aliquoting, etc.
• Maintains adequate supplies for all phlebotomy and specimen procurement procedures
• Answers incoming calls for the laboratory service - finding and relaying accurate information or referring the caller to technical personnel
• Performs standard diagnostic tests/procedures such as bleeding time, occult blood, urine dipstick, pregnancy test, fingerstick glucose
• Performs sterilization on the autoclave, and cleans glassware and other reusable items
• Identifies and appropriately responds to adverse reactions such as fainting, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and arrests
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, 40 Hour Work Week with Rotating shifts to include evenings, nights, some weekends and holidays.
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

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.

Salary : $37,668