Health Technician

Summary

This position serves as the Mental Health Technician that provides technical patient care, personnel, computer, and data management support services for the Nursing Service Mental Health Unit at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System (VASNHS).

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

08/20/2024 to 08/27/2024

• Salary

$45,027 - $58,537 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 6

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Las Vegas, NV 1 vacancy

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

No

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

6

• Job family (Series)

• 0640 Health Aid And Technician

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

• Suitability/Fitness

• Financial disclosure

No

• Bargaining unit status

Yes

• Announcement number

CBSW-12515331-24-TI

• Control number

805481400

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This job is open to

• Federal employees - Competitive service

Current or former competitive service federal employees.

• Veterans

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Duties

Major duties and responsibilities will include:

• Perform a wide range of patient personal care, diagnostic services, treatment, and charting activities in a psychiatric or substance abuse treatment unit

• Assists the interdisciplinary team in the care and treatment of patients receiving medical care for psychiatric or substance abuse treatment, PTSD, and other behavioral health conditions.

• Observes, collects data, documents, and reports to the professional team changes in patient behavior, attitude, physical complaints, appearance, vital signs and/or changes in the patents' condition that may be related to medications, sensory distortions, or medical conditions.

• Performs a range of diagnostic support duties such as collecting, recording, and reporting to RN deviations in vital signs/withdrawal symptoms, collecting and labeling specimens for the laboratory.

• Determines technical factors, sets daily controls, and operates equipment, instruments, and monitors.

• Uses equipment properly such as vita1 sign machines, EKG, AED etc.

• Provides detailed instructions and collect data for various procedural tests and the requirements needed to complete the test, that include but not limited to urine drug screening, measurement-based care metrics such as Columbia, GAD?, and PHQ9, EKG, and glucometer and provide results to appropriate team members.

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.

Work Schedule: Various, 12 hour shifts

Compressed/Flexible: No

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD02602A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

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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)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/27/2024.

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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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 as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: must have knowledge and skill of practical anatomy and physiology, major disease processes, and diagnosis such as various mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and substance abuse and addictions with the skills to manage therapeutic conversations, containment, and recognize withdraw symptoms. The incumbent must have knowledge and skill on procedures and tests such as Electrocardiogram (EKG) machines, Automated External Defibrillator (AED), vital sign machines, glucometer for blood sugar readings, and urine drug screen tests. The incumbent must have the knowledge of secure messaging system, phone systems, Sail metrics, and CPRS and the skill to retrieve, review, and audit data, delegate to appropriate staff, and document in CPRS/patient charts when appropriate. The incumbent must have the knowledge of administrative duties that include Release of Information (ROI), patient scheduling, appointments, admissions, triage with the skill to ensure patients have appropriate ROI and scanned appropriately to patient chart, skill of scheduling, ensuring appointments are correct and timely, and the skill to assist nursing with patient triage. (This experience must be well documented in your resume.)

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Administration and Management

• Customer Service

• Human Factors

• Patient Care

• Technical Documentation

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: The work requires regular reoccurring, periods of standing and walking. The duties also require occasional bending and lifting that is 45 pounds or more, reaching, carrying, pushing, stooping, stretching, and similar activities. The incumbent assists in protecting patients' self and other team members from physical harm by hostile and/or confused patients by therapeutically applying physical restraints that may require bending and stretching. The position requires the strength and stamina to perform duties, ability to sit at a desk for long periods of time, look at a computer for long periods of time, walk and stand for 4 hours. Must be able to maintain effective audio, visual discrimination and perception needed for making observations, communicating with others, reading, and writing, and operating office equipment. Must be able to use a telephone to communicate verbally and a keyboard to communicate through written means, to review information and enter/retrieve data, to see and read characters on a computer screen.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

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 http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

Learn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.