Medical Technician (Phlebotomist)

Summary

VA Loma Linda Health Care System (VALLHCS) is seeking a skilled Medical Technician (Phlebotomist) to join the Hemet Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). The Medical Technician will perform specimen collection, processing, accessioning, and performing waived testing. The Medical Technician will rotate through these areas and may be required to work off-hour shifts, weekends, and holidays based on operational needs.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

09/27/2024 to 10/05/2024

• Salary

$46,020 - $59,823 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 5

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Hemet, CA

• 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

None

• Job family (Series)

• 0645 Medical Technician

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Not Required

• Drug test

Yes

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

• Suitability/Fitness

• Financial disclosure

No

• Bargaining unit status

Yes

• Announcement number

CBSX-12553400-24-CR

• Control number

811546500

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This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

• Family of overseas employees

Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.

• Federal employees

• Competitive service

Current or former competitive service federal employees.

• Individuals with disabilities

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

• Land & base management

Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.

• Military spouses

• Special authorities

Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.

• Veterans

• Federal employees

• Excepted service

Current excepted service federal employees.

Clarification from the agency

Applicants will be referred and considered in the following order: 1) Current, Permanent Employees of VA Loma Linda; 2) Current, Permanent Employees of Department of Veterans Affairs; 3) All other Status Candidates.

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Duties

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Maintains the laboratory facilities and equipment and controls supplies.

• Sets up equipment for all phlebotomy procedures, making sure that all phlebotomy and ancillary equipment is functioning to standard.

• Determines compliance with safety requirements, establishes inventory and equipment maintenance requirements and maintains appropriate inventories and maintenance schedules.

• Maintains laboratory stock and orders materials, as needed.

• Maintains laboratory in a clean and safe condition according to agency or accreditation requirements.

• Calibrates and maintains laboratory Instrumentation on timely intervals so as to minimize breakdown and delay of procedures.

• Conducts work according to Laboratory Safety Regulations and instructs coworkers and graduate students on safety policies and procedures.

• Maintains and controls laboratory records.

• Performs all clerical duties required of the position, including work lists, logs, and pending lists.

• Performs venipunctures in accordance with facility and laboratory policies and procedures.

• Assures all test tubes are labeled accurately when performing venipuncture using facility and laboratory designated patient identifiers.

• Verifies correct patient identification, performs proper specimen handling and labeling, accessions specimens, checks that lab test requests are consistent with physician orders, generates labels and sorts labeled specimens to be distributed to specific laboratory sections.

• Performs urine drug testing collections in accordance with facility and laboratory policies and procedures.

• Prepares slides, smears, cultures, etc., of extremely delicate or otherwise volatile specimens, using critical concern for the quality of the specimen given the procedure to be used for test or examination, the incumbent performs microscopic evaluations of specimens when required.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday

• Friday, 6:00 am

• 2:30 pm.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician (Phlebotomist)/PD14181A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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)

• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/05/2024.

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 GS05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS04. 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: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing venipuncture, 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 equivalent to at least the GS-4 level in the Federal service. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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 appropriate to the position to be filled. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level. Then determine your education as a percentage of the education that meets the requirements for GS-5. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5.

Preferred Experience: Outpatient phlebotomy, Preanalytic specimen processing, Microsoft proficiency.

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

• Conscientiousness

• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)

• Diagnostic Medical Testing

• Teamwork

• Technical Competence

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 manual dexterity and exceptional hand/eye coordination, some physical exertion, such as regular and recurring walking, bending, sitting over a microscope and concentrate for long periods of time while reading specimens and to stand for several consecutive hours during the preparation of specimens. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. Position requires lifting of reagent containers weighing up to 35 pounds. The work involves regular and recurring moderate risks or discomforts which require special safety precautions, e.g., working around moving parts, carts, or machines; with contagious diseases or irritant chemicals. Employees are required to use protective clothing or gear such as masks, gowns, ear plugs, lab coats, boots, goggles, gloves, or shields to moderate risks, or to follow procedures for minimizing risk. Adherence to safety and universal precautions and use of protective gear are mandatory to reduce occupational risk factors.

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

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: http://ope.ed.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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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.

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

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. 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 accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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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.