Summary This position serves as an advanced technician for inpatient and/or outpatient care settings such as; primary care, surgery, mental health, and specialty clinics. The incumbent may serve in a medical center, community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC), mobile medical unit or may have virtual/remote assignments. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: The incumbent performs ongoing patient care duties in an inpatient and/or outpatient clinical setting. Mental Health Services: 15% The incumbent assists in behavioral/psychiatric situations in an outpatient setting. This can include assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention, management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients, by providing one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques (PMDB). The incumbent performs duties focused on communication techniques required to complete the questioners and templates approved for use in any outpatient clinical setting, including active listening, restating, and mirroring. The incumbent will maintain a safe and therapeutic environment for the patient while promoting a sense of worth and dignity under the supervision of the licensed personnel. Clinical Tasks: 30% The incumbent assists outpatient licensed staff with the delivery of care to patients with complex, specialized, and potentially life-threatening situations. The incumbent assists licensed staff with preparing patients for medical evaluation, setting up equipment, passing instruments and providing treatment during in-person or virtual visits. The incumbent operates specialized medical equipment to obtain diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes. The incumbent is responsible for collecting a wide range of specimens and preparing them for transfer to processing. Observes patient status and keeps licensed clinical staff informed of any change in condition. The incumbent must possess the knowledge to recognize life threatening situations and act to correct these emergent situations according to established national or local protocols. The incumbent initiates cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BLS) and use of automatic external defibrillator (AED) once certified and where appropriate according to American Heart Association (AHA) protocols and policies. Observes patient status and keeps licensed personnel informed of any change in condition. Administrative Responsibilities and Duties 30% The incumbent performs all medical clerical operations related to the practice, including, Registration, Encounter forms, ICB, RTC and Means Test. Completes work orders; sets clinic up for next day; retrieves medical profiles and laboratory results as needed. Incumbent possess the scheduling option in VSE, CTM, and VISTA. Incumbent uses the scheduling options to schedule outpatient clinic appointments or uses the scheduling option for an administrative function (close encounters; no-shows). Accurately and completely reviews military or sharing documents to make eligibility determinations for treatment, beneficiary travel and/or transportation reimbursement according to current laws, policy and/or regulations. The incumbent must have the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing when rendering services to customers (patients) from diversified backgrounds in order to obtain and receive sensitive information in a professional manner, such as family income, medical history, and insurance information from the interviewee. Incumbent must have a good working: knowledge of the computerized Medical Administration Program software for daily interactions with the ADT, VISTA, CPRS, VSE, Consult Tracking Manager, Scheduling, HINQ, Pharmacy, PDX, AMIE requirements; CAPRI GUI software; and Registries. Prepares documents, applications for treatment, and consolidated health records and in-puts appointments, no-shows, discharges, and checkout functions in order to maintain accurate Medical Center statistical data for reports and data validation. Other duties: 25% Conducts or assists with the training of personnel in if appropriately trained, certified and/or qualified, for example: facility formal preceptors and Telehealth Presenter (TCT) instructors. Can conduct or assist with stand-downs, community health programs, health-care screenings, and immunizations. May be a member of hospital-wide committees to enhance care for Veterans. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD37058A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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, 12/26/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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: Failure to provide an SF-50 that demonstrates one-year time-in-grade will result in disqualification from being considered. In addition, 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-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Extensive experience in a hospital setting as an advanced technician in various specialized areas. Inpatient and/or outpatient clinical experience. Experience in various technical health procedures. Experience operating various medical equipment. Extensive equipment and surgical instrumentation set up. Experience in specimen collection and preparation. Experience with assisting with patient exams and screenings. Experience with preparation of lab specimens. Experience with scheduling clinic appointments. Experience with preparing documents, applications for treatment. Experience with updating health records for patients. NOTE: Such experience MUST be well represented in resume. Failure to do so will results in a Non-Qualification Determination. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate education or internship directly related to the position at the next lower grade level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (COPY OF OFFICIAL OR UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have equivalent combinations of creditable specialized experience and education as described above to meet the total experience requirements for the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Only education beyond a one-half year (e.g. 6 months; 9 semester hours) of graduate level education may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Patient Care Technical Competence Preferred Experience: 1-2 years Ambulatory Care experience 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 involves extended periods of bending, standing and walking. Generally, the work requires recurring physical exertion with assisting patients. 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. Unofficial Transcript accepted. 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 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.