Summary This position is located within the Operating Room at Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The surgical technician is a member of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other perioperative team members during surgical procedures. Responsibilities Primary Scrub Person 50 Percent The incumbent functions as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures including but not limited to the following procedures: orthopedics, cardiothoracic, neurosurgery, general, urology, plastics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, total joint replacements, robotic procedures, vascular and endovascular surgery. The incumbent sets up the sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as air-powered equipment, fiber optic equipment, laparoscopic equipment. microscopes, lasers, arthroscopy equipment, urologic equipment, recording devices, and other operating room supplies and equipment. Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure. Prepares, organizes, and maintains highly complex sterile surgical setups. Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time; he/she reacts quickly and decisively during emergent situations. Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. The ST assists the surgical team members with care of the patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies. Follows Universal Protocol and fully participates in the surgical Time-Out. Knowledgeable on appropriate preventative actions for surgical procedures with low, moderate, and high fire risk scores. Handles all specimens appropriately. In conjunction with the circulating Registered Nurse (RN}, performs sponge and instrument counts to verify accuracy. The ST is responsible for the accountability for all surgical instruments and equipment during the surgical procedure. Assists the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures. The ST prepares prostheses, surgical devices, and biological implants for use during surgical procedures. Prepares sterile dressings, cleans and prepares instruments for terminal sterilization according to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Reusable Medical Equipment (RME). The incumbent assists in training residents, medical students, nursing students, surgical technician students, and new OR staff in the operation of equipment, OR procedures conducted in the Operating Room and the endovascular suite, handling of instruments, sterile technique, and set-up/preparation of the Operating Room for complex procedures, and the scrub role in surgical procedures. Maintains Equipment and Work Areas 30 Percent The incumbent performs non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Maintains OR area. Assesses equipment needs and maintains adequate stock of supplies and materials. Recognizes potentially hazardous situations (i.e., frayed cords, water on floor) and takes corrective action. Performs necessary unit audits for expired surgical supplies, records temperature and humidity for each surgical suite and takes corrective action if parameters are outside of recommended guidelines. Provides Guidance/Quality Improvement 20 Percent The incumbent participates and assists surgical team members in quality improvement activities and risk management functions. Updates personal knowledge regarding current trends in surgical technology through continuing education courses. Work Schedule: Fulltime, Monday - Friday 8:30 am to 5:00pm, 8:30am -7:00 pm, 1030 am- 7:00 pm, PST. Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD13376-A and PD13229 A Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. Hand dexterity is essential in passing instruments. Both hands required. Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously. Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4. Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other. Ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of colors; and hearing without aid. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-06. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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. 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. 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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. Additional Information 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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. 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.