Duties

Summary

About the Position: This position is part of the Joint Pathology Center (JPC) high-paced anatomic pathology laboratory, located at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. Work schedule will be 3rd shift.

An initial cut-off date of October 30, 2019 will be used to begin applicant consideration. Applicants received after the cut-off date will be considered every 14 days if needed.
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Responsibilities

• The primary duties of this job will involve the facilitation of movement and testing of clinical cases and anatomic pathology samples through the pre-testing, testing, and post-testing processes.
• Perform special processing procedures such as myocardial biopsy processing, special and immunoperoxidase stains, bone and teeth decalcification, frozen section tissue preparation and brain/nerve tissue processing.
• Independently select stain based on an understanding of the underlying chemical reactions of the stains on certain tissues or cells and their value in the establishment of the correct results for the diagnostic, didactic, and research purposes.
• Stain slides using variety of stains such as Periodic Acid Schiffs and Leder Stains requiring many complex and delicate procedures and careful control of the staining reaction to achieve precise staining results.
• Select the proper controls to assure correct results of the stain or reaction, review staining quality for acceptability, and forward complete slide(s) to the pathologist.
• Adapt technical procedures for a number of different variables in the process of fixing and staining tissue.
• Conduct quality control procedures on equipment, reagents, and maintain proper records for quality control reports. Accept and reject slides on basis of proper staining by assessing the characteristics and quality of the stained material.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Tier 3 security investigation or access for the duration of employment. A background investigation and credit check are required.
• This position requires the incumbent to have tuberculosis testing.
• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position has mandatory seasonal influenza vaccination requirements and is subject to annual seasonal influenza vaccinations unless otherwise exempted for medical or religious reasons (documentation of exemption must be provided upon hire).
• This position requires the completion of a pre-employment Physical Examination and an annual examination thereafter due to the color vision requirements of the position.
• This position may require the incumbent to work on any day or shift, including PMs, nights, weekends, holidays, or on an "on call" basis, necessary to meet mission requirements.
• This position has been designated "Mission Essential". In the event of severe weather conditions or other such emergency type situations the incumbent is required to report to work or remain at work as scheduled to support mission operations.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience in their resumes. Specialized experience includes: processing various tissues; performing microtomy; utilizing special tissue staining techniques and automated stainers; and utilizing information systems within a laboratory. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade level, or equivalent, in the Federal Service (GS-08).

Note: A U.S. Certified Histotechnician (HT) or Histotechnologist (HTL) through the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Registry or comparable certification is preferred, although not required.

Education Substitution for Specialized Experience: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone -- no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• Problem Solving
• Technical Credibility
• Technology Application

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Two year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• You may claim military spouse preference.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.
• If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your résumé and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your résumé and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Basis for Rating: Qualified candidates will be assigned to one of three quality categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified. Veteran preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category.

• Best Qualified. Candidates in this category possess exceptional skills and experience to exceed well above the minimum requirements for the announced position.
• Highly Qualified. Candidates in this category possess good skills and experience above the minimum requirements for the announced position.
• Qualified. Candidates in this category meet the minimum experience requirements for the announced position.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist (External).

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• For additional information see: What to include in your resume .

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.