Duties

Summary

The positions will cover several areas throughout the DCVAMC and its affiliated locations. The primary purpose of this position is to provide extended care to disabled ambulatory veterans with coexisting medical, psychiatric, alcohol/drug abuse and homelessness problems and will perform both clinical and administrative duties in support of the mission.
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Responsibilities

NOTE: There are 14 vacancies at the DCVAMC, 1 vacancy at Fort Belvoir, 1 at Lexington, 2 at Montgomery County and 4 at Charlotte Hall Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). DCVAMC positions are located in the Emergency Department, GI Lab, Orthopedic Clinic, General/Plastic Surgery Clinic, Primary Care and Specialty Clinics.

Duties may consist of, but are not limited to:

• Recognizes and responds appropriately to emergency situations using nursing intervention techniques to prevent medical and psychiatric crises from occurring;
• Provides direct patient care that are appropriate to the cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/geriatric patient.
• Collects and packages lab samples;
• Processes and evaluates incidents involving injury and/or abuse of any patient;
• Performs initial physical examination of patients upon arrival to the clinic, including vitals, pulmonary functions and notes reason for visit;
• Applies simple dressing changes/wound care;
• Assists with minor procedures;
• Administers vaccinations and medications within scope;
• Performs and transmits EKGs;
• Checks all instruments and equipment for needed repairs, maintenance and replacement
• Performs administrative duties; Receiving and processing telephone calls for the team, handling appointments and generating appointment reminder letters for the patients;
• Completes and reviews patient documentation in CPRS and processes orders;
• Collects records to determine patient's eligibility/entitlement to medical care;
• Files medical records and patient correspondence and ensure demographic information is accurate.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday from 8:00AM - 4:30PM as well as rotating weekends and holidays as assigned.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/ GS-6 PD: 51268-A / GS-7 PD: 51269-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
PCS: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
7

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/29/2019.

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. 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. A SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. 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:

For GS-06:

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. Qualifying specialized experience is documented performing both routine patient care and administrative support duties; experience performing venipuncture and needle sticks to obtain blood specimens; experience performing a complete range of treatment procedures taking and recording vital signs and performing finger stick glucose tests; assisting with electrocardiograms (EKG's); using a computer to perform a variety of clerical support duties; and communicating effectively with other staff and patients while providing excellent patient care. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) 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 six (6) months of graduate education (9 semester hours) or an internship in course matter with a major that included courses directly related to the work of this position. Such graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. If you are using education to qualify, transcripts are required. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study, if that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should 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. Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts are required.

For GS-07:

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. Qualifying specialized experience is documented experience evaluating patients for emergency conditions; ordering appropriate diagnostic studies; performing interventions based upon patient symptoms and established protocols/standards; assisting in behavioral/psychiatric situations; and assisting Emergency Department Physicians with complex, specialized, and potentially-life threatening procedures. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) 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 one (1) year of graduate education (18 semester hours) or an internship in course matter with a major that included courses directly related to the work of this position. Such graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. If you are using education to qualify, transcripts are required. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study, if that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should 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. Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts are required.

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

• Patient Care
• Medical Information
• Diagnostic Medical Testing
• Specimen Collection
• Clerical / Admin

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.

Preferred Experience: Previous experience in orthopedics, general surgery/plastic surgery, emergency services, medical service. Ability to draw blood and start IVs and perform EKG's. EMT or Paramedic certification preferred.

Physical Requirements: The work involves extended periods of sitting, standing and walking with regular recurring bending, lifting and positioning patients. It also involves computer, keyboard and telephone work.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

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 view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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. Applicants will be referred in alphabetical order.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• OF-306
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Resume

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.