This Health Technician (Surgical Technician) position is located within the Nursing, Perioperative Service of the VA ECHCS at Colorado Springs, CO and functions as a member of the surgical team and aids the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Health Technician (Surgical Technician) participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) for Health Aid and Technician Series 0640: Specialized Experience: Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. Specialized Experience for GS-7 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure; Assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure according to the surgeons preference cards; Assists the team members in the care of patients; Assist the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures; Prepare prosthesis and surgical devices during procedure; Handles all specimens appropriately; Performs sponge, sharps, and instrument counts in conjunction with the Registered Nurse circulator. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07 level (Transcripts Required). To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 level (Transcripts Required). You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree and specialized experience, as described above, to meet the total requirements. 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-XX. 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. ["Major duties include but are not limited to: · Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure. · Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals. · Assures all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure according to the surgeon's preference cards. · Maintains a high level of concentration for an extended period. · Assists the team members in the care of patients. · Assist the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures. · Prepare prosthesis and surgical devices during procedure. · Maintains OR area. · Maintains adequate stock of supplies and materials. · Recognize potentially hazardous situation and takes corrective action. · Handles all specimens appropriately. · Performs sponge, sharps, and instrument counts in conjunction with the Registered Nurse circulator. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 6:30am - 3:00pm Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD11576A Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are in stages 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 the surgeon without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon."]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
