Summary

This position is aligned under the Portland VA Medical Center - Primary Care Division - Clinics and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet specialized experience requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. Individua Occupational Requirements: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): 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. OR Education/Training: For GS-5: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree - with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) - No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience Requirement for GS-05: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 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: assisting medical and nursing providers when performing medical & diagnostic examinations taking and recording vital signs reporting/recording results for the provider as appropriate performing routine diagnostic tests such as venipuncture - bladder scan - ultrasound - glucometer - pregnancy testing - urinary tract infection testing and electrocardiograms collecting of specimen - applying dressings - and adjusting simple supportive equipment; OR Education: Four (4) years of education above the high school level leading to a Bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position (i.e. medical technologist - nursing - etc). (Transcripts Required) OR Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience - as described above - which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained at an accredited business - secretarial or technical school - junior college - college or university. To determine if you met these requirements - total your qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine your education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. For example - an applicant has 8 months of GS-4 level specialized experience and 80 semester hours of college. The applicant meets 67 percent of the required experience and 33 percent of the required education (i.e. - 20 semester hours in excess of the first 60 semester hours). The applicant meets 100 percent of the total requirements and is qualified for the position. (Transcripts Required) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical - Clinical Data Collection/Documentation - Diagnostic Medical Testing - Education and Training - and Patient Care 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. 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/.

Duties

• Duties include but not limited to: Assisting medical and nursing providers when performing medical & diagnostic examinations by assisting with duties such as monitoring vital signs - collecting biometrics - preparing and positioning the patient - completing the history and reminders - or by performing a variety of routine diagnostic tests
• Taking and recording measurements and vital signs
• Reporting deviations in vital signs and/or weight to the LPN/RN/MD
• Measuring and recording height
• Completing Health Promotion activities and asks reason for visit
• Obtaining and labeling specimens to include clean catch urine specimens or sterile specimens
• Drawing and labeling - and packaging specimens for the laboratory
• Transporting specimens to the laboratory and calls the laboratory for reports
• Reporting/recording results for the provider as appropriate
• Performing routine diagnostic tests such as venipuncture - bladder scan - ultrasound - glucometer - pregnancy testing - urinary tract infection testing and electrocardiograms - as directed by the physician or professional nurse - for the purpose of diagnostic testing
• He/she then calibrates and transmits data via electronic records
• Assisting the physician in a variety of diagnostic examinations and must be able to receive instructions for difficult exams such as lumbar puncture - biopsies - colposcopies - LEEPs - intrauterine device placements - and pap smears
• Positioning patient according to specific instructions from surgeon or primary care physician - drapes patient - preps and adjusts specialized equipment with multiple features - and passes instruments
• Taking tissue cultures or specimen samples from difficult specialized procedures
• Answering patient's questions during procedures
• Chaperoning and comforting patients receiving gender specific examinations - including those that received Military Sexual Trauma
• He/she possesses knowledge of surgical instruments in this clinical setting such as dilators - tenaculums - kevorkians - loops and balls - forceps and assists doctors with size selections
• He/she possesses knowledge of proper handling and pre-cleaning of reusable medical equipment
• Procedures are delicate and instrumentation is elaborate requiring settings and measurements that are very fine
• Making precise adjustments to clarify readings and measurements and reports observations of the clinic patient regarding mobility - nutrition - pain/ comfort level - chief complaint - etc
• Performing patient care procedures such as collection of specimens - applying dressings - adjusting simple supportive equipment
• Performs simple procedures such as collection of blood samples or other fluid samples from ambulatory patients and application of sterile dressings to uncomplicated wounds
• Uses proper sterile techniques for collection of samples
• Verifying correct labeling and patient identification
• Recording test time and intervals as appropriate
• Assists with or performs standard health care procedures
• Special procedures for women's health can include the annual breast - pap and cervical screening and interview
• Teaching of patients and family members the necessity to continue good health maintenance - personal hygiene & self-care behaviors
• Assisting with general health education and classes as assigned
• Providing assistance of a technical - specialized - or support nature to health and medical personnel in the diagnosis or treatment of patient illnesses or medical conditions
• Is able to teach clients how to read their meters - Blood Pressure's and other self monitored tests
• Teaching patients and family members the necessity of personal hygiene and continuing proper self care behaviors
• Promoting shared decision making behaviors
• Providing general clerical/administrative support coordination work for the Clinic
• Performing a variety of receptionist - record keeping - and miscellaneous duties in a general medical facility
• Receives visitors - answers the telephone - and refers calls to appropriate staff or records messages
• Schedules appointments and procedures
• Orienting providers and new personnel to the clinical area including the proper procedure for requesting medical tests and the requirement for completion of exams
• Assisting in familiarizing residents and new staff to operations - CPRS - various medical equipment in training to clinic setting
• Participating in orientation of residents and new staff by explaining the roles of the healthcare team - assisting them with navigation of VA systems - and assigns them patients and rooms
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - with flexibilities 7:00am - 5:30pm Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/Nursing Assistant/PD20668A Physical Requirements: The work requires standing - walking - bending - lifting and carrying
• The work may require heavy lifting of equipment or patients.