This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), at the James A. Haley VA Hospital (JAHVAH), located in Tampa, Florida, and adjacent clinics. The Medical Supply Technician assists in the sterilization, decontamination, and transportation of Reusable Medical Devices (RMD) Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision. All MSTs that are employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Experience/ Education: Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; or Education. One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; or Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements, applicants must meet the grade level requirements: GS-05 (Developmental Level)Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level; orEducation. Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor's degree.Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings. Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility. Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment. Assignment: This is a developmental level MST position. Removes soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing. Inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room. Prepares, loads, and operates sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor; prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule. MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex tasks and require direct supervision on new assignments.GS-06 (Full Performance Level)Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings. Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination. Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, medical conditions and procedures. Knowledge of sterility principles in regards to instrumentation. Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures. Assignment. This is the full performance level for the occupation. Receives contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in the decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment in the decontamination area as well. Disassembles the RME and determines the correct cleaning method, such as but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washers and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents, as determined by manufacturer instructions. Inspects, assembles and determines the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and high level disinfecting scope reprocessors. Performs and documents daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-05 to GS-06. Physical Requirements: his work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation), and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty, and poorly lit. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity to manipulate the disassembly and assembly of instrumentation ["Duties: At the GS-05 (Developmental) level: Removes soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other contaminates by wiping, soaking, rinsing and scrubbing. Inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization, and assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room. Prepares, loads, and operates sterilizers such as steam, V-PRO, steam sterilization, and a high-level disinfecting scope reprocess; may prepare operating room case carts daily utilizing surgery schedule. Performs segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization, and inspection of reusable medical equipment. Completes segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center. Operates equipment involved in sterilization processes. May be requires to prepare operating room case carts. MST's receive guidance from more experienced staff members and frequent and direct supervision .At the GS-06 (Full-Performance) level: Receives contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment in the decontamination area as well. Disassembles the RME and determines the correct cleaning method, such as, but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washers and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents as determined by the manufactures instructions. Inspects, prepares, assembles and determines the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as, but not limited to, steam, Sterrad, Steris, EtO and high-level disinfecting reprocessors; may prepare case carts daily utilizing surgery schedule. Removes soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other contaminates by wiping, soaking, rinsing and scrubbing. Inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization, and assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room. Preforms segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME). Completes segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center. Operates equipment involved in the sterilization process. May be required to prepare operating room case carts. Preforms and documents daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment. MST's receive guidance from experienced staff members and SPS management. Work Schedule: This position is for the 3:30 p.m. to Midnight shift Monday to Friday with weekend and holiday rotation. Functional Statement #: 71701F; 71702F"]
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.
