Patient Care Services is recruiting a Medical Health Technician in the Intensive Care Unit. The Health Technician provides support in a wide variety of basic clinical and intermediate level administrative functions. Ensures compliance with VA regulations, Joint Commission standards, other regulatory agencies. Improves the quality and timeliness of basic services that are delivered to patients by providing a wide variety of ancillary activities. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual 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. Minimal Requirement GS-06 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 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: Performing both clerical and clinical duties in a medical/healthcare environment Monitoring and interpreting patients' cardiac rhythms Notifying nursing/clinicians of any rate/rhythm changes according to clinician/provider orders Operate and monitor equipment for both 12 lead and IS lead EKG readings Measures and interprets patient's heart rhythm and documents on patient NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. NOTE: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to the specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received that copied verbatim from the announcement will be evaluated and may be reviewed as falsifying your experience or application. Physical Requirements: The position demands a moderate degree of exertion and a high degree of dexterity, long periods of standing and long distance walking from clinic to clinic. The work requires some physical exertion, prolong periods of standing and working at a variety of machines, bending, stooping, crouching, reaching and stretching to work on devices and appliances and to fit them to the veteran. There may be recurring lifting and moving of moderately heavy supplies and equipment such as wheel chairs and durable medical equipment. 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. ["The incumbent aids and assists ICU nursing staff in providing quality care for Veteran patients. The Health Technician(Monitor Tech) provides continuous cardiac surveillance, interpretation, and reporting of monitor and telemetry tracing of patients within Patient Care Services. In addition, the incumbents perform patient care support functions. Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Maintains ongoing, high-level surveillance of patients' cardiac rhythms and notifies nursing/clinicians of any rate/rhythm changes according to clinician/provider orders. Measures and interprets patient's heart rhythm and documents on patient record per departmental standards. Initiates and discontinues monitoring equipment on admission, transfer, or discharge. Performs clerical duties related to admission, discharge, and documentation of patient information from the Heartbeat Central station. Serves as a resource for training and troubleshooting to both the Heartbeat Central station and clinical areas. Maintains and stocks all designated equipment, including telemetry, and transport monitors. Adheres to confidentiality of information acquired pertaining to patients, clinicians, employees, and visitors. Provides assistance of a technical, specialized, or support nature to health and medical personnel in the diagnosis or treatment of patient illnesses or medical conditions. Supports medical and health care professionals in tests and procedures to diagnose and treat medical conditions. Performs a range of diagnostic support duties such as taking, recording and reporting to supervisor deviations in vital signs, taking specimens, labeling specimens for the laboratory. Performs and assists RN with personal care such as body and oral hygiene, dressing/undressing, and toileting/elimination always ensuring patient privacy. Answers call lights and if unable to independently assist, communicates patients' needs to assigned RN or charge nurse. As directed, assists in postmortem care including disconnecting patients from monitors and other equipment, bagging up and labeling patients' personal items, and assisting in transferring patients to the morgue. Collect and sends routine urine, stool, blood, and sputum specimens per established protocol. Work Schedule: Tours will be 6 shifts of 6:00pm- 6:30am and 1 shift of 10:00pm- 6:30am. Tours are subject to change to meet the needs of the unit. Rotating weekends and holidays. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD01643A"]
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.
