Health Technician – Surgical Technician

Minimum Requirement: The following are minimum requirements for appointment as a Health Technician in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). One of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position. Specialized Experience (GS-07): You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (i.e., GS-06). 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. Qualifying technician experience for this position (Health Technician – Surgical Technician) is: preparing and protecting sterile field during surgery, such as applying surgical drapes, prepping patient, performing counts of instruments used, etc.; determining the effectiveness of sterilization, packaging, storage, and shelf life; handling medical instruments, supplies and equipment during all surgical procedures; performing proper cleaning techniques and handling/rotation of sterile supplies; and handling contaminated items, quality control, and personal hygiene. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.) OR, Education (GS-07): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate education in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position (Health Technician). 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 information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) OR, Combination (GS-07): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate education, as described above. If graduate education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) AND 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 will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Attention to Detail Infection Control Medical Information Patient Care Technical Competence IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are stages of 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 surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. 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/.
This position is located in the Patient Care Service at VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System – Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, CO. The Health Technician will function as the Surgical Technician as a member of the surgical team and aid the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures.