Surgical Technician (Direct-Hire Authority)

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can’t be waived. To qualify for the GS-0640 occupational series, applicants MUST possess the following: 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. GS-07 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: Operates equipment and assists surgical team in performance of procedures Monitor’s patient condition Checks, labels’ and processes all labs, and specimens per guidelines Opens sterile items and arranges surgical area and equipment for procedure performance Prepare skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, cutting sutures and preparing prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07 level. One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. 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. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 level. 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-07. 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.
This position is located in the VA Ann Arbor Health System Operating Room Suite. The position is within the Surgery Service. The incumbent functions at an advanced level with specific and specialized training and skills required in the Surgery work setting. The Surgical Technician functions independently to provide a wide range of support to the professional nurse and physician in the Operating Room. Participates with surgical team in planning and implementing complex procedures.