Located at the Lebanon, PA VA Medical Center, the supervisory medical supply technician contributes to the oversight of all supervision, administrative management, and direction of Sterile Processing Services. Oversees all decontamination, sterilization, and disposition of facility critical and semi-critical Reusable Medical Devices. Develops and maintains a system of internal reviews that ensure service programs operate in compliance with regulatory and accrediting organizations.
Basic Requirements: Citizenship: Must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Experience and/or Education: (1) Experience. Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides and understanding of the work. OR (2) 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 (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. English Language Proficiency: MSTs must be proficient in spoke and written English in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. Grade Determinations: GS-08 Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) (a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-07 AND (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to manage, interact, and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds. 2. Ability to direct staff and manage tasks to be completed. 3. Ability to oversee and supervise all aspects of decontamination, preparation, sterilization, monitoring, and distribution of RME. 4. Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning, and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G47 For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. Preferred Experience: Previous SPS experience, Leadership skills Physical Requirements: This 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 lighted. 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 for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or Reusable Medical Devices. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment.
Responsible for assisting the Assistant Chief, Sterile Processing Services (SPS), in oversight of all operational and administrative activities of the service. Responsible for the quality management system activities within Sterile Processing Services, to include training, competency assessment, development, and enforcement of standard operating procedures. Through subordinate Lead Technicians provides technical and direct supervision over GS-03 through GS-07 Medical Supply Technicians. Manages, directs, and adapts work to accomplish program goals and objectives, and to meet new and changing program requirements. Serves as liaison between SPS and other departments. Assists the Assistant Chief, SPS, in managing the SPS Equipment Inventory Listing (Ell) for equipment assigned to SPS such as sterilizers, washer/disinfector, ultrasonic, sealers through the nonexpendable property program for the assigned facility/system and requests replacement of all equipment under their purview as needed. Issues, adapts, implements, and maintains local SPS policies and procedures as applicable to specific facility/system programs. Assists the Chief, SPS in developing, directing, and maintaining a Quality Control Program ensuring product quality assurance through random sampling, biological monitoring, product assessment and other means, and providing specific reports as required. Solicits assistance from, or responds to, inquiries from outside regulatory and advisory agencies to ensure compliance with established policies and procedures from organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), The Joint Commission (T JC), International Association for Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN), and others. Responsible for facilitating training of various aspects of SPS, including reprocessing and inventory management. Conducts departmental orientation, training, skills review and assists with educational programs to maintain high staff quality performance standards. Identifies and promotes staff development. Responsible for coordination and integration of production requirements to meet needs of customers, both scheduled and non-scheduled. Assists Chief, SPS in preparing and evaluating future scheduling projects, anticipating future workload requirements to forecast appropriate staffing levels. Works closely with Supply Chain Management to monitor inventory levels to identify and take corrective action on matters relating to potential inventory shortages created because of additional case volume, scrap, or any customer related skills that may exist. Oversees appropriate reprocessing of Reusable Medical Devices (RMD) to eliminate risk of infection and to provide timely safe patient care in all patient care areas. Responsible for continuous quality improvement projects that result in improved services to all customers. The incumbent will have thorough knowledge of the processes for Reusable Medical Devices (RMD) as required by this position. The incumbent will be required to maintain current knowledge of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which document the processes and procedures for cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, and preparation of RMD appropriate to this position. The incumbent will be able to demonstrate their ability to utilize an acceptable proficiency in the use of RMD appropriate to this position. (RMD) is any medical device designed by the manufacturer to be reused for multiple patients. All personnel who are involved in the reprocessing of RMD are responsible for knowing what reusable instruments, equipment, medical devices, or supplies are used (inventory) in their clinical area. All personnel who are involved with the use of RMD must be familiar with which items are reprocessed locally (on unit) and/or which items are sent to Sterile Processing for reprocessing and/or sterilization. If items are transported for reprocessing, personnel must be aware of the individual decontamination steps that must be taken prior to transport of item and the appropriate method of transport. All personnel who are involved in reprocessing of RMD are responsible for following the local Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) drafted in accordance with the manufacturer's written recommendations. Sterile Processing and Infection Control should be consulted when clarification of written instructions is needed. No one should be reprocessing an RMD based upon vendor's verbal instructions alone; this is not an adequate practice. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00am-3:30pm or 2:00pm - 10:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 03959F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized