This position serves as a Dental Laboratory Technician located within the Dental Service, Spark Matsunaga Ambulatory Care Center (ACC), Honolulu, HI at the Veterans Affairs Pacific Island Health Care System (VAPIHCS).
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 perform the duties of this position. ~AND~ To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level, you must meet one of the following requirements: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-8) in Federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Dental Laboratory Technician, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Experience should include use of dental laboratory material such as impression materials, plasters, stones, hydrocolloids, waxes, metals, acrylics, porcelain, and similar materials; use of laboratory equipment such as hand tools, dental lathes, engines, and hand pieces, furnaces, casting machines, presses, flasks, and related equipment; use of precision instruments such as articulators, surveyors, and microanalyzers; and construction of dental prosthetic appliances. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successfully completed at least two (2) full years of graduate education or a master's degree that is directly related to the work of the Dental Laboratory Technician position. Such graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Licensed professional dentists will be considered qualified for any grade level if they have, in the aggregate, the required experience in dental laboratory procedures. NOTE: Transcripts, unofficial or official, must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience, as described above. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation of creditable specialized experience and education as listed above to meet the total requirements for this position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and be directly related to the work of the position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. AND SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability, or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirement for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience using Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing equipment/software program and analog manufacturing of dental prosthesis. NOTE: Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Manufacturing Production and Processing Selective Placement Factor Teaching Others Technical Competence Toolmaking 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: Long periods of standing, sitting and bending are required. The work requires above average agility and dexterity.. Work involves regular and recurring exposure to potential hazards of plaster dust, high decibel noises, fire (open flame), chemical exposure (methylmethacrylates, alcohol, polymers, sterilizing agents) and communicable diseases (exposure to blood, saliva, tissue, bone). The lab technician wears face masks, protective glasses, and uses special aseptic techniques when handling impressions or other items that are a potential infection hazard or as appropriate to the equipment being used. On occasion, they work in a clinic setting with some exposure to patients in dental treatment rooms. 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 IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The primary purpose of the position is to be responsible for the operation of the dental laboratory facility where the dental prosthetic appliances are fabricated on the prescription of the dentist. Responsibility for this operation includes fabrication of a full range of prostheses and appliances, a very thorough knowledge of oral anatomy, tooth morphology and occlusion, knowledge of equipment use and maintenance, and management of material supplies. The major duties include but are not limited to: Designs, fabricates and repairs routine and highly complex fixed partial dentures and single crown restorations made of gold, porcelain, acrylic, porcelain fused to gold and all combinations thereof; Completes dentures, and removable partial dentures made of acrylic, chrome and combinations thereof. Designs complex prostheses made for abnormal jaw relationships, closed bites, occlusal orthotics and other than routine situations such as maxillofacial appliances, precision attachments, and implants restorations. Fabricates custom trays; fabricating bite rims; mounting casts on articulators; setting teeth for trial dentures/partials; Provides training to dental hygienists, dental assistants, volunteers, dental students and dental residents regarding the use of materials, equipment and techniques involved with dental laboratory duties; Researches the best materials for use in laboratory procedures, involving implants, permanent soft-liners and light cured materials; Constructs and fabricates bite raisers, immediate dentures, and surgical template; and Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:00am to 3:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved