Come Join Our Team! The Salem Veterans Affairs Healthcare System is looking for a Medical Technician - Phlebotomist. The incumbent performs routine and specialized venipuncture of patients in order to obtain blood specimens for clinical laboratory testing. This position is aligned within Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (PALMS) located at the Veterans Healthcare System in Salem, VA.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/14/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. 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. 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 requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients. In addition to the English Language Proficiency and Selective Factor, applicant(s) must meet one of the following minimum qualification requirements: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires one full year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the GS-4 grade level, that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: Performs venipuncture of patients in order to obtain blood specimens for clinical laboratory testing; utilizes computer systems to document blood collection, enter patient data, and generate computer-printed labels; maintain records and files related to phlebotomy; packages and ships laboratory specimens; performs quality control and instrument maintenance; maintains phlebotomy area physical facilities and equipment to ensure a safe, clean, presentable work environment. -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects appropriate to the position to be filled. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Equivalent combinations of post-high school education and specialized experience, as described above. Note: only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Quality Assurance Specimen Collection 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion; standing for prolonged periods of time; bending and lifting moderate to heavy supplies (15-25 pounds); rapid walking, occasionally long distances, to meet STAT and life-threatening demands of critical patients. Requires good manual dexterity and coordination for specimen collection and processing; high anxiety (stress) level tolerance to meet the life-threatening situations of critical care demands. 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*** Duties include but are not limited to: Follows procedures for patient identification, sample procurement, and specimen labeling Performs routine venipuncture specimen collections from patients Follows laboratory procedures for collecting specimens in the appropriate container Controls the physical condition of samples and responds to time factors to ensure that the physiologic state of the specimen is maintained Provides education to patients for proper collection techniques Prepares samples for testing to include labeling, centrifugation, decanting and aliquoting, etc. Maintains adequate supplies for all phlebotomy and specimen procurement procedures Answers incoming calls for the laboratory service - finding and relaying accurate information or referring the caller to technical personnel Performs standard diagnostic tests/procedures such as bleeding time, occult blood, urine dipstick, pregnancy test, fingerstick glucose Performs sterilization on the autoclave, and cleans glassware and other reusable items Identifies and appropriately responds to adverse reactions such as fainting, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and arrests Work Schedule: Full Time- Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm with rotating weekends and holidays. Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician-Phlebotomist/PD019350 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized