The Lead Health Technician is in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System (OKC VAHCS) and community care clinics in the Pathology and Laboratory Medical Service (P&LMS). The multi-skilled Lead Health Technician performs a wide range of administrative functions which include compliance to CLIA and The Joint Commission regulations for laboratory testing, and Health Technician functions.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/05/2025. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6 level. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational Requirement: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Ability to adjust equipment of laboratory testing, set up all necessary accessories and supplies regarding laboratory testing; Skilled at phlebotomy and prepare the patient for the blood or urine collection according to CAP (College of American Pathologists) and The Joint Commission (TJC) guidelines to include accepting the patient orders, printing labels, selecting proper tubes and containers, PPE, labeling specimens with all required information in front of the patient; Ability to collect, label, process, store, and either ship specimens that require reference lab testing or deliver to laboratory area that performs tests that are outside of the health tech scope of testing or not performed at our facilities; Ability to monitor the humidity and temperature charts for laboratory which is a critical life safety issue; Knowledge of medical and administrative records system, Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act and HIPPA as it relates to release of information on patients and protecting the privacy of patient information; Knowledge of critical lab values and the procedure for documentation of follow-up care. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one (1) full year of graduate level education (18 semester hours). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the undergraduate level totaling one (1) year, i.e. 6 moths specialized experience and 9 semester hours of graduate school. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Computer Skills Diagnostic Medical Testing Operations Support Specimen Collection Technical Competence 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. NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires much walking through the clinic, with occasional requirements to lift objects, computer work and operating office equipment. The positions require the ability to process written and electronic information. The work requires the ability to physically control or defend against emotionally distressed patients. The work requires above average agility and dexterity due to the fine skills of some of the point of care lab testing. The work may require heavy lifting of equipment or patients. The incumbent may be required to commute between two outpatient clinics within the workweek, depending on the clinic workload. 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/.
Major Duties of this position include but are not limited to: Adjusts equipment of laboratory testing, set up all necessary accessories and supplies regarding laboratory testing; ensures proper cleaning and minor maintenance of laboratory equipment Informs the Team of critical changes in testing status and lab values Ensures that all quality control materials are run and acceptable daily or as required by regulations; runs any proficiency specimens correctly and within required timeframe Maintains all records for lab certification, point of care testing, and maintenance on laboratory machines, assigning proficiency tests, and monitors all survey results Collects, labels, processes, stores, and either ships specimens that require reference lab testing or delivers to laboratory area that performs tests that are outside of the Health tech scope of testing or not performed at VA facilities Monitors and documents temperature and humidity of room and equipment, refrigerators instruments etc. Performs daily, monthly maintenance as required and documents such appropriately Organizes work so that efficiency is paramount and work area is neat, tidy, and meets all regulatory requirements for sanitization required for laboratory certification Receives and accessions specimens from Oklahoma City VA Health Care System inpatients, outpatients, outside laboratories, other VA Medical Centers, and research studies; correctly accessions testing for referral and research specimens ensuring that billing is accurate for financial recapture Collects blood samples by venipuncture and accurately labels all blood tubes and other collection containers. Provide, as needed, coverage for all Phlebotomy, Processing, and Client Services locations. Oversee daily schedule assignments. Other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Variating Tours, Weekends and Holidays Position Description/PD#: Lead Health Technician- Phlebotomy/PD13956A