Health Technician in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Summary The position is located at the Santa Fe Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The primary purpose of the Health Technician is to provide medical and administrative support assistance to the Patient Aligned Care Team, Ambulatory Care Service (ACS). Responsibilities Collect and labels specimens (blood, urine, sputum, stool) for testing. Operate guidelines to determine technical factors, sets controls, calibrates, and operates equipment and instruments such as electrocardiogram (EKG) machine, cortisol-binding globulin (CBG) monitor, ankle-brachial index (ABI) doppler, bladder scan, etc. Independently cleans exam rooms and re-stocks supplies as indicated by the needs of the patient or health care professional. Orders and maintains all supplies utilized in the clinic. Perform direct patient support to include gathering information from patients, providing personal patient care and patient education on home use of medical equipment such as glucometers, blood pressure monitors, peak flow meters, etc. Provide clerical and administrative support to relieve health care professionals in the Primary Care by scrubbing the schedule for appropriate appointments, entering requests for labs as generated by clinical reminder fields, into Computer Patient Record System (CPRS) Graphic User Interface (GUI), utilizes electronic Quality Measures (eQM) to meet Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) and Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures. Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 07:30 AM – 04:00 PM Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD12810A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/11/2024. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements 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. Grade Level Requirement: You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: setting up equipment for procedures; performing personal patient care; utilizing an automated system to maintain and retrieve patient data; assisting with patient test and procedures; and answering phones and directing phone calls to appropriate personal. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Diagnostic Medical Testing 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires frequent walking, standing, stooping, lifting, bending, stretching, pushing, turning and at times lifting heavy equipment and/or patients. Good vision and hearing a r e required to collect patient data. 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/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant’s criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.