Hybrid Health Technician na Department of Veterans Affairs

Health Technician

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Hampton County, Virginia

Salary Range: $40931 - $53206 Per Year

Job Summary: The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Hampton VA Medical Center, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service, Hampton, VA. This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available.

Major Duties:

• Major duties include but are not limited to: Properly identified patients utilizing the full name and social security number before collecting, processing and /or hospital computer entry of requests. Properly identifies, labels and collection blood bank specimens for ST AT and routine testing while next to the patient bedside or chair side. Establishes proper identity of all patients, ensures accountability of specimens by proper and complete labeling with patient's name and identification and initials all tubes drawn. Performs phlebotomy using specialized techniques for cleansing the blood collection site to prevent bacterial contamination that's critical to patient care, to ensure the contamination rate of blood cultures remains with in guidelines with blood culture contamination. Selects proper vacutainer tubes for testing using various sized needles, and/or butterfly collection devices to collect appropriate specimens. Receiving and preparing requests for testing and specimens into the clinical laboratory and evaluates the acceptability of each specimen, documents discrepancies, and resolves potential problem. Performs blood drawing in a courteous manner and monitors the patient throughout the collection process, ensuring patient safety, observing blood flow, adequate mixing of specimen, and confirming blood flow stops at appropriate time. Follows standard precautions in the use of personal protection equipment and complies with other Medical Center infection control requirements and the handling and disposal of biohazardous materials. Documenting electronic patient medical records. Records refrigerator and freezer temperatures at all sites. Provides care based on physical, psychosocial, safety, and related criteria, appropriate to the age of the patients served. In patient emergencies, completes appropriate alert notifications, or initiates emergency patient treatment procedures, to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation or other basic patient support functions. Answers telephone in the main laboratory assist with collection questions and refer other question to the medical technologist on duty. Work Schedule: 0600am-1430pm,0730am-1600pm,0800am-1630pm,0800am-1700pm,1100am-7:30pm, Rotating Weekends and Holidays. Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD028810A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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. -OR- Education and Training For GS-5: 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 directly related to the position. In additional to the Individual Occupational Requirements, applicants must also meet the grade requirements. Grade Requirements GS-05 You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-04, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. This is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) standards for chain of custody drug screen collection and is certified to collect the specimens. Knowledge of specimen collection and specimen handling requirements for a wide array of analytical tests. Knowledge of human anatomy, aseptic and sterile techniques and phlebotomy equipment to select phlebotomy site and skill in using collection systems, syringes, butterfly needle devices and capillary puncture techniques. Knowledge of the laboratory regulatory and legal requirements involved in processing and testing various laboratory specimens and the Code of Federal Regulations requirements to certify/transport infectious or bio-hazardous material. Knowledge of various precautions to prevent the spread of infections. Knowledge of general safe work practices, physical security, and incident reporting. Knowledge of pre-analytic processing procedures, including the identification and resolution of specimen errors. Knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations, laboratory accrediting and regulatory requirements sufficient to understand procedures in the areas of safety, phlebotomy/specimen collection, and accessioning and processing. Technical proficiency in the safe operation of specialized and common laboratory equipment and the established normal values of each test. Skill in oral communication in explaining testing procedures to patients and put them at ease and clarify test requests with hospital staff members. Knowledge of regulatory requirements for shipments, including infection control regulations, and the handling, storage, packaging, and disposal of biohazardous materials. Thorough knowledge of and skill in using various software systems including medical recordkeeping databases, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook for input/retrieval of medical information. Experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume. -OR- Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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 directly related to the position. Transcript is required. -OR- Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education, 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. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to 1 year of specialized experience. Experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume. Transcript is required. 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. Physical Requirements: Work is performed in a laboratory atmosphere and requires regular and physical exertion such as walking, bending, recurrent standing and moderate lifting. The work requires specific physical characteristics and abilities and dexterity needed to perform intricate analytical and technical procedures. The position may also require assisting geriatric and/or disabled patients. The incumbent must have normal color vision, pass mask fit testing, and complete Heart-savers training. Work Environment: The work involves moderate risks or discomfort associated with working in a clinical laboratory with regular and recurring exposure to hazards such as infectious materials, chemicals, electrical appliances. The work is performed involves regular and recurring exposure to infectious and contagious diseases, odors, and other risks that require special health and safety precautions. The incumbent takes special safety precautions and must use protective clothing and devises such as gloves, face shields, and safety shields in accordance with OSHA guidelines. Fit testing, gloves and the use of gowns are required for isolation patients. 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/.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12721475. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 04/08/2026. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-08