Health Technician

The incumbent serves as a Health Technician in the Laboratory for the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Lewiston, Idaho. This position is full-time, permanent.

Major Duties include, but are not limited to: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Operations (70%): -Serve as key contact for veterans and beneficiaries seeking diagnostic services, experiencing problems, and/or requesting information. -Determine veteran eligibility/entitlement for numerous diagnostic services with diverse and frequently vague requirements. -Serve in an administrative assistant capacity involved with screening, advising and assisting veterans who come into the clinic seeking medical treatment. -Acts as an administrative assistant to professional staff, ensuring clinical staff are relieved of clerical/administrative duties, providing full, complete, technical advice, administrative support, training, guidance, problem solving/resolution for efficient coordination of diagnostic services. -Serve as liaison and resource person between supportive staff, clinicians, veterans, families, law enforcement, medical or public agencies, utilizing independent judgement as interpreted from guidelines for decisions. -Responsible for developing and coordinating wide variety of team policies/procedures with full and complete technical advice, support, authority to administratively support diagnostic service activities, continually adjusting to effect necessary change. -Interprets providers' orders, requests for laboratory testing, follow-up paperwork, paperwork for fee or contractual agreement with appointment notifications to veteran/clinic staff. -Coordinates Pathology & Laboratory Medicine scheduling activities, including maintenance of detailed clinic profiles for diagnostic services. -Continually alert for any irregularities and practices by health care providers and/or veterans that are not in keeping with Service policy/criteria indicating errors. -Maintains and compiles daily statistical data for submission of reports for local, regional office, Central office, and national use for program administration. -Performs a range of direct care duties that include but not limited to glucometer testing, COVID collections and testing and venipunctures. Diagnostic Processing & Testing Duties (20%): --Performs primarily waived testing and moderate-complexity procedures in the areas such as but not limited to chemistry (including special chemistry and toxicology), hematology, coagulation, urinalysis. -Develops, performs, evaluates, interprets, correlates, validates the accuracy of laboratory procedures and results. -Perform work related to tests and examinations using the techniques of medical laboratory practice in one or more specialized areas. -Processes diagnostic specimens using centrifuge techniques that are necessary to prepare samples for specific analysis controls physical conditions; responds to time factors to ensure that physiologic state of the specimen is maintained. Collateral Duties (10%): --Safety Representative, Timekeeper, Control Point Clerk, pipette calibration, timer, and thermometer calibration are some of the examples of additional duties. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD80399A and PD80397A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Physical Requirements: The work involves various physical demands requiring the employee to be versatile in the many functions performed. These include sedentary work performed at a desk with intermittent standing, walking, bending, lifting, stooping, and stretching. When transferring patients, providing patient care, the employee must practice good body mechanics to prevent injury to self and others. The demands may be unpredictable requiring the incumbent to adjust accordingly. Requires the ability to work under pressure, make sound decisions, and maintain composure in different situations if necessary. Work is performed at a fast pace. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. Position requires occasional lifting of reagent and supply containers weighing up to 20 pounds.

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.