The Inpatient Health Technician is assigned to the acute care in mental health setting within Salt Lake City VA Medical Center and reports to the Nurse Manager. The incumbent serves as an advanced technician with the Acute Care Setting for patients who present for treatment in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/29/2023. GS-5 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. GS-6 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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 Individual Occupational Requirement: 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. Specialized Experience is required in addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-5 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. Examples of specialized experience is defined as: Recognizing life-threatening situations and acting to correct emergent and urgent situations according to national/local policy; assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention and management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients using one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques; using communication techniques such as mirroring, active listening, and restating required to complete required documentation; maintains safe and therapeutic environment for the patient while promoting a sense of worth and dignity under the supervision of licensed personnel; obtains patient vital signs, document in the EHR, and report any vitals outside of normal range to licensed staff; and provides clerical administrative support coordination for the unit. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 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 l year of specialized experience. GS-6 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 is defined as: Recognizing life-threatening situations and acting to correct emergent and urgent situations according to national/local policy; assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention and management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients using one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques; using communication techniques such as mirroring, active listening, and restating required to complete required documentation; maintains safe and therapeutic environment for the patient while promoting a sense of worth and dignity under the supervision of licensed personnel; obtains patient vital signs, document in the EHR, and report any vitals outside of normal range to licensed staff; and provides clerical administrative support coordination for the unit. 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Conflict Management Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Interpersonal Effectiveness Patient Care 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 a level of physical fitness that allows for standing for extended periods, heavy lifting to position patients, and manual dexterity to perform clinical procedures. The work will require recurrent bending, lifting, stooping, standing, squatting, stretching, sitting and walking. The employee assist with protecting patients, self and to other team members from physical harms by agitated, hostile, and/or confused patients by therapeutically applying physical restraints, which my required stooping, bending, and stretching. Work Environment: On a regular and recurring basis, employee is exposed to infection and contagious diseases requiring the use of universal precautions. The incumbent may be exposed to all types of weather conditions, and face risks and discomforts at the scene of accidents, to include the possibility of noxious fumes and dangerous substances, requiring the employee to comply with special safety and health precautions and/or to use protective gear. 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 may include, but are not limited to the following: Assisting with acute care licensed staff with the delivery of complex and specialized patient care in possible life-threatening situations; Possesses knowledge to recognize life-threating situations and act to correct emergent and urgent situations according to national/local policy and/or protocol after proper education, training and competency demonstrating knowledge skills, and abilities. Perform patient screening by observation-based and collecting patient information in collaboration with licensed personnel. Documents all observations and interventions appropriately in Electronic Health Record. Notifies licensed personnel of any observations outside of normal. Assists and supports behavioral/psychiatric situations in the emergency setting include assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention and with the management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients, by providing one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques (PMDB). Uses communication techniques required to complete the questioners and templates approved for use in the ED, including active listening, restating, and mirroring. Maintains a safe and therapeutic environment for the patient while promoting a sense of worth and dignity under the supervision of the licensed personnel and maintains records. All other assigned 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: Full Time; Rotating Tour Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD14063A, PD14064A, and PD14063A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,298 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
