Surgical Technician (Intermittent)

Summary The position is located In the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Veteran Health Administration (VHA), VA Medical Center (VAMC) Miami under Surgical Services. This position serves as a Surgical Technician (ST), and is a member of the surgical team. The incumbent provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures, and participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: Must know all the surgical procedures to efficiency and anticipation of the surgeons operation sequences. Functions as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, specimens, and equipment during all surgical procedures such as but not limited to: open heart, thoracic, major vascular, neurosurgery, microsurgery, orthopedic, endovascular, minimally invasive, and robotic surgeries. Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure. Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time. Handles all specimens appropriately. Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. Assists the team members with care of the patient, I.e., positioning, prepping, obtaining supplies, and provides assistance to anesthesia provider. Assists the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, and cutting sutures. Functions as second circulator for complex surgical procedures, under direct supervision of RN. Prepares, organizes, and maintains highly complex sterile surgical set-ups. Maintains Equipment and Work Areas. Provides guidance and support to Nursing Assistants and other Surgical Technicians. Work Schedule: 40 hours per week Monday to Friday 7:00am-5:30pm, 11:00am-7:30pm, 1:00pm – 9:30pm with rotating ON CALL Holidays, Weekends and Off tour Position Description Title/PD#: Surgical Technician (Intermittent)/PD08060A and PD08050A Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting, positioning, and transporting patients, most of which are stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. GS-07 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Individual Occupational Requirements: 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. In addition to the IOR 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-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 1) Develops new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to make organizational improvements; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes. 2) Specifies goals and obstacles to achieving those goals, generates alternatives, considers risks, and evaluates and chooses the best alternative in order to make a determination, draw conclusions or solve a problem. 3) Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. Preferred Experience: 1-3 years of Surgical Technician experience in an Operating Room. There is no educational substitution for the GS-07 level. 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. Education Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPMs Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. 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.