Career Center

Summary

This position is located at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System - in the Nursing Acute Care Service. This position performs technical duties as a Lead Paramedic (Basic and Advanced Life Support Services). In addition to performing all the duties and responsibilities of a Paramedic and will Lead three or more Paramedics - GS-0640-09 - and a cadre of Emergency Medical Technicians - GS-0640-07.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 09/30/2025. 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-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 Requirement (IOR): 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. Specialized Experience GS-10: To qualify for this position at the GS-10 level - you must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level of GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience typically includes: a broad knowledge of the majority of body systems - i.e. - skeletal - muscular - nervous - respiratory - circulatory - digestive - and genitourinary - to perform patient examination and to provide prompt - efficient - and appropriate patient care and handling; have a well-developed working knowledge of physiological and topographic anatomy - e.g. - right/left - surface - proximal/distal - superior/ inferior to accurately transmit location information about the body and its functions; have a well-developed working knowledge of diagnostic signs - e.g. - pulse - respiration - blood pressure - temperature - skin color - pupils of the eyes - state of consciousness - ability to move on command - reaction to pain - etc. - to perform patient examination - provide patient care - and ensure appropriate patient handling; knowledge of advanced and invasive airway procedures that may include needle or surgical cricothyrotomy - pleural decompression - endotracheal intubation - nasal intubation - application of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) - and/or automatic transport ventilator devices; skilled and knowledge to perform electro cardiology procedures including taking and interpreting electrocardiograms (EKG) - performing manual defibrillation - and providing transcutaneous external pacing; knowledge sufficient to understand the legal considerations of emergency care - e.g. - actual/implied consent - Good Samaritan laws - etc. - to limit the government and the incumbent's exposure to lawsuits while maintaining the legal standards of care; knowledge and skill in emergency medicine techniques to determine - based on the diagnosis of the patient - the approach that will most effectively sustain the patient's life; administers medications and solutions orally or intravenously under the direction of standing orders (protocols) or of an off-site physician; knowledge of how to document drugs administered and providing information to the hospital or medical provider either while in transit or upon arrival and observing and documenting the effects of drugs administered; skill and familiarity with emergency and patient transport vehicle characteristics to safely operate the vehicle under adverse weather and/or traffic conditions to provide emergency and patient transportation - and skill and knowledge of proper operator maintenance to ensure vehicle meets safety and operating requirements. Applicants must possess and maintain the following certifications for this position: Required Licenses and Certifications: Paramedics shall possess and maintain current Basic Life Support Provider certification. Paramedics shall maintain certification as a National Registered Emergency Medical Technician (Paramedic). Paramedics shall possess and maintain current Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification. Paramedics shall possess a valid and Unrestricted State Driver's License. (Do not provide a copy of your Driver's License - this requirement will be verified during the interview process) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Emergency Care First Response Patient Care Transportation 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 Lead Paramedic's work involves extended periods of heavy moving and lifting of patients in a variety of situations. Generally - the work requires recurring bending - lifting - stooping - stretching - and positioning of patients - frequently under adverse conditions or in confined areas. Incumbent may be required to spend prolonged periods in protective breathing apparatus and protective clothing during chemical - nuclear - biological - or hazardous materials incidents/exercises. 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/.

Duties

• Major duties of this position include but are not limited to: Reviews the work of EMTs and Paramedics to ensure that the supervisor's instructions - work priorities - methods - deadlines and quality have been met
• Amends or corrects work performance not meeting established standards
• Ensures that each employee has an integral role in completing the daily team mission
• The Lead Paramedic trains - or arranges for the training - of the EMT and Paramedic team members and uses the methods and techniques of team building to accomplish tasks or projects
• Provides or arranges for specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks
• Lead Paramedics shall have broad knowledge and skills sufficient to provide and gather information on the human body structure - function - illnesses and diseases - and the treatment procedure supporting patient charting and goals for the assigned patient for the purpose of communicating with the patients and nursing/medical staff members
• Responds to on-site accidents and other emergencies involving injury and illnesses - sometimes encountering situations which may be life threatening
• Determines and prioritizes appropriate medical treatment/procedures and need for additional assistance
• Lead Paramedic provides cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in accordance with American Heart Association (AHA) standards - varying the approach for small children/infants
• Incumbent treats patient according to ACLS guidelines
• Recognizes and determines the causes and basic medical implications of closed and open soft tissue wounds and treats appropriately using appropriate bandages according to emergency department protocols
• Bleeding and Shock
• accurately determine blood pressure readings - which are used in conjunction with a variety of symptoms - to identify the nature of shock and treat according to pre-hospital trauma life support (PHTLS) ACLS guidelines
• Fractures of Torso and Extremities
• Recognize fractures - dislocations - and sprains while he/she determines the proper method and steps to immobilize the patient for transport
• Miscellaneous Medical Emergencies - and recognizes - stabilizes - and treats a wide variety of medical emergencies - e.g. - poison ingestion or inhalation - bites/stings - pediatric patients - heart attacks - strokes - etc
• Will employ communicable disease control and containment measures per emergency department protocol
• Lead Paramedic assess the seriousness of and treats heat - electrical and radiation burns - heat exhaustion/stroke - hypothermia - chemical exposure injuries - injuries from ammunition - armament - and fire control incidents - etc
• Psychomotor Skill Set: BiPAP/CPAP - needle chest decompression - chest tube monitoring - percutaneous cricothyrotomy2 - ETCO2/Capnography - NG/OG tube - nasal and oral - endotracheal intubation - airway obstruction removal by direct laryngoscopy - PEEP
• EKG interpretation Interpretive 12 Lead - central line monitoring - IO insertion - venous blood sampling - techniques of Med Administration Medication Administration (Endotracheal - IV push and infusion) - NG - rectal - IO - topical - accessing implanted central IV port - administered meds - Physician-approved medications - maintenance of blood administration - Thrombolytics initiation
• Lead Paramedic selects the most efficient route to and from sites - taking into consideration traffic patterns - health facility locations - etc
• Operates the emergency transport vehicle and uses telephone and radio communications equipment and systems
• After each trip - replaces linens - blankets - and other supplies
• sends supplies and equipment for sterilization - and ensures vehicle is ready for the next run
• Performs thorough safety and operator maintenance inspections and makes minor repairs on a variety of emergency ambulances - patient transport vehicles - and medical equipment
• Work Schedule: 11:30am -12:00 Midnight Compressed/Flexible: N/A Telework: N/A Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: LEAD PARAMEDIC/PDS10136-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized for qualified applicants Permanent Change of Station (PCS): N/A