Career Center

Summary

The VISN 22 Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (PALMS) is looking for a Medical Technician for the Greater Los Angeles VA Medical Center. The Medical Technician performs specimen collection - processing - accessioning and waived testing. In addition to performing phlebotomy - the incumbent will be assigned to various duties according to the needs based on basic laboratory operations.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 01/15/2026. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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. 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical - microbiologic - hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings; or technical support work in a closely related field - e.g. - biological laboratory technician work that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. This experience must be documented in your resume to receive credit. OR - Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a bachelor's degree or 4 years of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects appropriate to the position (such as chemistry - biological sciences - hematology - microbiology - serology - etc.). Transcripts required. 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 post-high school education. For GS-5 level positions - 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 l year of specialized experience. Determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level. Then determine your education as a percentage of the education that meets the requirements for GS-5. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Patient Care Quality Assurance Specimen Collection 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 some physical exertion - such as regular and recurring standing - walking - bending - or lifting up to 40 pounds. In many situations - the duration of the activity contributes to the arduous nature of the job. There may be special requirements for agility or dexterity such as exceptional hand/eye coordination or good color vision. The work involves regular and recurring risks or discomforts associated with working in a clinical laboratory which require special safety techniques and universal precautions. Employees are required to use protective clothing or gear. Work areas must be maintained in a clean and organized fashion. 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

• Duties include but are not limited to: Performs venipunctures (phlebotomy) in accordance with facility and laboratory policies and procedures
• Sets up equipment for all phlebotomy procedures - making sure that all phlebotomy and ancillary equipment is functioning to standard
• Verifies correct patient identification - performs proper specimen handling and labeling - accessions specimens - checks that lab test requests are consistent with physician orders - generates labels and sorts labeled specimens to be distributed to specific laboratory sections
• Performs urine drug testing collections in accordance with facility and laboratory procedures
• Processes laboratory specimens (ex
• centrifugation and aliquoting) for laboratory testing
• Conducts work according to Laboratory Safety Regulations and instructs coworkers and graduate students on safety procedures
• Provides orientation/training in performance of phlebotomy and test procedures with the information and experience required to understand underlying disease processes - and inform the physician if unable to obtain specimens
• Maintains and controls laboratory records
• Maintains the laboratory facilities and equipment and controls supplies
• Develops and maintains details records of all experimental or other protocols and results are neatly kept and cataloged in appropriate format
• Performs all clerical duties requires of the position - including work lists - logs - and pending lists
• Calibrates and maintains laboratory instrumentation on timely intervals so as to minimize breakdown and delay of procedures
• Communicates effectively with the supervisor to report conditions and progress on eliminating discrepancies
• Possesses appropriate interpersonal skills to listen and address comments and/or questions patients may have
• Ability to respond clearly - concisely - and cooperatively to questions from other individuals and staff regarding how procedures are performed
• Controls contaminated or potentially dangerous specimens in accordance with accreditation agency requirements
• Work Schedule: 9:00am - 5:30pm Monday - Friday (rotate weekends)
• 5:00am - 1:30 pm (rotate weekends) Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician/PD78960A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized