Summary

This Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) position is in the Sterile Processing Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System located at the West Roxbury - MA location. This position is full time at 40 hours per week. Evening Tour - 2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Work hours subject to change per departmental needs. Compressed schedule hours will be 2:30pm to 1am - 4 days/week with on-call rotation during Monday-Friday 1 a.m. - 5 a.m. and 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency: Medical Supply Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English
• Experience and/or Education: Experience: Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work
• OR Education: One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing - nursing assistant - hospital corpsman - and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position
• OR Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable
• Grade Requirements: Creditable Experience Knowledge of Current MST Practices
• To be creditable - the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge - skills - and abilities (KSAs) associated with MST responsibilities
• Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as a MST
• 3 Quality of Experience
• Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MST experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher level duties must consist of significant scope - administrative independence - complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Part-Time Experience
• Part-time experience as a MST is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek
• Grade Determinations
• The following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• GS-03 Experience or Education (Entry Level) None beyond the basic requirements
• GS-04 Experience or Education: (Developmental Level) Experience: Six months experience as a MST - operating room or surgical technician or other position that demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing in a clinical setting
• OR Education: Two years of education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation
• NOTE: Successful completion of a course for medical technicians - hospital corpsmen - medical service specialists - or nursing assistants obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces - the U.S. Maritime Service - or hospitals under close medical and professional supervision - may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to 6 months of experience
• In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology in order to assemble specialty operating room/clinic instrument sets
• Basic knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment
• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing
• GS-05 Experience or Education: (Developmental Level) Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS 4)
• OR Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor's degree
• In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings
• Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility
• Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment
• GS-06 Experience: (Full Performance Level) One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS 5)
• In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings
• Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination
• Working knowledge of medical terminology - anatomy and physiology - microbiology - medical conditions and procedures
• Knowledge of sterility principles in regards to instrumentation
• Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-06
• Physical Requirements: Work is typically performed in a clinical setting that exposes incumbent to biohazards - hazardous chemicals - and hazardous medications common in a health care environment
• Such exposure will be mitigated - in accordance with local policies and operating procedures - as per USP800 standards - OSHA guidance - and local risk assessment practices
• Standard safety precautions and PPE are required and specified per local policies
• This work is performed in various settings: decontamination - preparation - clean sterile supply(preparation) and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus
• The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot - cold - drafty and poorly lighted
• The employee is subject to the possibility of falls - scrapes - cuts - bruises - and other injuries from material handling equipment
• The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 25 pounds)
• The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating - disassembly and assembly of instrumentation
• On a regular and recurring basis - the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment
• The employee wears special clothing - hair covers - and personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm
• The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers
• The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items
• The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown
• The employee often works around body fluids - mucous - excretions and bits of tissue - some of which may be foul smelling
• Strong - unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment
• The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments - rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment
• In the performance of official duties - the employee must be able to utilize office automation equipment - personal computers - bar code scanners - fax and copier machines and CENSITRAC software programs - and possesses the ability to apply skills to ever changing office/inventory technologies.

Duties

• This position provides sterilization - preparation - supply items and reusable medical equipment (RME) decontamination and distribution support for the medical center
• Duties include - but are not limited to: Receives contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in decontamination area
• Disassembles the RME and determines the correct cleaning method - such as but not limited to: ultrasonic cleaners - mechanical washers - cart washers and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents as determined by manufactures instructions
• Inspects - prepares - assembles and determines the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to: steam - VPRO and high-level disinfecting
• Prepare operating room case carts daily utilizing surgery schedule
• Correctly organizes reprocessed items on shelves - insuring that rotation of stock using First In- First Out (FIFO) method
• Removes soil - blood - tissue fragments - body fluids and other contaminants by wiping - soaking - rinsing and scrubbing
• Performs segments of work pertaining to the decontamination - sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME)
• Operates equipment involved in sterilization processes
• Prepares - loads - and operates sterilizers such as steam - Steris VPRO and high-level disinfecting
• Completes segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center
• Performs high level disinfection using Cidex OPA - or equivalent according to manufacturer guidelines
• documents and validates that chemicals are tested and meet requirements to ensure that disinfection has properly occurred
• Note: Duties may vary based on grade determination
• 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 2:30 p.m
• - 11:00 p.m
• Compressed schedule available with rotation to on-call hours per departmental policy
• Compressed schedule hours will be 2:30pm to 1am - 4 days/week with on-call rotation during Monday-Friday 1 a.m
• - 5 a.m
• and 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
• Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: F02635 - F02638 - F02639 - F02640 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional