Medical Supply Technician (Advanced Level)

Description:

The Advanced Medical Supply Technician (MST) is responsible for the decontamination, disinfecting, reprocessing, packaging, sterilization, and storage of critical and semi-critical reusable medical equipment (RME). Performs and documents daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment and reprocessing methodologies.

Requirements:

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. To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

• Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States
• English Language Proficiency - English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d)
• Experience and/or Education -
  • Experience - Six months of experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; OR
  • Educati on - 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.

Grandfather Provision. A Medical Supply Technician (MST) employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (May 28, 2014) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

1. Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
2. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
3. Employees who are converted to Title 38 Hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.

GRADE DETERMINATION -GS-07
Experience Requirement : In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-07 you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Receiving contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in the decontamination area; disassembling the RME and determining the correct cleaning method, such as but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washers and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents, as determined by manufacturer instructions; inspecting, assembling and determining the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and high level disinfecting scope reprocessors; performing and documenting daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) : In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Detailed knowledge of complex surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
2. Ability to assemble specialty operating room and clinic instrument sets.
3. In-depth knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.
4. Ability to communicate both orally and in writing in order to convey information and thoughts to others.

Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

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-07. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-07.

Physical Requirements: Work requires walking, standing, bending, stooping, and stretching. It may require some lifting and/or carrying heavy items during the course of the work day.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office setting, the SPS work area or other clinical settings. Incumbent is required to wear protective clothing and be subjected to loud noises from machinery and offensive smells. Incumbent must exercise various safety precautions, protective measures/ devices, etc., eg wearing protective gown, mask, and or gloves. Incumbent must carefully monitor the work area to minimize potential exposure to hydrogen peroxide and other hazardous materials, ensuring compliance with OSHA, EPA, VA and local polices and regulations.