Health Technician (Phlebotomy)

Description:

The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Healthcare System, Pathology & Laboratory service, at the Cumberland County VA Clinic. The position serves as a Health Technician in the core laboratory section. The incumbent will perform duties in the receiving, accessioning and specimen processing area.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/26/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Selective Placement Factor : Must Have experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients.

• 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 :
  • Knowledge of DHHS standards for chain of custody drug screen collection and is certified to collect the specimens. Knowledge of specimen collection and specimen handling requirements for a wide array of analytical tests.
  • Knowledge of human anatomy, aseptic and sterile techniques and phlebotomy equipment to select phlebotomy site and skill in using collection systems, syringes, butterfly needle devices and capillary puncture techniques.
  • Knowledge of the laboratory regulatory and legal requirements involved in processing and testing various laboratory specimens and the Code of Federal Regulations requirements to certify/transport infectious or bio-hazardous material.
  • Knowledge of various precautions to prevent the spread of infections.
  • Knowledge of general safe work practices, physical security, and incident reporting. Knowledge of pre-analytic processing procedures, including the identification and resolution of specimen errors.
  • Knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations, laboratory accrediting and regulatory requirements sufficient to understand procedures in the areas of safety, phlebotomy/specimen collection, and accessioning and processing. T
  • Technical proficiency in the safe operation of specialized and common laboratory equipment and the established normal values of each test.
  • Skill in oral communication in explaining testing procedures to patients and put them at ease and clarify test requests with hospital staff members.
  • Knowledge of regulatory requirements for shipments, including infection control regulations, and the handling, storage, packaging, and disposal of biohazardous materials.
  • Possess a thorough knowledge of and skill in using various software systems including LIS, Cerner, VISTA, CPRS, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook for input/retrial of medical information.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation.

OR,

• Combination of Experience and Education. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 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 1 year of specialized experience.

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: Work is performed in a laboratory atmosphere and requires regular and physical exertion such as walking, bending, recurrent standing and moderate lifting. The work requires specific physical characteristics and abilities and dexterity needed to perform intricate analytical and technical procedures. The position may also require assisting geriatric and/or disabled patients. The incumbent must have normal color vision, pass mask fit testing, and complete Heartsavers/BLS training.

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/ .