North Central Section of the AUA, Inc.

This position is located in Nursing Service, Boise VA Medical Center, Boise, ID. This position provides support for operating room surgical team. The Surgical Technician (ST) is a member of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet specialized experience and time-in-grade requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 05/10/2023. 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Setting up sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as air powered equipment, fiber optic equipment, laparoscopic equipment, microscopes, lasers, arthroscopy equipment, urologic equipment, recording devices, and other operating room supplies and equipment; Plan and discuss each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure; Prepare, organize, and maintain highly complex sterile surgical setups; Utilize universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment; Assist the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures ; Assess equipment needs and maintains adequate stock of supplies and materials. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-7 level. Applicants must have successfully completed 1 full year of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position such as phlebotomy, nursing, or other related subjects. This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate level education beyond 6 months (9 semester hours) that is directly related to the work of the position to be creditable. To determine if you met these requirements, total your qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine your education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) NOTE: Education cannot be credited without documentation. Please see education section for an example of combining education and experience. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting, ending dates and hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Infection Control Medical Information Patient Care 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: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. 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/. ["Major Duties: Functions as a primary scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures such as: open heart, thoracic, major vascular, neurosurgery, microsurgery, and total joint replacement surgery. The incumbent will be responsible to perform these duties 100% of the time. Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as airpowered equipment, fiber optic equipment, laparoscopic equipment, microscopes, lasers, arthroscopy equipment, urologic equipment, recording devices, and other operating room supplies and equipment. Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure. Prepares, organizes, and maintains highly complex sterile surgical setups. Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time. Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. Assists the team members with care of the patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies. Handles all specimens appropriately. In conjunction with the circulating Registered Nurse (RN), performs sponge and instrument counts to verify accuracy. Responsible for the accountability for all surgical instruments and equipment during the surgical procedure. (9) Assists the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures Prepares prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures. Assists in training residents, medical students, nursing students, operating room technology students, and new Operating Room (OR) staff in the operation of equipment, sterile technique, handling of instruments, and OR procedures to include the scrub role in surgical procedures. Functions as second circulator for complex surgical procedures. Maintains Equipment and Work Areas Performs non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions. Maintains OR area. Assesses equipment needs and maintains adequate stock of supplies and materials. Recognizes potentially hazardous situations (e.g., frayed cords, water on floor) and takes corrective action. Provides Guidance/Supervision Provides guidance and support to Nursing Assistants and other Surgical Technicians. Supervises volunteers, aides, non-surgical team members, students, and other personnel. Provides guidance and support to professional and technical students of an approved surgical technology program. Other Duties Assists surgical team members in quality improvement activities. Updates personal knowledge regarding current trends in surgical technology through continuing education courses. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm. Telework: Not Authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD60308A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required."]

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