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 .Experience: Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work
• or One year of experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the work or 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
• Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable Certification: None GRADE Determination: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the lower grade level (GS-7) directly related to Medical Supply Technician work
• GS-8 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: 1)
• Ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds .2)
• Ability to direct staff and manage tasks to be completed
• 3)
• Ability to oversee and supervise all aspects of decontamination, preparation, sterilization, monitoring, and distribution of RME
• 4)
• Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation)
• endoscope reprocessing room and in other SPS services areas throughout the medical facility/campus
• The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly or
• brightly lighted
• The work requires proper body mechanics when standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending, twisting and lifting of packages / instrument trays, transport bins, (weighing as much as 50 pounds)
• Transportation of RME between buildings and clinics requires the loading and unloading of soiled, clean and sterile RME
• Requires the pushing and pulling of case carts and flatbed hand trucks weighing several hundred 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, 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 sterilizers or accidentally touching hot items
• The employee may be exposed to sterilizing gasses and liquids during their normal workday
• The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, bone
• 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.