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:

• 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 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
• 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)
• Grade Determinations:GS-03 Medical Supply Technician - Experience/Education Requirement: None beyond the basic requirements
• GS-04 Medical Supply Technician - Experience/Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-04 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements: 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 US
• 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
• AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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 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 Medical Supply Technician - Experience/Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-05 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-4)
• Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Performing segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME)
• completing segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center
• operating equipment involved in sterilization processes
• preparing operating room case carts
• 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
• AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): 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 Medical Supply Technician (Full Performance Level) - Experience Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-06 you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-5)
• Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Removing soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing
• Inspecting packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembling basic sets and trays used throughout a medical facility including those used in the operating room
• preparing, loading, and operating sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor
• prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule
• AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following KSAs: 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 regard to instrumentation
• Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures
• 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 6
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 3 to 6
• Preferred Experience: OR Instrumentation
• Ortho/Cardiac
• Neuro/Robotics/Ophthamology, Dental Instrumentation and flexible Endoscope Reprocessing
• Physical Requirements: The incumbent usually stands and moves from one part of the room to another while performing duties
• Is frequently required to lift packages weighing 50 pounds, and regularly pushes carts weighing up to 300 pounds for distances up to 2640 feet
• Work Environment: On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment
• In both, the employee is required to wear special clothing, hair cover, mask/beard cover, full face shield and shoe covers, which can be uncomfortably warm
• While handling contaminated medical supplies, the employee also uses decontamination gloves and an impervious gown
• The area is often hot and humid
• The employee is subject to slipping on wet floors
• The employee must use padded gloves to remove carts from sterilizers and trays from the carts
• The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items, to cuts from both sterile and contaminated instruments, knife blades and needles and dermatitis from frequent contact with cleaning agents
• The employee often works around body fluids, mucus, excretions, and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling
• Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while disinfecting instruments, patient care equipment, and work surfaces
• The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts, and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment
• Use of ultrasonic equipment may require use of hearing protection.