Summary The Intermediate Care Technician is an occupational specialty especially for former military medics, medical technicians, and corpsmen. ICTs follow ACLS, BLS, and ESI protocols. ICTs operate within clearly defined clinical competencies. The clinical activities for the hospital will include but not be limited to triage, appropriate patient documentation, laboratory testing, procedures, wound care, medication administration, and assisting clinical providers with emergency medical care. Responsibilities Major Duties: Performing diagnostic tests: vital signs, EKG, Nero and vascular exams. Evaluate patients: emergent/non-emergent medical conditions, order appropriate diagnostic studies, and perform a wide range of treatment procedures (under the direction of the supervising physician) Independently recognize life-threatening situations and act to correct according to established national and facility protocols. Point of Care testing. Uncomplicated wound closure such as simple one layer lacerations, scalp lacerations, skin stapling, steristrips and dermabond. Medication administration: nebulized medications, topical, IV fluids, limited PO meds, IM injections, vaccines. Starts peripheral IVs, arterial puncture (ABG), intervenors access and EJs insertion. Venipuncture, NG tube placement, nasogastric lavage, anterior nasal packing (rapid rhino), ear irrigation (cerumen and foreign body removal), and eye irrigation. Incision & drainage of abscesses and subungal hematoma drainage. Suture/staple removal, foley catheters insertion and bladder irrigation, splinting/casting. Wound care: Wound debridement, wet to dry dressings, unna boot placement, compression dressings-forflex and profour, wound vac placement, graft application. Performance of tracheotomy care. Specimen collection and preparation: for processing including blood, tissue, urine, stoll and sputum. Other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Rotating shifts-may include nights, weekends and holidays. Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Intermediate Care Technician/PDS0031A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): not authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/05/2024. 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-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: Performs observation-based screening and collection of patient information, assists in behavioral and psychiatric situations, and operates specialized medical equipment; OR have you successfully completed graduate education or an internship that meets the specialized experience where it is directly related to the work of the position. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7(TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond one full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Diagnostic Medical Testing Emergency Care Patient Care Psychology 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:The work requires a level of physical fitness that allows for standing for extended periods, heavy lifting to position patients, and manual dexterity to perform clinical procedures. The work will require recurrent bending, lifting, stooping, standing, squatting, stretching, sitting and walking. On a regular and recurring basis, employee is exposed to infection and contagious diseases requiring the use of universal precautions. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.