Summary The Surgical Technician provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures within Patient Care Services at the Salisbury VA Medical Center, Veterans Health Administration, Mid Atlantic Healthcare Network (VISN 6), Salisbury, NC. Responsibilities The Surgical Technician participates with surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the Surgeon and Registered Nurse (RN). The Surgical Technician performs the following major duties: Functions as a scrub person responsible for handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures such as: open hear, thoracic, major vascular, neurosurgery, microsurgery, and total joint replacement surgery. Assists the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractor, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures. Prepares prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures. Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment. Sets 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. Assists the team members with care of patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies. 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 complex sterile surgical set-ups. Handles all specimens appropriately. Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedures and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time. Performs sponge and instrument counts to verify accuracy. Responsible for the accountability for all surgical instruments and equipment during the surgical procedure. Recognizes potentially hazardous situations (e.g., frayed cords, water on floor) and take corrective action. Performs other related duties as assigned in the position description. Work Schedule: Full time, Days, 8 to10 hour tours of duty based on needs of agency Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD01309A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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, 10/15/2024. 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: Handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during all surgical procedures such as: open hear, thoracic, major vascular, neurosurgery, microsurgery, and total joint replacement surgery; assisting surgeons by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractor, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures; utilizing universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies, and equipment; 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; other related duties performed by a Surgical Technician. 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 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. (Transcripts Required) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Applies Technology to Tasks Attention to Detail Infection Control Listening Patient Care Stress Tolerance Technical Competence 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 will require recurrent bending, lifting, stooping, standing, squatting, stretching, sitting, and walking. Generally, the work requires recurring physical exertion with assisting patients. Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are at various 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 with 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/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged non-compliance to VA at vacofairchanceact@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following: Administration name: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known). Date of contact. Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint. Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) for more information.