This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. 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: Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.) English Language Proficiency. MTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. Education and/or Experience Combination: (1) A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in medical laboratory science, medical technology, clinical laboratory science or in a related science (e.g., laboratory sciences such as chemistry, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, immunology, etc.). AND completion of a medical technology clinical practice program. Clinical practice programs completed after 1974 must have been accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP, formerly CAHEA), or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). The professional curriculum may have consisted of a post-baccalaureate certificate program or be integrated into a four- year program of study that culminated in a baccalaureate degree. OR (2) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND two years of post-certification clinical laboratory experience (e.g., blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, clinical microscopy, etc.) within the last ten years as a certified Medical Laboratory Technician by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry (ASCPBOR) or American Medical Technologists (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. OR (3) A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND five years of clinical laboratory experience within the last ten years performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational and/or experience requirements if the degree is found to be equivalent to degree programs recognized by the NAACLS or clinical laboratory experience as described in paragraphs above. This finding may be based on either of the following: (1) A letter from a college or university with a baccalaureate program recognized by the NAACLS stating that the individual's foreign degree has been evaluated and been found to be equivalent to its bachelor of medical technology degree. (2) A letter from ASCP-BOC or AMT stating that the individual is eligible for the certification examination. Certification. Candidates must have either (1) or (2) below: (1) Candidates must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT. (2) For positions up to the full performance level, candidates must currently possess the categorical or specialist technologist level certification from the certification agencies listed above, such as, but not limited to, chemistry (C/SC), hematology (H/SH), microbiology (M/SM), molecular biology (MB/SMB) and blood bank (BB/SBB). Technologists with categorical or specialist certifications may only perform duties within the area of the laboratory specific to their categorical certification (e. g., an individual with a chemistry (C) certification can only perform duties in chemistry). 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-11 (a) Experience. Must have 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the full performance level (GS-9), which is directly related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience includes carrying out the day-to-day operations in the laboratory including routine testing, quality control, routine maintenance of instrumentation and troubleshooting. Developing, performing, evaluating, interpreting, correlating, and validating the accuracy of laboratory procedures and results ensuring all laboratory regulatory requirements are met. The work performed is in a variety of laboratory disciplines, such as chemistry, microbiology, immunology, hematology, and immunohematology. -OR- (b)Education. Must have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in medical technology or a directly related field. In addition to the education or experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Advanced knowledge and understanding of concepts, principles, methodology of medical laboratory technology, regulatory and accrediting agency requirements, medicolegal requirements and pertinent statistics sufficient to perform complex diagnostic tests. (b) Skill to apply new scientific/technical developments and theories to laboratory testing. (c) Advanced knowledge of instructional techniques to instruct newly hired technologists and clinical pathology residents in proper performance of tests and applications of the laboratory procedures. (d) Ability to develop procedures for new tests and modify existing procedures and methods in order to resolve problems relative to complex and difficult situations. (e) Advanced knowledge of a particular discipline or function with wide latitude for exercising sound independent judgment. Preferred Experience: Minimum of 5 years Microbiology experience. Familiarity in Bacteriology, Serology, Mycology, Mycobacteriology, Parasitology and Molecular Microbiology. Experience with regulatory agencies. Experience with competency assessments and proficiency testing programs. Experience with new instrumentation implementation and validation. Experience with review of technical work. Preferred Microbiology Specialty Certification Reference: VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix G24 Medical Technologist Qualification Standard GS-644 Series. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds; Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds; Straight pulling (0.5 hours); Pushing (0.5 hours); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (4 hours); Standing (4 hours); Repeated bending (0.25 hours); Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; Both eyes required; Depth perception; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Ability to distinguish shades of colors; Hearing (aid may be permitted); Use of fingers (8 hours); Mental & Emotional Stability; Sitting (4 hours). ["Medical Technologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Medical-Technologist-Career-Flyer.pdf You will serve as a Technical Specialist with SM Certification in Microbiology, providing expert authoritative advice and consultation for more markedly difficult, complex, unique and/or emerging Microbiology tests requiring special technical knowledge. You will advise all organizational levels on various aspects of specialized testing, including appropriateness that takes into consideration clinical context. Advise on alternate testing to overcome ambiguities in the clinical diagnosis. Analyze emerging trends and technology and adopt appropriate methods and testing. Apply policies, precedents, regulatory, licensing and accrediting agency requirements to establish, monitor and maintain the specialized testing. Demonstrate a superior level of technical proficiency and problem-solving ability in all disciplines of Microbiology (Bacteriology, Mycobacteriology, Mycology, Serology, and Molecular Biology.) Expertise in advanced and specialized serological and molecular testing used in the diagnosis of infectious diseases; Skill in manual, automated, and molecular methods used for microorganism identification; Skill in antimicrobial susceptibility testing, resistance mechanisms, breakpoints, and interpretation of results using CLSI documents; Investigation and confirmation of unusual or emergent resistance patterns of microorganisms; Use of specialized fluorescent microscopy procedures to aid in the identification of fungi and the detection of mycobacteria; Identification of fungi based on morphological characteristics; Identification of mycobacteria using molecular and biochemical methods; Requirement and use of quality control and quality assurance measures to verify accuracy of results; Supervision, management, and/or teaching of Clinical Laboratory Scientists students, clinical pathology residents, Infectious diseases fellows; Collaborating with Infectious Diseases staff, Pharmacy staff, and medical staff in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN17EDRP2@VA.GOV, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000/Medical Technologist (Technical Specialist-Microbiology) Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized"]

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