Career Center

Summary

Medical Supply Technicians in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) receive contaminated critical and semi-critical reusable medical equipment (RME) in the decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment. These positions will be utilized at the Buffalo and Batavia Campuses.

Qualifications

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 VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - Section A - paragraph 3g.)English Language Proficiency: MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3j - this part
• Experience and Education: Experience
• Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's 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
• Certification
• None
• Grandfathering Provision: All MSTs that are employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title - series and grade held - that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation
• Foreign Education
• To be creditable - education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U
• S
• programs
• IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE - YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS AT THE GS-5 LEVEL TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION
• GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-06 (Full Performance Level):Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level
• This includes removing soil - blood - tissue fragments - body fluids - and other containments by wiping - soaking - rinsing - and scrubbing
• Inspecting packages for indications of proper sterilization - assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room
• Preparing - loads - and operating sterilizers such as steam - Sterrad - Steris - ETO - and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor
• preparing operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule
• AND Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (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 regards to instrumentation
• Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures
• Preferred Experience: VA - CBSPD or HSPA Certification for SPS recommended
• One year of professional work in SPS required
• Must be computer literate
• Minimum HS Diploma required
• Knowledge of medical anatomy terminology recommended
• Must be able to clean - assemble - sterilize or HLD - any surgical instrumentation for operating rooms and medical specialty clinics
• References: VA Handbook 5005/76 Part II - Appendix G47 VA Qualification Standard for Medical Supply Technician - GS-0622
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is at the GS-06
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Duties

• Duties include - but may not be limited to the following: Incumbent(s) must be well versed in the processing and distribution of supplies and equipment utilized by all areas
• Incumbent(s) perform all duties involving aseptic processing in the Processing and Decontamination Section
• This work involves preparation - storage and dispatch of medical supplies and equipment used by all patient care and treatment entities of an active General Medical & Surgical teaching hospital
• Duties are grouped according to their aseptic or clean tasks
• Work is assigned as with either contaminated - clean or aseptically clean as the latter applies to material handling of sterile items
• The incumbent(s) support the need of OR preparing instruments and complete procedure trays of utilization according to the next day's operative schedule
• Incumbent(s) must be able to identify damaged and malfunctioning instruments - reassembling multi-part or complex sets - inspecting them for gross contamination - properly placing instruments in the set according to the pick for specific tray
• Employee must understand priorities from both a time and event related perspective as this would affect the surgical patient's welfare
• This requires constant attention to all details and integration with the OR staff to effectively respond to their emergent and elective surgical needs
• The work involves the provision of sterile instrumentation to the OR - in house clinics and off-site regional VA CBOCs
• Decontamination - Incumbent(s) receive and collect all soiled RME from OR - GI and clinics
• Incumbent(s) identify - inspect for damage and systematically segregates by soaking - flushing - scrubbing - rinsing - and use of ultrasonic equipment - by use of mechanical instrument washers and by use of AERs for HLD of endo scopes
• RME can also consist of handheld instruments - delicate instruments - lumen instruments - power - batteries - cords - metal implants - and robotic instruments
• Preparation - Incumbent(s) receive from decontamination all supplies and equipment for sterilization and assembly
• Incumbent(s) must have an understanding of the relationship of microbiology to disease - know basic principles of sterilization (Steam/Low Temp H2O2) and have a thorough knowledge of and ability to apply these methods for processing supplies and equipment
• Incumbent(s) are required to assemble and position items carefully on sterilizer carrier - so the complete penetration of the sterilizing agent is possible
• Incumbent(s) select correct sterilizing method - cycles and operates sterilizer
• Incumbent(s) must watch gauges on all sterilizers and report deviations
• Incumbent(s) are responsible for checking effectiveness of the sterilizer by ensuring color changes on marker tapes and spore tests in addition to checking for excessive wetness of packages
• Responsible for identifying - labeling - dating and application of control numbers and outdated for all trays and processed equipment
• When called upon Incumbent(s) advise medical personnel on availability of supplies - possible substitutions and effective use of equipment
• Incumbent(s) are responsible for daily storage inventory and issuance of supplies and equipment to designated areas
• Responsible for inspection and examination of storage areas for outdated supplies and ensures removal for reprocessing
• Incumbent(s) must complete the SPD Level I training program over a 8 week time frame and receive a passing grade of 80% in each end of chapter test
• Incumbent will be allowed to take the den of chapter tests as many times as necessary for satisfactory completion
• Incumbent receives periodic training by videos - in services - lectures - etc
• in the use and functioning of new medical supplies - instruments - and equipment - new or improved sterilization practices - developments in microbiology - bacteriology and therapeutic practices as they affect the sterile supply operation
• Sterile Storage- Incumbent(s) use OR pick sheets to pull medical dry goods and sterile RME trays for next days' cases
• Incumbent(s) also check scopes for outdates in scope hanging cabinets
• Incumbent checks shelves and does daily QA audit of trays for exterior nonconformities possible issues
• Disassembles RME and determines the correct cleaning method - such as - but not limited to - ultrasonic cleaners - mechanical washer-disinfectors - cart washer and chemical cleaning decontamination agents - as determined by manufacturer instructions
• Inspects - assembles and determines the correct method and packaging for sterilization - such as - but not limited to steam - low temperature - and high-level disinfecting (HLD) endo scope re-processors
• (AER's)
• Performs and documents daily operational checks and records for all processes and equipment
• Work Schedule: Full-Time - Monday - Friday 3pm - 11:30pm Position Description/PD#: Medical Supply Tech (Sterile Processing)/PD21N87ARelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized