Health Technician

Description:

This position is under the VISN 20 Prosthetics & Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) and will be located within the Orthotics and Prosthetics Central Fabrication Laboratory. The Duty station will be at the Vancouver campus of the Portland VAMC.

This is an open-continuous announcement. Positions will be filled as they become available. The first cut-off date to consider applications for referral to the selecting official will be February 13, 2024, the remaining cut-off dates will be at 2-week intervals

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet time in grade requirements and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 05/01/2024.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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.

Per the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), there is an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.

Selective Placement Factor (SPF): The Selective Placement Factor (SPF) is a prerequisite to appointment and represents a minimum requirement for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. You must have a ABC or BOC certification as a Prosthetic/Orthotic Technician.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of a body of standardized orthotic/prosthetic patient care and specialized skill sufficient to perform all levels of O&P device fabrication. Read and understand prescriptions and review physical assessment data provided by practitioner to determine technical requirements for the orthosis/prosthesis. Fabricate, adjust, and repair custom prosthetic and orthotic devices. Select materials that are appropriate for patient diagnosis and evaluate the final product against the specifications of the prescription. Follow guidelines and assess devices for structural safety. Maintain inventory of fabrication supply levels. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. In addition to meeting the English language proficiency, the below specialized experience and/or education must be met in order to qualify for this position.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Applies Technology to Tasks Mechanical Quality Assurance

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: Duties require extensive periods of standing and walking. Duties require regular and recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, pushing, reaching, carrying supplies and similar activities. Duties require working with machinery including grinders, ovens, drill presses, and other machinery necessary to fabricate custom limbs and braces. Duties require incumbent to be able to lift. Occasionally it may be necessary to lift supplies and objects weighing as much as 50 pounds. Requires use of proper body mechanics. Incumbent must be able to work in stressful situations. S/he must be able to maintain tight deadlines to get Veterans equipment in a fast, efficient manner.

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/.