This position is located within the Sterile Processing Service in the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System. Sterile Processing covers five locations including, Gainesville Medical Center, Lake City Medical Center, Jacksonville Outpatient Center (JOPC), Tallahassee Health Care Center (THCC), and the Villages Outpatient Center (TVOPC).
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 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 VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, Experience and/or 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. 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 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. Lead Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) - GS-7 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-6) level. (Examples of experience include: Receives contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in the decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment in the decontamination area as well. Disassembles the RME and determines the correct cleaning method, such as but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washers 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, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and high level disinfecting scope re-processors. Performs and documents daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment.) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to instruct staff on the correct procedures and protocols for completing assignments. Skill in communicating with staff to ensure compliance with written directives, rules and regulations. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers. Knowledge of sterility principles in order to instruct staff on decontamination procedures. Ability to lead individuals, manage priorities, and schedule work assignments. Reference. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements. This position may require shift work and/or rotation of tour assignments. Routinely requires heavy lifting (>45 lbs.), heavy carrying (>45 lbs.), straight pulling and pushing, walking, standing, kneeling, and/or repeated bending up to 8 hrs., both legs required, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20, depth perception, ability to distinguish colors, ability to distinguish shades of colors, hearing aid permitted, and ability to operate transportation equipment. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, Blood Borne Pathogens, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment. This position may incur occasional travel away from the duty station to support other locations within the NF/SG system to transport soiled and sterile instruments following policy and procedures or during periods of required coverage. In addition, this position may be selected to attend VHA sponsored educational training or certification courses. Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid Florida and Federal Driver License to operate a government vehicle.
The Lead MST works in support of the Sterile Processing Service (SPS) management team. Duties and functions include but are not limited to the following: Has expert knowledge of all areas with Sterile Processing to include: decontamination, preparation and assembly, sterilization, endoscope reprocessing, sterile storage and distribution. Demonstrates ability to work in all these areas efficiently as needed. Serves as a service expert on basic and specialty instrumentation though knowledge or use of available resources to accurately assemble basic and complex surgical trays. Distributes and prioritizes workload among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specializations. Assures an even workflow and distribution of the workload. Ensures scanning of instruments/scopes/probes as required in all steps of the cleaning/sterilization process to ensure accurate tracking of item through the entire process and accurate capture of workload. Revises work schedules to meet anticipated and unanticipated changes in the workload. Assigns work to staff based on experience and training needs. Monitors and reports on the status of work. Ensures SOPs, Policies, and SPS mandates are followed during the performance of workflow. Reviews work in progress or spot checks work not requiring review to ensure completed work meets supervisors' instructions on such things as work sequence, procedures, methods, and deadlines. Assesses the quality and quantity of work by reviewing the cleaning, reprocessing, and distribution of technical medical equipment, material and instrumentation. Ensures service maintains a clean clutter free work environment including but not limited to appropriate par levels, replacing loose instrumentation in appropriate storage locations, scanning trays following policy and procedures to appropriate storage location and putting trays in correct location. Provides information to management officials concerning performance issues, assignment changes, task completion, and competency review. Provides customer service by fielding requests from end-users. Consistently demonstrates effective customer service by interacting with co-workers, staff, patients, visitors, students, and volunteers in a courteous and professional manner. Trouble shoots and analyzes mechanical failures and makes necessary adjustments to complex decontamination and sterilization equipment, as well as interprets alarm conditions which may occur while operating the equipment. Performs and/or oversees maintenance per manufacturer's guidelines on all equipment used in scope processing, decontamination, and sterile processing. Instructs employees on work-related activities, policies, procedures and goals. Utilizes advanced functions of instrument tracking system to manage RME throughout the facility. Provides guidance and training to staff members with less experience. Participates in and oversees a quality assurance program to ensure appropriate and safe reprocessing is being performed as evidence by documenting: sterilizer recording charts, digital printouts, biologicals and Bowie Dick test results, high level disinfectant records, and other associated quality assurance documentation. Assists in document control, meeting the mandate of storing QA documentation for 3 years. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; 11:00am - 7:30pm; 3:00pm - 11:30pm; 7:00pm - 3:30 am; Travel: Required up to 25% of the time; Valid Driver's License required Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 50696F