Job Summary

The incumbent serves as a Supervisory Histopathology Technician at the South Texas Veterans Healthcare System in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Services. The Histopathology Supervisor has full supervisory responsibility for the routine histology laboratory, gross and frozen section areas in Anatomic Pathology Service, which includes responsibility for assignment of work performed, performance evaluations, recommendations for appointments, awards, and advancement and disciplinary actions.

Job Description

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: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Experience and Education: Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) or health technician. OR, Education: (a) Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation such as biological science or chemistry; (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) or (b) Successful completion of two academic years of study above high school that included at least 24 semester hours in Chemistry and/or in appropriate fields of biological science and successful completion of a 12-month program of education and training in histopathology or cytotechnology. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR, Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as biological science, surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or histopathology technicians given by the U.S. Armed Forces. (CERTIFICATE REQUIRED) Certification. None Grandfathering Provision. 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). Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Histopathology Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5.a., this part. 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-09 Supervisory Histopathology Technician Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, at the GS-9 level, selectee must have one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08). Assignment. Employees in this assignment perform the full range of supervisory duties for the anatomic pathology laboratory, including responsibility for assignment of work performed; performance evaluations; recommendations for appointment, awards, advancement and disciplinary actions; identification of continuing education and training needs. The individual ensures compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements; establishes and monitors the quality of the pre-analytical processes as part of the overall laboratory quality management program and initiates corrective action. This individual develops policies and procedures, manage document control, develops performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements. The incumbent is responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area, to include budget execution, orientation and competency assessment of assigned staff. The Supervisory Histopathology Technician maintains effective interdepartmental relations with other services in order to accomplish medical center goals. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. And Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following ALL KSAs in their resume: Expert knowledge of Federal and state laws, regulations, and accrediting /regulatory requirements to develop policies and procedures for the laboratory. Expert knowledge of laboratory quality management procedures and principles sufficient to establish and monitor a laboratory quality management program and/or education and training of laboratory staff.(c) Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills including skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution in order to deal with employees, team leaders and managers. Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties which includes responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, recommendation of awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions. Ability to plan, organize, set short and/or long-term goals and conduct studies on technical and administrative problems, including personnel shortages, organizational structure, new technology. Expert knowledge of concepts, principles and methods of laboratory technology and operations. Preferred Experience: Four years of specialized experience grossing surgical pathology specimens. 10 years of experience as a histopathology technician or histotechnologist. Experience assisting in intra-operative consultations. Experience developing and revising of standard operating procedures. Specialized experience includes examining and processing pathology specimens including fixation, microtomy, gross examination, orientation, gross sample photographing, and radiography. Experience overseeing gross room and frozen sections and adhering to facility and regulatory safety, quality control, and privacy regulations. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09. Physical Requirements: Heavy lifting, 45 pounds and over; Both hands required; Pushing; Use of fingers; Both hand required; Standing; 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; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Hearing (aid permitted); Good distance vision in 1 eye; Excessive noise, intermittent; Slippery or uneven walking surfaces; Working around machinery with moving parts; Working alone; Protracted or irregular hours of work; Emotional/Mental Stability; Chemical and biological agent exposure.