Job Summary

Northern Arizona VA Health Care System is seeking an experienced Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) - Assistant Chief to help lead our Sterile Processing Service (SPS). This role oversees decontamination and sterilization of critical RME, ensures regulatory compliance, guides staff training, supports budget planning, and requires HT38 SPS experience. The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. Refer to Required Documents below.

Job Description

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/or Education. Experience (must be clearly annotated on your resume): Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; or Education(Transcript must be submitted with application). 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. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Employees grandfathered into the GS-622 occupational series as MSTs may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation. MSTs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. MSTs who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to 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. 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). GS-09 Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)-Assistant Chief Grade Determination: Experience (must be clearly annotated on your resume): One year of Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08) Examples of experience include but are not limited to: Oversee and supervise all aspects of decontamination, preparation, sterilization, monitoring, and distribution of RME. Perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues. Oversees attendance and leave, including approval of sick and annual leave and vacation schedules. Knowledge of sterility principles in order to instruct staff on decontamination procedures. Assesses the quality and quantity of work by reviewing the cleaning, reprocessing, and distribution of scope medical equipment, material and instrumentation. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs must be clearly annotated on your resume): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to plan and project staffing needs and requirements. Ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds. Ability to manage, direct and adapt work to accomplish program goals and objectives, and meet new and changing program requirements. Ability to develop and recommend new or revised policies that are consistent with organizational goals and objectives. Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues. Ability to evaluate new products and equipment, develop options, and make recommendations. Ability to manage, interpret, and present fiscal data (i.e. fund controls, contracts and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs and administer an allocated budget. Preferred Experience: The ideal candidate would have supervisory experience including writing evaluations/appraisals in a surgical, clinical, and/or sterile processing environment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: This work involves both administrative and physical demands and is performed in various settings: decontamination, scope reprocessing, preparation, clean sterile supply, and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility and campus including clinical / administrative office spaces. The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lit. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, needle sticks, and other injuries from handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of sterile products and packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. 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 and shoe covers, and personal protective equipment (PPE) 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 gases are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, 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.