This position is located in the Veterans Administration (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Salisbury VA Medical Center within the Patient Care Service. The Surgical Technician is a member of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupational Requirement: 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. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement, you must meet the following to qualify at the GS-07 level. Specialized Experience GS-07 - One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: experience as a first responder to emergent situations, experience with extracting, assisting, moving , lifting, transferring and transporting patients, experience in obtaining and documenting patient's vital signs, experience in recognizing emergency situations and episodes of patient deterioration and responding appropriately, experience in utilizing S-BAR format to verbally report and/or document, and experience in venipuncture and collection of specimens. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education: One (1) full year of graduate education related to the field to meet the requirements for the GS-7 level. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. NOTE: A transcript (unofficial or official) must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Applications submitted without this information will not be considered. OR, Combination: One (1) full year of graduate education related to the field to meet the requirements for the GS-7 level. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. NOTE: A transcript (unofficial or official) must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Applications submitted without this information will not be considered. 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. Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are at various stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching, and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons with compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effort from the surgeon. ["Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as air-powered equipment, fiber optic equipment, laparoscopic equipment, microscopes, lasers, arthroscopy equipment, urologic equipment, recording devices, and other operating room supplies and equipment Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure Prepares, organizes and maintains complex sterile surgical set-ups Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedures and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time Utilizes universal precautions and follows all infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies and equipment Assists the team members with care of patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies Assists the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts and suctioning Prepares prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures Assists in training PA students and new operating room staff in the operation of equipment. sterile technique, handling of instruments, and OR procedures to include the scrub role in surgical procedures Functions as second circulator for complex surgical procedures Maintains equipment performing non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions Maintains OR area. Assesses equipment needs and maintains adequate stock of supplies and materials Recognizes potentially hazardous situations (e.g., frayed cords, water on floor) and takes corrective action Provides guidance and support to Nursing Assistants and other Surgical Technicians Monitors volunteers, aides, non-surgical team members, students, and other personnel Assists surgical team members in quality improvement activities Updates personal knowledge regarding current trends in surgical technology through continuing education courses Work Schedule: 7:00 am - 3:30 pm\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]