Intermediate Care Technician

Summary
This position serves as an advance technician for outpatient care settings such as; primary care, mental health, and specialty clinics. As an ICT Generalist the incumbent may serve in a medical center, community-based outpatient clinic (cboc), mobile medical unit or may have virtual/remote assignments.

Duties

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Major Duties include but are not limited to:

• Performs observation-based screening and collecting patient information in collaboration with licensed personnel. This may involve completing clinical reminders, obtaining patient health history, chief complaints, medication history, and identification of health-related conditions that may impact the patient's health status.
• Completes approved templates and tools, such as the outpatient intake form, normal result notes, and follow up treatment protocols established by the agency.
• Assists in behavioral/psychiatric situations in an outpatient setting. This can include assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention, management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients, by providing one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques (PMDB).
• Performs duties focused on communication techniques required to complete the questioners and templates approved for use in any outpatient clinical setting, including active listening, restating, and mirroring.
• Maintains a safe and therapeutic environment for the patient while promoting a sense of worth and dignity under the supervision of the licensed personnel.
• Assists outpatient licensed staff with the delivery of care to patients with complex, specialized, and potentially life-threatening situations.
• Assists licensed staff with preparing patients for medical evaluation, setting up equipment, passing instruments and providing treatment during in person or virtual visits.
• Operates specialized medical equipment to obtain diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes.
• Responsible for collecting a wide range of specimens and preparing them for transfer to processing.
• Observes patient status and keeps licensed clinical staff informed of any change in condition.
• Possess the knowledge to recognize life threatening situations and act to correct these emergent situations according to established national or local protocols.
• Initiates cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BLS) and use of automatic external defibrillator (AED) once certified and where appropriate according to American Heart Association (AHA) protocols and policies.
• Observes patient status and keeps licensed personnel informed of any change in condition.
• Vital signs. Examples: vital signs, 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG).
• Point-of-care (POC). Examples: Abbott hand-held blood analyzer (I-STAT), glucometer.
• Equipment and surgical instrumentation set up . Examples: skin biopsies (excisional, shave, punch).
• Treatments and interventions. Examples: Cryotherapy, incision and drainage, ambulation, and Foley coude' catheter insertion.
• Wound care. Examples: bandaging, application of dressings and wound measurements.
• Specimen collection and Preparation. Examples: collecting and labeling venous blood samples and mucous specimens.
• Assisting with patient exams and screening. Examples: gynecology exams.
• Mental health care. Examples: Crisis intervention, performs behavioral/mental health screens, conducts interviews, and observes behavioral patients.
• Preparation of lab specimens and transfer to the lab for processing: Examples: Labeling, placing in the proper bin or tube system.
• Assisting with patient exams and screening, utilizing technology such as telehealth peripherals. Examples: primary care physical exams (heart, eye, ear, nose, throat (EENT); gait exams, and skin exams.
• Patient education within scope of care or while providing an intervention. Examples: post-procedural care, splint care and wound care.
• Follow-up care: Examples: Suture removal. - Electronic Health Record (EHR): Thoroughly and appropriately documents actions, interventions and procedures in the medical record. Examples: Procedural notes, progress notes, screenings, photo-documentation and secure messaging.

Work Schedule:
Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm (PST)

Virtual:
This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Intermediate Care Technician/
PD99968A

*Physical Requirements:*
The work involves extended periods of bending, standing and walking. Generally, the work requires recurring physical exertion with assisting patients.

Work Environment:
On a regular and recurring basis, employee is exposed to infection, exposure to communicable diseases and contagious diseases. The incumbent's assignment requires him/her to comply with special safety and health precautions by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) according to universal precautions.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements:
  The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications
To qualify for this position,
applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 10/10/2025.

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. Please ensure your resume/application supports the response that you select.

English 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 Individual Occupational Requirement and English Proficiency, applicants must also meet the grade specific requirements listed below:
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-7:
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performing ongoing patient care duties in an outpatient clinical setting; performing observation-based screening and collecting patient information; assisting with preparing patients for medical evaluation, setting up equipment and providing treatment during in-person or virtual visits; providing assistance to Staff Nurse, Nurse Manager, and laboratory support.

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. OR,
- Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one full year (18 Semester Hours) of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position such as phlebotomy, nursing, or other related subjects. This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.

NOTE:
Transcripts required. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

*Preferred Experience:*
One or more years of Primary Care / Outpatient Clinic experience.

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.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

*Note:*
Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests:
If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
(ICTAP) and
Career Transition Assistance Plan
(CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be
well-qualified
: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.