Surgical Technician

Summary

This position is located in the Surgical Service at the William S. Middleton VAMC Madison, Wisconsin (a complexity level 1b facility). Grades 4-6 are developmental in which the incumbent is assigned duties and responsibilities with the intent of preparing the incumbent to eventually fulfill the position of Surgical Technician, GS-0640-7. Unless found qualified at the GS-07, the incumbent will perform functions assigned in the target position, but at a lesser difficulty and complexity.

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Duties

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MAJOR DUTIES:

• Primary role in Procedural Support: Acts as the primary scrub person for a full range of highly complex surgical procedures across multiple specialties, including but not limited to: General Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic and Total Joint Surgery, Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Microsurgery, Ophthalmology, ENT/Otolaryngology, Urology, Plastic Surgery, Oral Surgery, Podiatric Surgery, and Endovascular surgery.
• Prepares, organizes and maintains highly complex sterile fields specific to each surgical specialty and procedure, using comprehensive understanding of surgical anatomy, technique, and workflow.
• Independently selects and arranges all required instruments, sutures, supplies, sponges, medications, suture and hemostatic agents, and complex equipment-such as power tools, fiber-optic devices, laparoscopic towers, surgical robots, cameras, microscopes, lasers, navigation systems, ultrasound devices, disposable and non-disposable instrumentation, and specialty implants/devices.
• Scrubs, gowns, and gloves him/herself and team members, ensuring adherence to strict aseptic and sterile technique at all times.
• Passes instruments, sponges, sharps, suture, and specialty devices with speed, accuracy, and anticipation developed through deep procedural knowledge and close communication with the surgeon.
• Prepares and assists with administration of local anesthetics, irrigations fluids, saline solutions, medications, and other agents as required by the operative procedure.
• Anticipates emergent and routine needs of the surgical team, suggesting alternative instruments or supplies and modifying procedural plans in response to unforeseen intraoperative events based on advanced knowledge and critical thinking
• Preoperative Preparation: Initiates case preparation by reviewing the patient chart, verifying patient identity, procedure site, and surgeon's preference card, and ensuring all required items are available and ready.
• Inspects all instruments and equipment for function, cleanliness, and integrity, verifies that all tools are free from defect and contamination, and troubleshoots or requests repair/replacement as needed.
• Sets up the sterile back table, Mayo stand, and ancillary equipment with precise arrangement as dictated by the procedure, ensuring all required surgical tools and supplies are immediately accessible and properly organized.
• Performs and documents initial counts of instruments, sharps, sponges, and miscellaneous items with the circulating nurse prior to the start of the case.
• Assists with OR suite setup (bed, lights, monitors, warming devices), applying engineering controls for patient and staff safety.
• Assists in patient admission to the OR, participates in time-out/patient verifications procedures, dons PPE, assists team members with gowning and gloving, and helps with proper patient positioning, prepping, and draping to optimize exposure and prevent injury, using anatomical landmarks and pressure-relief techniques.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 6:45am-3:15pm including on call duties which includes holidays, nights and weekends.

Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician/ PD25300A, PD25301A, PD25302A, and PD25303A

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.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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 or 2-year trial 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, 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 by the closing date of this announcement, 07/13/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

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

• GS-0640-04 Specialized Experience: Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 6 months of specialized experience which includes - Communication and interpersonal relations, including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. - Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print. - The medical center performance improvement program. - How to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. - Age-specific/population-specific care as identified in the Age-Specific/Population-Specific Competencies (see Competencies Checklist), including knowledge of changes associated with aging and principles of growth and development relevant to the adult and geriatric age groups; ability to assess and interpret data about the patient's status; and ability to identify age/population, specific needs and provide the appropriate care based upon the age/population- specific factors noted.

OR

• GS-0640-04 Education: 2 Years above high school with courses related to the occupation

OR

• GS-0640-04 Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education such as 6 months of specialized experience and 1 year of above high-school education in courses related to the field.

• GS-0640-05Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: - Communication and interpersonal relations, including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. - Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print. - The medical center performance improvement program. - How to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. - Age-specific/population-specific care as identified in the Age-Specific/Population-Specific Competencies (see Competencies Checklist), including knowledge of changes associated with aging and principles of growth and development relevant to the adult and geriatric age groups; ability to assess and interpret data about the patient's status; and ability to identify age/population, specific needs and provide the appropriate care based upon the age/population- specific factors noted.

OR

• GS-0640-05 Education: 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation.

OR

• GS-640-05 Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education such as 1 year of specialized experience with 3 years of course study in above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation.

Or

• GS-0640-06Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization which includes - Communication and interpersonal relations, including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. - Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print. - The medical center performance improvement program. - How to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. - Age-specific/population-specific care as identified in the Age-Specific/Population-Specific Competencies (see Competencies Checklist), including knowledge of changes associated with aging and principles of growth and development relevant to the adult and geriatric age groups; ability to assess and interpret data about the patient's status; and ability to identify age/population, specific needs and provide the appropriate care based upon the age/population- specific factors noted.

Or

• GS-0640-06 Education: Graduate or internship directly related to the work of the position.

• GS-0640-07Specialized 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 which includes - Communication and interpersonal relations, including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. - Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print. - The medical center performance improvement program. - How to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. - Age-specific/population-specific care as identified in the Age-Specific/Population-Specific Competencies (see Competencies Checklist), including knowledge of changes associated with aging and principles of growth and development relevant to the adult and geriatric age groups; ability to assess and interpret data about the patient's status; and ability to identify age/population, specific needs and provide the appropriate care based upon the age/population- specific factors noted.

Or

• GS-0640-07 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate education in a related field.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond such as 1 full year of graduate education combined with 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

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.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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.

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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.