Health Technician

Summary

The New Mexico VA Healthcare System is recruiting for a Health Technician (HT) located in the Behavioral Health Care Line (BHCL) Outpatient Clinics. The purpose of the position is to provide medical - psychiatric - and administrative support assistance in the Outpatient Mental Health (OMH) - Psychiatry Primary Care (PPC) - Neuromodulation Clinic (NMC) - and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) clinics by performing technical and administrative tasks with the goal of providing excellent care for Veterans.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. This position has an Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR). You must meet the following: Possess technician experience that requires application of knowledge - methods - and techniques of the position to be filled. (This position is part of the series that ranges widely in type and includes support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists - speech pathologists - medical officers - and optometrists.) In addition to meeting the IOR above - you must meet the experience as described below:GS-06: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: setting up equipment for procedures; performing personal patient care; and utilizing an automated system to enter and retrieve patient data. 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.

Duties

• Duties include but not limited to: Provide quality nursing care to a variety of patients whose age may range from 17 years to 100+ years
• Communicate effectively with others in all aspects of their duties - working cooperatively as a team member
• Interacts with patients - visitors - staff - students - and volunteers in a courteous - helpful - cooperative - and compassionate manner
• Adapts his/her care to meet the emotional and physical needs of the patients
• Maintain a serene atmosphere in the clinic and waiting area by treating patients with respect and dignity and utilizing a calm manner in approaching agitated patient
• Notify health care professionals when changes are noted in a patient's usual demeanor or if his/her behavior has changed significantly from previous visits
• Respond and assist in the management of patients who lose control of behavior and/or become harmful to self and others by utilizing measures as directed by the health care professional and use of de-escalation skills
• Provide for physical and emotional needs of patient requiring 1:1 observation while undergoing procedures or awaiting admission to the hospital
• Receive written and verbal requests from health care professionals and provides assistance for a variety of difficult examinations and/or procedures that include - but are not limited to - 12-lead EKGs
• Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI)
• bladder ultrasounds
• pulmonary functions (PFT)
• venipuncture for specimen collection - phlebotomy - and/or IV access
• wound care/dressing changes
• monofilament foot exam
• insert indwelling/external catheters
• etc
• Accurately measures intake and output
• Operate and maintain medical instruments and equipment for diagnostic and treatment procedures such as Point of Care Testing (POCT) - EKG machines - CBG monitors - Breathalyzers - Nebulizer machines - ABI dopplers - bladder scans - spirometers - vital signs monitors - etc
• Incumbent facilitates repair or replacement of any malfunctioning or broken equipment or instruments.ms sterile - non-sterile and medicated dressing changes
• Perform direct patient support to include gathering information from patients - providing personal patient care and patient education on home use of medical equipment such as glucometers - blood pressure monitors - peak flow meters - etc
• Assist Veterans with scheduling appointments - entering requests for labs - x-rays into CPRS GUI - entering consult requests for specialty services within Behavioral Health - assisting Veterans with scheduling appointments in ancillary/specialty services
• Provide training to new staff regarding procedures - instruments - or equipment used in this clinic
• Responds appropriately to emergency situations such as cardiopulmonary failure - hemorrhaging - and shock by assisting in the performance of resuscitation measures (CPR)
• Observe and provide for a safe environment for patients and others through monitoring - reporting and taking protective precautions with any hazards once they are observed
• Provides for safety through use of asepsis (Universal Precautions) and isolation of patients when needed
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday
• 8:00am-4:30pm

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.