Intermediate Care Technician

Summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Intermediate Care Technician (ICT) Program is a program designed to hire transitioning service, National Guard, Reserve, and Veteran corpsmen, combat medics and medical technicians into positions at VA Medical Centers as an integral part of the medical team. Candidates generally qualify based on U.S. Armed Forces experience or equivalent education.

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Duties

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The Intermediate Care Technician (ICT) 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 The Intermediate Care Technician is an occupational specialty, especially for former military combat medics, medical technicians, and corpsmen.

• Performs observation-based screening and collection of patient information in collaboration with licensed personnel.
• Assists licensed personnel with the delivery of care to patients with complex and specialized care needs.
• Completes approved templates and tools, such as normal result notes and follow up treatment protocols established by the agency.
• Administors medication Exp: intramuscular, oral, topical, eye drops, ear drops, intranasal, rectal suppositories, local anesthetics, nebulized medications, subcutaneous, and intradermal.
• 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.
• Collects a wide range of specimens and preparing them for transfer to process.
• Performs Vital Signs and Point of Care Testing.
• Thoroughly and appropriately documents actions, interventions and procedures in the medical record.
• Provides patient education within scope of care or while providing an intervention.
• Performs 12-lead electrocardiograms.
• Recognizes 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.
• Assists with patient exams, structured interviews and screenings.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level (GS-07) 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: intermittent

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Intermediate Care Technician / PD99362S, PD99363S, and PD99968S

Position Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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 identification 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 by the closing date of this announcement, 08/25/2026.

English Language 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.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

• Specialized Experience: 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. OR,
• Education and Training: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position.(Transcripts Required)

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

GS-5

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to:
  • Assisting licensed staff with preparing patients for medical evaluation.
  • Performing Vital Signs.
  • Recognizing life threatening situations. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. (Transcripts Required) OR,
• Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. (Transcripts Required)

GS-6:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Assisting licensed staff with preparing patients for medical evaluation.
  • Performing Vital Signs.
  • Recognizing life threatening situations.
  • Administering medicine,
  • Assisting with patient exams.
  • Performing 12-lead electrocardiograms.

GS-7:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  
  
  • Preparing patients for medical evaluation.
  • Performing Vital Signs.
  • Recognizing life threatening situations.
  • Administering medicine.
  • Assisting with patient exams.
  • Performing 12-lead electrocardiograms.
  • Operating specialized medical equipment.
  • Providing patient education.
  • Collecting and labeling specimens. 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 of graduate education. 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. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 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. (Transcripts Required)
• Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate school education and experience are also qualifying. Education must be directly related to the work of the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (Transcripts Required)

Preferred Experience: Primary Care experience, Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) experience and Cerner Millennium experience. Experience in the military as a Hospital Corpsman, Combat Medic, Medical Technician is highly desired.

Examples of military occupational specialties highly desired, include but are not limited to: 4NOX- Basic Medical Technician, 4NOIC- Independent Duty Medical Technician, X4NO- Aeromedical Evacuation Technician, 1T2X1- Pararescueman, 68W- Combat Medic Specialist, 18D- Army Special Forces (Medic), 68WW1- Special Operations Flight Medic, HM0000- Basic Hospital Corpsman, HM8404- Field Medical Service Technician, HM8425- Surface Force Independent Duty Corpsman, HM8402- Submarine Force Independent Duty Corpsman, HM8401- Search and Rescue Medical Technician, HM8403- Fleet Marine Force Reconnaissance Independent Duty Corpsman, HM8406- Aerospace Medical Technician, and HS- Basic Health Services Technician.

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.