Summary Join the Indian Health Service as a Medical Technician (Laboratory Support) and make an impact! Use your laboratory skills to deliver accurate,
life-saving results that support quality patient care in American Indian communities. Enjoy competitive benefits, professional growth, and a
mission-driven career that truly matters. Apply today!
A REAL ID will be required beginning May 7, 2025, in accordance with 6 C.F.R. 37.5 (2021). Learn more about this agency Duties Help
- Perform laboratory testing - Conduct clinical laboratory tests in chemistry, hematology, microbiology, urinalysis, immunology, serology, and blood banking, including adapting procedures for unusual specimens or situations.
- Evaluate test results - Recognize normal and abnormal findings and troubleshoot or repeat procedures to ensure accurate laboratory results.
- Operate laboratory equipment - Operate, calibrate, troubleshoot, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment; prepare reagents, stains, and culture media; and monitor quality control activities.
- Collect and process specimens - Collect and process patient specimens, evaluate specimen acceptability, accession and track specimens in laboratory systems, and prepare specimens for referral testing.
- Support quality and compliance - Validate and document laboratory results, communicate laboratory information to healthcare providers, and support quality assurance and accreditation activities in compliance with CAP, CLIA, and safety requirements.
Requirements Help
Conditions of employment Selectee may be subject to a probationary period
ESEP appointees typically serve a two year trial period
U.S. Citizenship is required
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
This is a designated position covered by Public Law 101-630, requiring contact or control over Indian children. Due to this requirement, the agency must ensure that persons hired for these positions have not been found guilty of or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty to certain crimes.
On-call hours or standby duty may be required. Position may be subject to rotating shifts: days, evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.
Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit
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Background Investigation Requirement: This position requires the successful completion of a federal background investigation as a condition of employment.
A background investigation is a standard process used by the Federal Government to verify an individual's identity, employment history, education, and other relevant information to determine suitability for Federal service.
Upon receipt of instructions, applicants must complete all required background investigation forms within five (5) calendar days of issuance. Timely completion is critical to avoid delays in processing or a determination of unsuitability.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to prioritize this requirement and to maintain regular communication with their assigned Personnel Security Specialist throughout the process.
Financial Suitability Requirement: This position requires a review of the applicant's financial history as part of the personnel security and suitability determination. Applicants must demonstrate financial responsibility, maintain good standing with creditors, and satisfy all legal financial obligations prior to applying.
Individuals with substantial delinquent or unresolved financial obligations-including, but not limited to, delinquent federal or state tax liabilities, defaulted federal student loans, court-ordered fines or fees, or child support arrears-may be deemed unsuitable for employment with the Indian Health Service (IHS).
Prior to the appointment, candidates must present two valid forms of identification. If one of the documents is a state-issued ID or driver's license, it must be REAL ID-compliant.
Qualifications To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying.
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; religious; spiritual; community; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: GS-4: Your resume must demonstrate the following: Six (6) months of general experience. General experience is any type of work that demonstrates your ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided you with familiarity of the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the position to be filled.
AND Six (6) months of specialized experience performing technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or technical support work in a closely related, field such as biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled.
OR Completion of an associate degree program that included, during the second year, approximately one year of training in a certified laboratory assistant program approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
OR One (1) year of study that included at least six (6) semester hours in chemistry and/or biological sciences, plus completion of a full-time medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) training program of approximately one year that included instruction in chemistry, hematology, blood banking, microbiology, and serology, along with supervised laboratory practice related to patient diagnosis and treatment.
OR Two (2) years of study that included at least twelve (12) semester hours in chemistry and/or biological sciences directly related to the position to be filled.
OR A combination of education and experience.
GS-05: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: Performing CLIA-waived laboratory testing and documenting quality control activities; Collecting routine venipuncture and capillary specimens while verifying patient identity and documentation; Preparing, labeling, storing, and accessioning specimens into laboratory information systems; Maintaining laboratory supplies, equipment, and logs in compliance with biosafety and infection control procedures; Providing laboratory support by distributing reports, instructing patients on specimen collection, and assisting with routine cleaning and sanitizing of laboratory areas.
OR Completion of a bachelor's degree program with a major or at least twenty-four (24) semester hours in subjects related to the position being filled.
OR A combination of education and experience. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.
GS-06: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: Conducting standardized clinical laboratory tests and procedures in chemistry, hematology, microbiology, urinalysis, serology, immunology, and blood banking following established laboratory procedures; Evaluating test results, recognizing abnormal findings, and reporting abnormal results to supervisory or professional laboratory staff; Operating, calibrating, and maintaining laboratory instruments and equipment, preparing reagents and solutions, and documenting quality control and equipment performance activities; Collecting and processing patient specimens, assessing specimen integrity, and preparing specimens for analysis or shipment; Maintaining laboratory documentation and quality assurance records while following accreditation, biosafety, and infection control requirements.
GS-07: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: Conducting a variety of clinical laboratory tests and procedures in chemistry, hematology, microbiology, urinalysis, immunology, serology, and blood banking, including adapting procedures for unusual specimens or situations; Evaluating test results, recognizing normal and abnormal findings, and troubleshooting or repeating procedures to ensure accurate laboratory results; Operating, calibrating, troubleshooting, and maintaining laboratory instruments and equipment, preparing reagents, stains, and culture media, and monitoring quality control and equipment performance activities; Collecting and processing patient specimens, evaluating specimen acceptability, accessioning and tracking specimens in laboratory information systems, and preparing specimens for referral testing; Validating and documenting laboratory results, communicating laboratory information to healthcare providers, and supporting quality assurance, accreditation, and performance improvement activities in compliance with CAP, CLIA, and safety requirements.
OR 1 year (18 semester hours) of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position.
OR A combination of graduate education and experience. Only graduate education is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.
Time In Grade Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade Requirements: Merit Promotion (status) candidates must have completed one year of service at the next lower grade level. Time-In-Grade provisions do not apply under the Excepted Service Examining Plan (ESEP).
You must meet all qualification requirements by the respective cutoff day of rating to be eligible for consideration. Education There are no education requirements; however, you may qualify with education at the GS-04, 05, and 07 grade levels. If you are substituting education for experience; you are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed, and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer.
Only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website:
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 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. (
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. IHS may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their directly related previous 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.
This position may or may not be covered by a bargaining unit, depending on the duty location. Final determination will be made at the time of appointment.
Not all locations may have promotion potential to the GS-7 level. For those positions that do have promotion potential to the GS-7 grade level, promotion to the next grade level is at management's discretion and is based on your demonstrated ability to perform the higher level duties, the continuing need for the higher level duties, and "Regulatory/Administrative" approval. Promotion to the next higher grade level is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.
You will be evaluated for this position in accordance with the OPM Merit Hiring Plan.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide short essay responses (200 words or less each) to the following four questions.
- How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government?
- In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness?
- How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role?
- How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements?
- Your responses are optional and will not be scored.
- However, they may be reviewed by hiring managers and agency leadership (or designees) during the evaluation process.
- You will be asked to certify that your responses are written in your own words and that you did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) tool (such as ChatGPT or Copilot).
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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