Surgical Technician

Summary

Employee serves as a Surgical Technician - Operating Room, on the Perioperative Surgery Team located at the William S. Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI.

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Duties

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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

This position involves a multi-grade career ladder . The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-7. At the GS-6 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-7. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds.

Duties include but may not be limited to:

• Setting up sterile field with all required items such as air-power equipment, fiber optic equipment, microscopes, lasers, etc.
• Planning and discussing procedures with surgical professionals.
• Making sure all supplies and equipment are available prior to surgical procedure.
• Preparing and maintaining sterile surgical setups.
• Assisting the surgeon during surgical procedure.
• Handling specimens, supplies, and equipment following universal precaution and infection control policies.
• Assisting with patient care, i.e., positioning, prepping, etc.
• Assisting surgeon in such procedures as; preparing skin grafts, holding retractors, applying skin staples, and cutting sutures.
• Maintaining correct count of instruments used during procedures.
• Performing non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions.
• Stocking replenishing, and preparing supplies and equipment for use
• Assists other members of the team with room clean up in readiness for next patient.
• Providing customer service in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
• Providing customers with information according to policies and procedures.
• Making sure computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday 6:45am-3:15pm with on call duties to include evenings, nights, weekends and holidays in rotation.

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

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 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) - See "Required Documents" below for details.

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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this GS-6 grade position, applicant(s) must meet at least one of the following qualification requirements.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires one full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS 5 in the Federal service. 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. Specialized experience is experience working in a complex surgical Operating Room in multiple surgical specialties, including but not limited to, Orthopedics, General Surgery, ENT, Vascular, Robotics or Cardiac Surgery, to include: preparing and handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during surgical procedures; scrubbing for assigned surgical procedure ranging from simple to complex; maintaining a sterile field; anticipating the needs of the surgeon to quickly pass surgical items needed during the surgical procedures; and positioning and prepping patients for surgical procedures. OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successful completion of at least 6 months of graduate level education or an internship meets the specialized experience required. Graduate education is creditable only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. OR

COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education and experience are also qualifying.

To qualify for this GS-7 grade position, applicant(s) must meet at least one of the following qualification requirements.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires one full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS 6 in the Federal service. . 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. Specialized experience is experience working in a complex surgical Operating Room in multiple surgical specialties, including but not limited to, Orthopedics, General Surgery, ENT, Vascular, Robotics or Cardiac Surgery, to include: preparing and handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during surgical procedures; scrubbing for assigned surgical procedure ranging from simple to complex; maintaining a sterile field; anticipating the needs of the surgeon to quickly pass surgical items needed during the surgical procedures; positioning and prepping patients for surgical procedures; and performing procedures such as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples and cutting sutures to assist surgeon; and recognizing and responding to critical situations, including emergency and lift threatening conditions. OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successful completion of at least 1 year of graduate level education (in excess of 6 months) meets the specialized experience required. Graduate education is creditable only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. OR

COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education and experience is also qualifying.

Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are in stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner of requiring little or no effort from the surgeon.

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

Education

IMPORTANT: 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

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 80 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. 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.