Summary

This position is organizationally aligned to Sterile Processing Service at the VA Illiana Health Care System, Danville, IL - a Level 3 Complexity VHA Facility.

Qualifications

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency: MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j Experience and/or Education (1) Experience
• Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; OR (2) Education
• One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; OR (3) Experience/Education Combination
• Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements, all applicants must meet the GS-07 grade requirements below: GRADE DETERMINATIONS: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower (GS-6) grade level that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work
• Experience includes: Receiving contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in the decontamination area; disassembling the RME and determining the correct cleaning method, such as ultrasonic cleaners, mechanical washers, cart washers, and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents, as determined by the manufacturer instructions; inspecting, assembling and determining the correct method and packaging for sterilization
• In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1
• Knowledge of SPS and Infection Prevention regulations
• 2
• Knowledge of procedures and/or operations in training developed for, and operations of SPS functions for both new and existing staff
• 3
• Ability to manage integrated training programs as it relates to sterile processing procedures
• 4
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel or other software programs in order to complete reports and develop skills
• 5
• Ability to communicate effectively with staff and management officials in regards to sterile processing procedures
• References: VA Handbook 5005/76 Part II Appendix G47 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7
• Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation) and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus
• The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty, and poorly lighted
• The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment
• The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds)
• The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation.

Duties

• Facilitates training and education of SPS staff through the developed programs and job specific instruction.
• Improves SPS processes by facilitating the application for new technology of reusable medical devices by training and educating all new and existing staff.
• Documents and assesses staff's training and education, to identify areas of strengths and needs for improvement.
• Develops training and education plans derived from (literature reviews, continuing education, in-services, certification and/or formal education) to maintain and improve knowledge in all specialized areas that involve the reprocessing reusable medical devices.
• Participates in tracking, trending, and analyzing of training and education data.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement, makes recommendations and/or prepares reports based on findings.
• Develops and conducts the annual review of the SPS preceptor program.