Supervisory Health Technician

Summary

The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs-Wilmington NC HCC, and serves as a Supervisory Health Technician in the core laboratory sections, outpatient areas and CBOC's locations. Performs duties in the receiving, accessioning and specimen processing area including collecting chain of custody drug screens, reference laboratory specimen processing, clerical functions, patient testing, and phlebotomy.

Duties

Help

• This position performs the full range of supervisory duties and is responsible for the overall supervision of the section(s) specified. This includes conducting interviews, recommending appointment, evaluating work performance, counseling of employees whose performance is marginal or unsatisfactory, and initiating disciplinary actions when necessary, hearing and resolving complaints from employees.
• Collaborates with other supervisors in completing the laboratory scheduling process and adjusts staffing levels or work procedures. This position assures that all employees under supervision are aware of and abide by the appropriate hospital and laboratory safety regulations.
• Responsible for maintaining the work area in a clean environment appropriate for the section.
• Supervises the clinical training experiences of technical and professional level phlebotomy training programs to fulfill education and professional requirements.
• Ensures staff members complete the current mandatory hours of continuing education.
• Trains lower grade phlebotomy health technicians in the use of new procedures and instrumentation. Assists employee in obtaining continuing education and determining their training needs. Assures orientation, training, and competency assessment of staff upon initial test performance and annually thereafter.
• Ensures a team approach to daily work and promotes problem solving among the staff. Accepts and resolves technical problems that cannot be solved at a lower level and rarely refers problems to a higher authority. Provides input into laboratory quality monitors, provides data as required, and follows-up for compliance.
• Applies knowledge of human anatomy, aseptic and sterile techniques and phlebotomy equipment in selection of the phlebotomy site, taking into consideration the condition of the patient, age group, and the type of test requested.
• Selects proper vacutainer tubes for testing using various sized needles, and/or butterfly collection devices to collect appropriate specimens. Establishes proper identity of all patients, ensures accountability of specimens by proper and complete labeling with patient's name and identification and initials all tubes drawn.
• Follows standard precautions in the use of personal protection equipment and complies with other Medical Center infection control requirements and the handling and disposal of biohazardous materials.
• Organizes work in the collection room to ensure optimal patient flow.
• Keeps phlebotomy work areas, carts, and storages clean, well-stocked and organized with supplies. Rotate supplies as needed. Remove expired supplies.
• Complete weekend duty list. Answers telephone in the main laboratory assist with collection questions and refer other question to the medical technologist on duty. The incumbent is responsible for the integrity of the sample. Sample integrity requires 1) appropriate sample submitted for testing, 2) adequate volume of same, 3) correct tube 2 type 4) correct storage and packing of sample, 5) sample is free of contaminants which may compromise the reporting of results, and 6) correct collection of the presence of an intravenous infusion site.
• Performs blood drawing in a courteous manner and monitors the patient throughout the collection process, ensuring patient safety, observing blood flow, adequate mixing of specimen, and confirming blood flow stops at appropriate time.
• Possesses proficiency in phlebotomy, being able to draw all but the most difficult patients and follows proper procedures for redrawing blood. Must complete the urine drug screen and blood draw quickly to produce quality specimens.
• Administers first aid, if necessary, to counteract unfavorable patient reactions.
• Provides care based on physical, psychosocial, safety, and related criteria, appropriate to the age of the patients served.
• In patient emergencies, completes appropriate alert notifications, or initiates emergency patient treatment procedures, to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation or other basic patient support functions.
• Monitors patients or directs monitoring of patients during and after procedures.
• Provides training and guidance in phlebotomy techniques to intern students, volunteers, medical technologist and new hires when directed.
  
  

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; occasional weekends

Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Phlebotomy)/PD083450



Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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
• You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification 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)
  
  

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/13/2025.Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.



Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

SPECIAL PLACEMENT FACTOR: Experience performing phlebotomy/blood draws on human patients, training medical technicians, processing samples, and performing waived testing.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  
  

Knowledge of phlebotomy/specimen collection, and accessioning and processing; and using specialized techniques for cleansing the blood collection site to prevent bacterial contamination that's critical to patient care, to ensure the contamination rate of blood cultures remains with in guidelines with blood culture contamination. Establishes proper identity of all patients, ensures accountability of specimens by proper and complete labeling with patient's name and identification and initials all tubes drawn. Possesses proficiency in phlebotomy, being able to draw all but the most difficult patients and follows proper procedures for redrawing blood. Must complete the urine drug screen and blood draw quickly to produce quality specimens. Administers first aid, if necessary, to counteract unfavorable patient reactions. Provides care based on physical, psychosocial, safety, and related criteria, appropriate to the age of the patients served. Compares orders from multiple physicians and request the medical technologist to combine the orders. The incumbent properly identifies, labels and collection blood bank specimens for STAT and routine testing while next to the patient bedside or chair side. Must be proficient in phlebotomizing patient in varying debilitation (i.e., paralysis, stroke, mentally unstable, spinal cord injuries in fetal position and contractures). The incumbent performs phlebotomy using specialized techniques for cleansing the blood collection site to prevent bacterial contamination that's critical to patient care, to ensure the contamination rate of blood cultures remains with in guidelines with blood culture contamination. The incumbent draws the blood tests ordered by providers for inpatients, outpatients, CBOC patients and for requested drug screens. When required, the incumbent draws blood from patients for requested laboratory test. Ability to conduct interviews, recommend appointment, and evaluate work performance; Collaborate with other supervisors in completing the laboratory scheduling process and adjusts staffing levels or work procedures. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Computer Skills
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Lead or Supervise
• Patient Care
• Quality Assurance
• Specimen Collection
  
  
  
  

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.



Physical Requirements: Work is performed in a laboratory atmosphere and requires regular and physical exertion such as walking, bending, recurrent standing and moderate lifting. The work requires specific physical characteristics and abilities and dexterity needed to perform intricate analytical and technical procedures. The position may also require assisting geriatric and/or disabled patients. The incumbent must have normal color vision, pass mask fit testing, and complete Heartsavers/BLS training.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

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.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.

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.

Help

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.

Review our benefits

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.