Summary

The Washington DC VA Medical Center Sterile Processing Department supports direct patient care by ensuring proper reprocessing - maintenance - and storage of critical and semi-critical reusable medical equipment (RME) throughout the medical center in compliance with nation and local policy and procedure.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• 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 accepted
• Grade Determinations: GS-03 (Entry Level) Experience or Education
• None beyond the basic requirements
• Assignment
• This is an entry level MST position
• MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision
• GS-04 (Developmental Level) Experience
• Six months experience as a MST - operating room or surgical technician or other position that demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing in a clinical setting
• Education
• Two years of education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation
• NOTE: Successful completion of a course for medical technicians - hospital corpsmen - medical service specialists - or nursing assistants obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces - the U.S. Maritime Service - or hospitals under close medical and professional supervision - may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to 6 months of experience
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: 1
• Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination
• 2
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology in order to assemble specialty operating room/clinic instrument sets
• 3
• Basic knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment
• 4
• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing
• Assignment
• This is a developmental level MST position
• Performs segments of work pertaining to the decontamination - sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME)
• Completes segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center
• Operates equipment involved in sterilization processes
• Prepares operating room case carts
• MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision
• GS-05 (Developmental Level) Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
• Education
• Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor's degree
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1
• Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings
• 2
• Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility
• 3
• Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment
• Assignment: This is a developmental level MST position
• Removes soil - blood - tissue fragments - body fluids - and other containments by wiping - soaking - rinsing - and scrubbing
• Inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization - assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room
• Prepares - loads - and operates sterilizers such as steam - Sterrad - Steris - ETO - and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor
• prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule
• MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex tasks and require direct supervision on new assignments
• GS-06 (Full Performance Level) Experience
• One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1
• Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings
• 2
• Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination
• 3
• Working knowledge of medical terminology - anatomy and physiology - microbiology - medical conditions and procedures
• 4
• Knowledge of sterility principles in regards to instrumentation
• 5
• Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures
• Assignment
• This is the full performance level for the occupation
• Receives contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in the decontamination area and may receive noncritical equipment in the decontamination area as well
• Disassembles the RME and determines the correct cleaning method - such as but not limited to ultrasonic cleaners - mechanical washers - cart washers and chemical cleaning/decontamination agents - as determined by manufacturer instructions
• Inspects - assembles and determines the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to steam - Sterrad - Steris - ETO - and high level disinfecting scope reprocessors
• Performs and documents daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment
• Preferred Experience: Two years of SPS preferred
• References: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-06
• Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity - keen hearing - clear distinctive speech - and manual dexterity
• This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking - standing - stooping - sitting - bending - pulling - and pushing
• Frequently required to lift packages weighing 50 pounds and push carts weighing up to 300 pounds for distances up to 2 -640 feet
• The incumbent may be exposed to infected and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing
• The incumbent must be a mature - flexible - sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations - able to shift priorities based on Medical Center needs.

Duties

• Major Duties: - Utilizes Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as required
• - Responsible for the collection - receipt - inspection - cleaning and decontamination processing of soiled instruments - equipment - and apparatus to include complex diagnostic equipment and medical apparatus
• - Completely and thoroughly dissembles and positions all parts of complex technical RME to ensure the removal of any debris - surgical soil and bio-burdens prior to sterilization or high level disinfection
• - Performs required leak tests to endoscopic equipment to determine that the water tight integrity of the scope is intact before initiating the cleaning and high level disinfection process
• - Performs multi-step procedures to effectively reprocess endoscopes - i.e
• cystoscopes - ureteroscopes - bronchoscopes - colonoscopes - and other various endoscopic instruments
• - Operates decontamination equipment such as washer decontaminators - ultrasonic washers - automatic endoscope reprocessors - equipment irrigators - laparoscopic insulation tester - automatic cart wash - and tube dryers - etc
• - Uses - interprets and records results from quality assurance monitors - i.e
• Ruhof ATP Complete ATP tester system - All-Clean washer disinfector validation system - etc
• - Performs and validates all cleaning of instrumentation and RME through the use of department SOPs - manufacturer's instructions for use guidelines - Medical Center Memorandums - and VA policies and directives - along with industry standards published by organizations such as - Healthcare Central Service Material Management (IAHCSMM) - American National Standard/Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (ANSI/AMMI) - Association of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) - Centers for Disease Control (CDC) - etc
• - Reads and understands Material Data Safety Sheets.- Performs inspection - assembly - packaging - and terminal sterilization of all trays - sets - and packs for use throughout the medical center
• - Determines the criticality category of RME using the Spaulding Classification System and interprets sterilization parameters provided by the manufacturer's instructions for use guidelines to determine the proper method of sterilization
• - Operates equipment such as Minntech Medivator Advantage Plus - Trophon EPR - Steris Steam Sterilizers - Sterrad 100S - Sterrad 200 - and Sterrad NX - heat sealers - tube dryers - and incubators or other sterilization - high level decontamination and packaging equipment.- Interprets gauge readings and mechanical printouts on sterilization equipment to validate that sterilization of RME is within acceptable parameters
• - Interprets printout for Automatic Endoscope Processors used for high level decontamination to ensure that disinfection has met all parameters
• - Maintains records for all sterilization procedures that are processed including interpretation of all biological monitoring - validation of monitoring results - and quality assurance checks to ensure sterilization parameters are met
• - After each sterilization cycle is complete - the incumbent reviews print outs to ensure parameters have been met and documents the results of each cycle in the sterilization log
• If parameters have not been met - incumbent must troubleshoot the sterilization load to determine the possible cause and report findings to the supervisor/lead technician
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Full-Time - Rotating shifts
• 7:00 a.m
• to 3:30 p.m
• (Day Shift) - 3:00 p.m
• to 11:30 p.m.( Evening Shift) - 11:00 p.m
• to 7:30 a.m.(Night Shift) with on-call during weekends and holidays
• The candidate will be on the Day shift until he/she finishes orientation
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 26261F - 26262F - 26263F - 26254F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized