Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Ancillary Testing Coordinator)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Hampton (VA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EDRP Education Debt Reduction Program

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Virginia is seeking a Clinical Laboratory Scientist (GS-12) to join the team. This role provides oversight for testing programs outside the laboratory and supports quality assurance, policies, and coordination with leadership for testing services.

Candidates must meet basic education, certification, and grandfathering provisions. The position is aligned with VHA standards and involves working within a structured, mission-driven environment in Virginia.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• Certification options: Generalist MLS/MT by ASCP BOC or AMT; or Specialist/Categorical by ASCP or AMT.
• Foreign education may be creditable if evaluated as equivalent or ASCP/AMT letter of eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Provide oversight for testing programs outside of the laboratory.
• Develop policies and coordinate inventory management, procurement, and contracts.
• Ensure compliance with Federal, state, and accrediting standards.

Skills

Medical technology knowledge

Quality control

Statistics

Lab information systems

Teaching others

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Lab information systems

Job description

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education: A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university.
• Certification: Candidates must meet one of the certification options below:
  • Generalist certification as an MLS given by ASCP BOC or AMT.
  • Generalist certification as an MT given by ASCP BOR or AMT.
  • Categorical certification or Specialist certification by ASCP or AMT

• Grandfathering Provision: Employees in VHA in this occupation under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements of this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: (1) Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or be changed to a lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions.

NOTE:

• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational requirements if they meet either of the following:
  • Foreign transcripts are evaluated by an acceptable evaluation agency, and the degree is found to be equivalent to a NAACLS-approved U.S. clinical laboratory science degree program; OR
  • The applicant submits a letter from ASCP BOC or AMT stating the individual is eligible to take the certification examination.

NOTE:

Possession of Categorical certification or Specialist certification by ASCP or AMT, identified above, automatically determines the foreign education as creditable and no further documentation or proof of equivalency is needed.

Grade Determinations

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified.

Clinical Laboratory Scientist, GS-12:

For all GS-12 assignments above the FPL, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the CLS at least 25% of the time.

• Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level is required such as: develops and recommends policies and procedures for procurement and service requirements for ancillary testing, consults with leadership of clinical services to identify ancillary testing needs, monitor and report on continuous performance improvement initiatives, develops and implements corrective action when deficiencies are identified and coordinates inventory management, supply acquisition, and contracts.

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of medical technology concepts, principles, practices, and methodologies sufficient to perform full oversight and guidance for testing programs outside of the laboratory.
  • Knowledge of mathematics and statistics as related to quality control, quality assurance, proficiency testing, inspection and accreditation, and continuous quality improvement.
  • Knowledge of Federal, state, and VHA laws, regulations, reference standards, and certifying or accrediting agency requirements to carry out work in each ancillary testing site.
  • Knowledge of laboratory information technology systems and interconnectivity.
  • Skill in applying new scientific/technological developments and theories to laboratory testing.
  • Ability to evaluate, interpret, and teach others to use quality control procedures and implement corrective actions.

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 12.

Physical Requirements:

Light Lifting (under 15 pounds); Light Carrying (under 15 pounds); use of fingers; Both hands required for fine-manipulation and simple grasping; walking (up to 8 hours); standing (up to 8 hours); sitting (up to 8 hours); near vision correctable at 13" to 16"; both eyes required; depth perception; ability to distinguish shades of color.