Health Technician

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Maywood (IL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, IL seeks a Health Care Technician under Nursing Service supervision. The role includes direct and indirect patient care, observation, and support functions. Applicants must meet all requirements by 10/05/2026.

GS-6 level with preferred geriatric/long-term care experience; strong communication, infection control, and patient handling skills are essential. Federal employment includes safety, ongoing duties, and compliance with standards.

Qualifications

• Applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date.
• Demonstrates strong powers of observation, perception, and judgment.
• Must show initiative and pay meticulous attention to detail in all duties.
• Preferred: 2 years of geriatric/long-term care experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct and indirect patient care under supervision of a Registered Nurse.
• Perform support functions related to patient care.
• Maintain safety and infection control practices in the health care environment.

Skills

Observation

Judgment

Attention to detail

Initiative

Patient care

Tools

ECG

Phlebotomy equipment

CPR

Medical equipment

Job description

The Health Care Technician position at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, IL is organizationally aligned with Nursing Service. Under the supervision of a Registered Nurse, this role encompasses both direct and indirect patient care activities, as well as related support functions. Individuals in this position are required to demonstrate strong powers of observation, perception, and judgment. They must also show initiative and pay meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of their duties. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/05/2026.

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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived.

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above):

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.

GS-6 Specialized Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Effectively communicating and providing support to patients and healthcare professionals
• Utilizing and maintaining medical equipment and instruments
• Performing safety/emergency procedures related to patient transport, infection control, environmental safety
• Observing and reporting changes in patients physical and emotional behavior
• Performing medical tests and duties including phlebotomy, EKG, and CPR
• Entering patient information and vital signs in computerized medical record systems using appropriate terminology.
• Applying basic knowledge of basic anatomy/physiology and medical techniques to support direct patient care.

Preferred Experience:

2 Years of Geriatric/Long Term Care experience

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.

Physical Requirements:

Physical requirements include extensive periods of standing and walking. Patient care activities require regular and recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, pushing, and similar activities using appropriate body mechanics and other assistive devices for patient and/or equipment movement and transfer. The employee protects themselves and others from injury.

Work Environment:

Responsibilities are performed in a health care environment. The Health Technician practices principles of aseptic technique, "infection control, and environment safety. Precautions are required when working with movable equipment, wet floors, and potential exposure to diagnosed/undiagnosed contagious diseases.

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.

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/.