Health Technician

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Tacoma (WA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a GS-5 Health Technician within the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP).

The team oversees 64 beds with multiple specialized programs, including homeless, residential substance abuse, PTSD, and pain management services for Veterans with complex medical and mental health needs. To qualify, applicants must meet the IOR and basic English proficiency requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience with patient care monitoring and crisis intervention.
• Direct patient care activities including glucose, EKG, blood pressure, and oximetry.
• Experience with obtaining or preparing laboratory specimens.
• Ability to recognize signs of drug overdose or intoxication.

Skills

Patient care monitoring

Crisis intervention

Direct patient care

Laboratory specimens

Overdose recognition

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Job description

This position is located within the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP), a 64-bed residential facility which operates an 18-bed homeless program, a 20-bed residential substance abuse program, 18-bed PTSD programs, and 8-beds for the Restorative Pain program. The MHRRTP program is designed to provide residential rehabilitation and treatment services for Veterans with multiple and severe medical conditions, mental illness, addiction, or psychosocial deficits. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2027.

English Language Proficiency:

In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

ALL applicants must meet the IOR. An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 0640 occupational series. You may meet this by:

• Specialized Experience: 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. OR,
• Education and Training (For positions at the GS-5 level only): Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position.(Transcripts Required)

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements you must also meet the Special Experience or Education requirement for the Health Technician Position.

GS-5 Qualifications:

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience:
  • Experience with patient care monitoring, like observing self-administering medication;
  • Experience with crisis intervention in situations of a medical/psychiatric/behavioral nature;
  • Experience with performing direct patient care activities including, but not limited to blood glucose monitoring, 12-lead EKG, blood pressure monitoring and pulse oximetry monitoring;
  • Experience with obtaining/preparing laboratory specimens;
  • Demonstrates the ability to recognize signs/symptoms of drug overdose or being under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. (Transcripts Required). OR,
• Combination: For GS-5 level positions, only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. (Transcripts Required)

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/.

Preferred Experience:

• Prior experience delivering direct patient care in behavioral health, residential treatment, or medical settings.
• Demonstrated competency in emergency response, crisis intervention, suicide risk recognition, and opioid overdose identification.
• Experience performing specialized diagnostic tasks such as blood glucose testing, EKGs, and oximetry monitoring.
• Strong interpersonal communication and ability to maintain therapeutic relationships with Veterans.
• Familiar with completing routines such as rounds, safety monitoring, and adherence to structured clinical protocols.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and adapt to changing unit needs.