Lead Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 86,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Federal pension

Health insurance

Job summary

The Lead Medical Supply Technician position is within the Sterile Processing Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury - MA. This full-time role supports sterilization, preparation, and distribution of reusable medical equipment and clean supplies for VA patient care.

The incumbent leads staff, allocates workload, ensures SOP adherence, and trains team members while coordinating with SPS management to maintain service quality and safety standards across shifts.

Qualifications

• Citizenship and English language proficiency required.
• Six months of related experience or equivalent education.
• GS-7 level requires one year of specialized experience or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Provide sterilization, preparation, and distribution support for SPS.
• Distribute workload among staff and manage priorities.
• Instruct staff on procedures and maintain SOP compliance.
• Train team members and monitor performance against standards.
• Ensure items are safe and delivered in proper condition for VA care.

Skills

Leadership

Sterile processing

Staff training

Workflow management

Communication

Education

One year above high school with healthcare courses

Equivalent combination of experience and education

Job description

Summary

The Lead Medical Supply Technician position is in the Sterile Processing Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System located at the West Roxbury - MA location. This position is full time at 40 hours per week.

Qualifications

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
• English Language Proficiency: MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English
• Experience and/or Education: Experience: Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work
• OR 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 Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable
• Foreign Education: To be creditable - education completed outside the U
• S
• programs
• GS 7 Experience: Have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6)
• Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Receiving contaminated critical and semi-critical RME in the decontamination area
• disassembling the RME and determining 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
• inspecting - assembling and determining the correct method and packaging for sterilization such as but not limited to steam - Sterrad - Steris - ETO - and high level disinfecting scope reprocessors
• performing and documenting daily operational checks and records for all sterilization equipment
• Assignment: The Lead MST works in support of the Sterile Processing Service (SPS) management team
• Distributes and prioritizes workload among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specializations
• Assures an even workflow and distribution of the workload
• Revises work schedules to meet anticipated and unanticipated changes in the workload
• Assigns work to staff based on experience and training needs
• Monitors and reports on the status of work
• Ensures SOPs and SPS mandates are followed during the performance of workflow
• Reviews work in progress or spot checks work not requiring review to ensure completed work meets supervisors' instructions on such things as work sequence - procedures - methods - and deadlines
• Assesses the quality and quantity of work by reviewing the cleaning - reprocessing - and distribution of technical medical equipment - material and instrumentation
• Provides information to management officials concerning performance issues - assignment changes and task completion
• Instructs employees on work-related activities - policies - procedures and goals
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSA's) below: 1
• Ability to instruct staff on the correct procedures and protocols for completing assignments
• 2
• Skill in communicating with staff to ensure compliance with written directives - rules and regulations
• 3
• Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees - team leaders - and managers
• 4
• Knowledge of sterility principles in order to instruct staff on decontamination procedures
• 5
• Ability to lead individuals - manage priorities - and schedule work assignments
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings: decontamination - preparation - clean sterile supply (preparation) and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus
• The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot - cold - drafty and poorly lighted
• The employee is subject to the possibility of falls - scrapes - cuts - bruises - and other injuries from material handling equipment
• The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds)
• The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating - disassembly and assembly of instrumentation
• On a regular and recurring basis - the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment
• The employee wears special clothing - hair covers - personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm
• The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers
• The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items
• The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown
• The employee often works around body fluids - mucous - excretions and bits of tissue - some of which may be foul smelling
• Strong - unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment
• The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments - rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment.

Duties

• The Lead Medical Supply Technician position provides sterilization - preparation - supply items and reusable medical equipment (RME) decontamination and distribution support for the medical center
• Duties include - but are not limited to: Provides guidance and technician direction for accomplishing the work of the unit or team
• Ensures work assignments of employees in the unit or team are carried out
• Distributes and balances workload and tasks among employees
• Revises work schedule to meet anticipated and unanticipated changes in the workload
• Explains work requirements - methods and procedures - as needed - giving special instructions on difficult or different operations and answering technical questions about the task
• Maintains a current knowledge and answers questions of other employees relating to procedures - policies and directives
• Trains or arranges for the training of team members in the accomplishment of tasks or projects
• Gives on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices
• Monitors and reports on the status and progress of work - checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to see that the supervisor's instructions on priorities - methods - deadlines and quality assurance have been met
• Checks the cleaning - reprocessing and distribution of technical medical equipment - material and instrumentation as deemed appropriate to assess the quality and quantity of work produced by each employee
• Ensures that items are safe to use - delivered on time at the proper place - and in the correct condition to be properly used for VA patient care
• Reports to the supervisor on performance - progress and training needs of employees - and on behavior problems
• Resolves simple - informal complaints of employees and refers others - such as formal grievances and appeals - to the supervisor or an appropriate management official
• Conducts inspection of the Decontamination area and to verify that proper techniques and processes are being followed by staff and that all equipment is working properly
• Inspects to verify that all instrumentation is disassembled to the simplest form
• Independently prepares the full range of trays and sets necessary to be used in wards - clinic areas - dental clinic and OR
• Collects contaminated case carts and reusable medical equipment (RME) instruments from operating rooms as well as other clinics as required
• Processes and sterilizes a wide variety of instrumentation - to include implant devices - in accordance with manufacturer's recommendations
• Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Medical Supply Aide and Technician: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Medical-Supply-Aide-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Full-Time Monday-Friday 2:30pm-1:00am Telework: Not authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Functional Statement #: F02671 Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• 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)
• Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service
• This position is not in a Bargaining Unit
• This position is covered by a special salary rate
• Current and former Federal employees may submit copies of their most recent SF-50 - (Notice of Personnel Action)
• The SF-50 must identify the position title - series - grade - step - tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted)
• In some cases - more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held
• No award SF50's will be accepted
• Narrative responses to the knowledge - skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.