Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 40,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), at the James A. Haley VA Hospital (JAHVAH) in Tampa, Florida, and at adjacent clinics.

The Medical Supply Technician within the Sterile Processing service assists in the sterilization, decontamination, and transportation of Reusable Medical Devices (RMD). Applicants must meet basic requirements, including citizenship and English proficiency, with specific experience and education criteria

Qualifications

• Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinics.
• Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and cross-contamination prevention.
• Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and related conditions.
• Knowledge of sterility principles for instrumentation.
• Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Receives contaminated RMD in the decontamination area and prepares equipment.
• Disassembles RME and selects cleaning methods per manufacturer instructions.
• Inspects, assembles and determines sterilization method and packaging.
• Performs and documents daily checks and records for sterilization equipment.

Skills

Surgical instruments

Universal precautions

Medical terminology

Sterility principles

Reading instructions

Education

Health care coursework (1 year above high school with 6 college hours)

Job description

This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), at the James A. Haley VA Hospital (JAHVAH) in Tampa, Florida, and at adjacent clinics. The Medical Supply Technician within the Sterile Processing service assists in the sterilization, decontamination, and transportation of Reusable Medical Devices (RMD). 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

Citizenship.

Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3g.) May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

English Language Proficiency.

MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j,

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.

Certification.

None.

Creditable Experience

• Knowledge of Current MST Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with MST responsibilities. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as a MST. 3
• Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MST experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
• Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as a MST is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a MST employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS

GS-06 (Full Performance Level)

(a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

(b) 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.

Preferred Experience

Selective Placement

Factor

Quality Ranking Factor

(c) 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.

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