Medical Technician

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 40,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' North Florida/South Georgia VA Healthcare System in Jacksonville seeks a Medical Technician in Phlebotomy and Central Processing to collect, accession, and process outpatient and inpatient specimens.

The role requires meeting OPM standards, potential time-in-grade considerations, and the ability to work in a laboratory setting with physical demands; the position supports high-accuracy sample handling and patient identification.

Qualifications

• Must meet all requirements by the closing date (10/19/2026).
• Experience includes technical medical laboratory support or related field.
• GS-5 specialized experience: 1 year at GS-4 level with blood collection, specimen processing and labeling.

Responsibilities

• Performs collections and handling of specimens from inpatients, outpatients, and ambulatory patients.
• Identifies patients and ensures proper sample collection and labeling.
• Adheres to safety, infection control, and precautions while drawing blood.
• Train new staff on laboratory procedures.
• Assist in processing and testing workflows and communicate findings.

Skills

Phlebotomy

Specimen handling

Safety procedures

Education

Bachelor's degree with relevant courses

Job description

Summary

Serves as a Medical Technician in the Phlebotomy and Central Processing department for the North Florida/South Georgia VA Healthcare System at the Jacksonville 1 VA Clinic. Responsible for collecting - accessioning - and processing of outpatient and inpatient specimen samples.

Summary

Serves as a Medical Technician in the Phlebotomy and Central Processing department for the North Florida/South Georgia VA Healthcare System at the Jacksonville 1 VA Clinic. Responsible for collecting - accessioning - and processing of outpatient and inpatient specimen samples.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/19/2026. Applicants must meet the Individual Occupation Requirement and Specialized Experience/Education. Each of these items are separate requirements. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for Medical Technician series 0645: Experience include: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical - microbiologic - hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field - e.g. - biological laboratory technician work - that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. -OR- Education and Training For GS-5: 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 appropriate to the position to be filled. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-5 Specialized experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-4 which include: (a) Performs blood collection (b) processes emergency specimens and routine specimens in timely manner (c) identifies patients and ensure proper sample collection and specimen labeling (d) assesses patient conditions before - during and after procedures - OR - GS-5 Education: 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation - if required Time-In-Grade Requirement (if applicable): 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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. 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. OPM Qual standard for 0640 - See the NOTE under the Education section. Physical Demands-Work is performed in a laboratory atmosphere and requires regular and physical exertion such as sitting (2-4 hours) - walking (6-8 hours) - repetitive bending (6-8 hours) - standing (6-8 hours) - moderate lifting (14-30 pounds) - and average carrying (14-30 pounds). The work requires specific physical characteristics and abilities - and dexterity needed to perform complex analytical and technical procedures. Use of both hands and all fingers required - both legs required - ability to reach beyond shoulder (2 hours) - ability to pull hand over fist (0.25 hours) - ability to push (0.5 hours). Capacity for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously - near vision correctable at 13" to 16" Jaeger 1 to 4 - Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other - both eyes required - Depth perception - Normal color vision - hearing (aid permitted) - mental and emotional stability. Performing phlebotomy and entering patient information - test orders - and data in a computer may expose the technician to repetitive motion. Preferred Experience: Phlebotomy experience within the past 5 years. 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/.

Duties

• Major Duties include but not limited to: Performs collections and handling of specimens from inpatients - outpatients - and ambulatory inpatients - correctly identifying using active response techniques
• Uses standard cleaning procedures and adheres to safety - infection control - and precautions while drawing blood
• Show ability to troubleshoot issues regarding patient samples and laboratory equipment while working independently
• Draw blood and collect urine - stool - and bodily fluids for testing areas within the laboratory
• Train new students or employees upon hire or entry into the laboratory
• Serve as a reference for other healthcare professionals on the collection and processing of specialty laboratory tests
• Identify hazardous materials and decide which shipping protocol to use for hazardous and biological specimens
• Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory - qualification - and performance requirements are met
• Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level
• Work Schedule: Rotating 6:30am to 3pm tour of duty Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician/PD05860A and PD05860A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved