Surgical Technician

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; El Paso (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

The Surgical Technician is assigned to the Ambulatory Surgical Unit within the VA. The Technician must carry out surgical technology duties and accurately recognize, report, and record relevant patient information during procedures under the supervision of the surgical team and registered nurse.

To qualify, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date. Your experience must be detailed in your resume to receive full credit, and transcripts may be required for graduate education

Qualifications

• One full year of specialized experience at GS-05 level in the federal service.
• One year as Surgical Technician in an acute care facility; or two years in ambulatory surgical OR with scrubbing knowledge in orthopedic, eye, and laparoscopic surgeries.
• Extensive knowledge of asepsis, sterile field, infection control policies and procedures.
• Ability to interpret surgeon requests and recognize need for additional patient care.

Responsibilities

• Assist surgical team under supervision of the surgeon and nurse during procedures.
• Accurately recognize, report, and record relevant patient information.
• Plan and implement complex procedures with surgical team members.

Skills

Surgical scrubbing

Orthopedic surgery

Eye surgery

Laparoscopic surgery

Asepsis

Infection control

Patient documentation

Team collaboration

Education

Graduate-level education

Internship in related field

Job description

The Surgical Technician is assigned to the Ambulatory Surgical Unit within the VA. The Surgical Technician/Technologist, must have the ability to carry out assigned surgical technology duties based on surgical procedure. The Technician accurately recognize, report, and record relevant patient information. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team and the registered nurse. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/19/2026.

Your experience must be detailed in your resume to receive full credit.

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

Experience:

You must have one full year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS- 05 in the federal service, that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of the Surgical Technician position and that is typically in and/or related to the position being filled. One (1) year experience as a Surgical Technician in an acute care facility operating room; minimum of two (2) years experience in an ambulatory surgical operating room with scrubbing knowledge and proficiency in orthopedic surgeries, eye surgeries, and laparoscopic surgeries.

Specialized experience includes:

Must be able to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the functioning of the major body systems to interpret surgeon requests, surgical emergencies and to recognize the need for additional patient care needs. Must possess extensive knowledge of operations and functions of all surgical instruments and equipment, testing procedures to assure all equipment works, and proper postoperative decontamination procedures. Must know proper procedures and safety precautions for high level disinfecting of instruments. Knowledge of asepsis to prepare/protect the sterile field during surgery. And Must have in-depth knowledge of standard precautions and know how to implement infection control policies and procedures.

OR:

Education:

You must havesuccessfully completed one (1) full year of graduate level education or an Internship in a field directly related to the Surgical Technician position, such as anatomy and physiology, surgical technology, aseptic techniques, etc. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. (School/College Transcripts Required). OR:

Experience/Education Combination:

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses directly related to the work of the Surgical Technician position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

Physical Requirements:

The work requires some moving and transporting of light items such as supplies, papers, books, trays and equipment on a regular and recurring basis. the work involves long periods of moving about the work unit. Work requires regular and recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, lifting and repositioning patients, or similar activities.

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/.