Surgical Technician

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Shorewood Hills (WI); On-site; USD 52,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs invites applications for a Surgical Technician - Operating Room on the Perioperative Surgery Team located at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI.

The position emphasizes instrument handling, sterile technique, and patient preparation across multiple surgical specialties. Qualified applicants have OR experience in scrubbing, passing instruments, and maintaining a sterile field, with readiness for emergency situations and

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-5 in a surgical operating room.
• Experience in multiple surgical specialties; handling instruments and equipment.
• Scrubbing for procedures and maintaining a sterile field; prepping patients.
• One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-6 for the GS-7 grade; handling skin grafts, suctioning, retractors and skin staples.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and handle instruments, supplies, and equipment during surgical procedures.
• Scrub for procedures ranging from simple to complex and maintain a sterile field.
• Position and prep patients for surgical procedures.
• Assist the surgeon by passing items quickly and accurately during operations.
• Recognize and respond to critical situations in the OR.

Job description

Employee serves as a Surgical Technician - Operating Room, on the Perioperative Surgery Team located at the William S. Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI.

To qualify for this GS-6 grade position, applicant(s) must meet at least one of the following qualification requirements.

Specialized Experience

Requires one full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS 5 in the Federal service. 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. Specialized experience is experience working in a complex surgical Operating Room in multiple surgical specialties, including but not limited to, Orthopedics, General Surgery, ENT, Vascular, Robotics or Cardiac Surgery, to include: preparing and handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during surgical procedures; scrubbing for assigned surgical procedure ranging from simple to complex; maintaining a sterile field; anticipating the needs of the surgeon to quickly pass surgical items needed during the surgical procedures; and positioning and prepping patients for surgical procedures.

Substitution of Education for Experience (Transcript Required)

Successful completion of at least 6 months of graduate level education or an internship meets the specialized experience required. Graduate education is creditable only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position.

OR

Combination of Experience and Education (Transcript Required)

An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education and experience are also qualifying.

To qualify for this GS-7 grade position, applicant(s) must meet at least one of the following qualification requirements.

Specialized Experience

Requires one full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS 6 in the Federal service. 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. Specialized experience is experience working in a complex surgical Operating Room in multiple surgical specialties, including but not limited to, Orthopedics, General Surgery, ENT, Vascular, Robotics or Cardiac Surgery, to include: preparing and handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during surgical procedures; scrubbing for assigned surgical procedure ranging from simple to complex; maintaining a sterile field; anticipating the needs of the surgeon to quickly pass surgical items needed during the surgical procedures; positioning and prepping patients for surgical procedures; and performing procedures such as preparing skin grafts, suctioning, holding retractors, applying skin staples and cutting sutures to assist surgeon; and recognizing and responding to critical situations, including emergency and lift threatening conditions.

Substitution of Education for Experience (Transcript Required)

Successful completion of at least 1 year of graduate level education (in excess of 6 months) meets the specialized experience required. Graduate education is creditable only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position.

OR

Combination of Experience and Education (Transcript Required)

An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education and experience is also qualifying.

Physical Requirements

Duties regularly require providing manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients, most of which are in stages of unconsciousness. There are extensive periods of regular and recurring standing, walking, bending, lifting, pushing, reaching and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon. Incumbent must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner of requiring little or no effort from the surgeon.

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/.