Health Technician

Summary

This Health Technician position is based at the Samuel S Stratton VA Medical Center - Albany. The incumbent serves as a Health Technician and pre-employment screening collector and point of contact in the Clinical Laboratory. The incumbent must possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to manage, train and ensure compliance of federal regulated standards of the clinical laboratory.

Duties

The Health Technician is responsible for performing the functions required in the Central Accessioning area of the laboratory. They perform work in a clinical laboratory providing a range of diagnostic functions to include assisting patients, VA staff and specimen processing and delivery. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Perform urine drug screen collections to match employee health pre-employment physical appointments. Work with HR and other UDS collectors to schedule collections. Maintain drug screen cart by keeping it sanitized, stocked with appropriate supplies, secure patient information, maintains organization/free from clutter, and ready to use by anyone conducting a drug screen. Manage the stored supplies to maintain numbers to fulfill program needs, and initiate contact with appropriate ordering staff when/if supplies are low. Prepare specimen for transport to the testing laboratory. Ensure chain of custody for these specimens. Maintains awareness of regulatory and procedural changes issued through the national Drug-Free Workplace Program and assists with annual updates to local UDS Standard Operating Procedures to incorporate applicable changes. Receives, prepares, labels, examines, and delivers specimens for laboratory departments. Verifies the accuracy of specimen identity and works to correct discrepancies. Verifies identifiers such as patient identification, time of sample, type of test requested. Identifies unusual conditions and discrepancies, which may cause erroneous test results. Recognizes emergency situations and prioritizes workload. Notifies technologists of impending work and all STAT specimens. Expedites delivery of STAT specimens to all departments. Receives and relays incoming telephone calls and messages. Receives verbal requests for add-on tests and verifies specimen availability and accuracy of request. Verifies the accuracy and completeness of requests using VistA or CPRS computer systems. Adheres to safety, infection control and universal precaution always. Controls contaminated or potentially dangerous specimens in accordance with accreditation agency requirements. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (7:30am - 4:00pm) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD528D-14510 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/02/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: receiving, preparing, labeling, processing, and distributing laboratory specimens; verifying patient and specimen identification; maintaining specimen integrity and chain-of-custody documentation; performing specimen collection procedures; maintaining laboratory records; and following established laboratory safety, infection control, and specimen-handling procedures. . OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have ???????Successful completion of six months of graduate-level education directly related to the work of the position. Graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. . OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an equivalent combination of specialized experience and directly related graduate-level education that together meets 100 percent of the qualification requirements for the GS-06 grade level. 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.