Health Technician

Summary

This position is located in Nursing Service, and is organizationally aligned under the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL. The position functions as a non-licensed member of the nursing care team and combines the responsibility and selected aspects of Intravenous (IV) line insertion, Phlebotomy, and 12 lead EKG, in addition to providing continuous observation of telemetry monitoring electrocardiographic (EKG) rhythms of critically ill patients.

Duties

This position provides clinical, administrative, technical, and direct patient care support. Safely and correctly performs venous puncture to obtain a blood specimen from the patient after clearly explaining the procedure to the patient in a manner appropriate to the patient. Safely and correctly places intravenous catheter into a peripheral vein. Attaches a patient to an EKG machine and performs a twelve lead EKG reading. Correctly applies a nasal cannula to deliver oxygen. Takes vital signs and notifies the physician or nurse if any are abnormal. Performs pulse oximetry. Safely escorts patients to critical care areas. Cleans and returns equipment to appropriate location. Completes annual mandatory reviews. Continuously monitors EKG's of patients on telemetry. Admits and discharges patients from central monitoring. Provides telemetry monitor, identifies proper lead placement, and attaches electrodes upon admission. Initiates CPR code when indicated. Assists in CPR resuscitation. Applies principles of infection control in all areas of responsibility. Work Schedule: 7:30pm - 8:00am/11:30pm - 8:00am Monday - Sunday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD537-13351A 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, 09/28/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. Preferred experience: At least one year of Telemetry Interpretation experience (Telemetry interpretation certificate) 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: applying basic knowledge of basic anatomy/physiology and medical techniques to support direct patient care; effectively communicating and providing support to patients and healthcare professionals; utilizing and maintaining medical equipment and instruments; performing safety/emergency procedures related to patient transport, infection control, environmental safety; observing and reporting changes in patients physical and emotional behavior; performing medical tests and duties including phlebotomy, EKG, and CPR; and entering patient information and vital signs in computerized medical record systems using appropriate terminology. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 4 full years of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with a major field of study with at least 24 semester hours in courses directly related to the Health Technician position. This would include course work such as human anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, etc. 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/.