Health Technician (Emergency Department)

Summary

The Health Technician (Emergency Department) is located within the Nursing, Acute Care service line at the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center in Miami, FL. They maintain acceptable standards of practice under the direction of a Register Nurse, perform assignments independently, and report unusual, new, or abnormal findings to the nursing staff. The ED Health Technician demonstrates competence in handling emergencies using basic and advanced life support equipment and skills

Duties

• Duties included but not limited to: Assist RN to plan for continuing nursing care/follow up during ED visit. Respond to emergencies/resuscitations and perform under stress in a calm manner. Ability to perform 12 Lead EKG (left and right). Adhere to psychiatric intake process and provide care of psychiatric patients in the ED setting. Assumes responsibility for the immediate maintenance and cleanliness of the environment and equipment used in the care of patients in the ED without specific direction to do so . Take inventory of forms and supplies and assures the necessary forms and supplies are available when needed. Serves as receptionist, directs patients and visitors, answers telephone inquiries and makes necessary phone calls as needed. Knowledge of the basic scientific principles underlying nursing procedures (to intelligently and safely perform complex procedures). Knowledge and concepts of therapeutic and rehabilitative objectives (to help establish realistic treatment goals for the patient and to assist the patient to achieve these goals). Knowledge of difficult and complex technical clinical skills and techniques of care to administer safe, intelligent, and adept care to patients, including those severely disabled physically and/or emotionally. Perform routine work with minimal direction within the appropriate guidelines using interdependent judgment in recurring tasks and referring unusual problems or deviations to supervisor. Utilize prescribed documentation format to compile pertinent, meaningful, and accurate data in the patient's medical record. Plans and completes work in allotted time frames. Preferred Experience: Minimum 2 years of Emergency Department (ED) experience Work Schedule: 7:30 pm- 8:00 am, Shift includes weekends and holiday rotations.(Work schedule is determined and approved by the supervisor. You may be required to work various shifts based on facility/ patient care needs) Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Emergency Department)/PD08479A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 09/14/2026. 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-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Ability to file, type, enter data, maintain records, take shorthand, and using and completing forms. Interviewing patients to collect information and data about current health status and the immediate need(s). Obtaining and documenting accurate information about patients, such as vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, temperature, respiration, actual weight, oxygen saturation and postural vital signs) performing 12 Lead EKGs and recognizing abnormalities and changes. Observing changes in patient condition and reports signs and symptoms in such cases to the RN, MD, NP or PA. Recognizes emergency situations and responds to them appropriately. Proficient in medical terminology, drug terminology, and equipment/supply terminology, and skills sufficient to identify and use equipment and supplies properly. Communicate and treat customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner and proving customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. 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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13053296. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/14/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit.