Medical Care Transportation Technician - Paramedic

Summary

This Medical Care Transpiration Technician - Paramedic position is assigned to the Department of Veteran Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Transportation Services (VTS), Ambulance Service, in various VA Medical Center (VAMC) locations with an emergency room, acute care or urgent care clinic, or other similar departments performing basic and advanced life support procedures.

Duties

• ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties include but are not limited to: Performs all duties of a Paramedic and Emergency Medical Technician, which includes: responds to accidents and other emergencies involving injury, illness, life threatening situations; patient triage and take/record patient vital signs; conducts complete assessment of patient's condition, obtains patient history; makes independent preliminary patient assessments and if and how the patient can be moved and to which facility to transport patient to; administers Basic and Advanced Life Support Care, responds to and monitors cardiac and defibrillation; provides fluid resuscitation by IV and manages trauma injuries, bleeding, and post-traumatic shock. Operates various emergency vehicles and emergency/medical equipment, tools and supplies which may include ambulance, extrication tools, blood pressure cuff, cardiac monitor, glucose monitor, defibrillator, endotracheal tube, external pacing device, 12 lead EKG airway equipment, intravenous pump, oxygen terminal, pulse oximetry monitor, CPAP, auto-ventilator, medical supplies, radio communications equipment. Ambulance Interpretive Guidelines involve: Airway Obstruction and Respiratory Arrest; Cardiac Arrest; Mechanical Breathing Aids; Bleeding and Shock; Fractures of Torso and Extremities; Head, Face, Neck and Spine Injuries; Eye, Chest, Abdomen, and Genitalia; Childbirth; Miscellaneous Medical Emergencies; Environmental Emergencies. Operates emergency transport vehicles, uses telephone and radio communications equipment and systems, selects most efficient route to and from sites taking into consideration traffic patterns, adverse weather conditions, and health facility locations. Reads highway maps, program GPS devices, and follows instructions. Decontaminates the vehicle and assures vehicle is ready for the next run by replacing supplies and medical equipment and performs safety inspections and operator maintenance. Performs other duties as necessary. Work Schedule: Paramedics work rotating shifts, including holidays, and are subject to occasional recall to maintain adequate coverage of the Emergency Department and ambulance service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Mandatory overtime may be required due to run times that may extend beyond normal scheduled work hours. Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidate. Will be discussed during the interview process. Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Condition of continued employment: Paramedic shall obtain certification as a National Registered Emergency Medical Technician (Paramedic) no later than (NLT) 18 months after employment as condition of continued employment with VA. Designated Drug-Testing Position: 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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

Qualifications

English Language Proficiency Requirement: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to perform the duties of this position. -AND- SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SCREEN-OUT) - FOUR Selective Placement Factors (SPF) have been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. Must possess a valid/current state issued license/certification for eligibility for employment (Paramedic). (CERTIFICATIONS REQUIRED to receive credit for further consideration). Must possess and maintain current Basic Life Support Provider (BLS) Certification. (CERTIFICATIONS REQUIRED to receive credit for further consideration). Must possess and maintain current Advanced Cardiac Life Support Provider Certification. (CERTIFICATIONS REQUIRED to receive credit for further consideration). Possess a valid and unrestricted state driver's license. (Please DO NOT provide driver's license. We may not accept pictures. This requirement will be verified during interview). In addition to the English Language Proficiency and Selective Placement Factor above, to qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must meet one of the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-08) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the Medical Care Transportation Technician -Paramedic. 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 includes knowledge of a majority of body systems, i.e., skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and genitourinary, to perform patient examination; responding to accidents and other emergencies involving injury and/or illness which may be life-threatening and require basic life support procedures; experience providing transportation of patients to medical treatment facilities; using communication equipment and techniques to accurately obtain and relay information to and from dispatchers and health care providers; knowledge of protocols and treatments used in the delivery of emergency care for persons injured in chemical, nuclear, biological, and hazardous materials incidents; and experience operating emergency or patient transport vehicles. NOTE: One (1) full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successfully completed two years of Graduate education or a Master's degree is creditable only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Equivalent combinations of successfully completed Graduate education (in excess of one year) and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. NOTE: One (1) full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. 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/. Physical Requirements: This position involves extended periods of heavy moving and lifting of patients in a variety of situations. Generally, the work requires recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, and positioning of patients, frequently under adverse conditions or in confined areas. May be required to spend prolonged periods in protective breathing apparatus and protective closing during chemical, nuclear, biological, or hazardous materials incidents/exercises. Employee may be exposes to infection and contagious diseases, and may involve exposure to patients who are intoxicated, under the influence of drugs, or mentally unstable resulting in belligerent and sometimes violent behavior.

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 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) - See "Required Documents" below for details. 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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/.

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 assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. 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 questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13057127. 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. After submitting the online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. IMPORTANT: If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements. 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 at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application. 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 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.