Health Technician (Laboratory Assistant)

Summary

The Health Technician is responsible for receiving and processing specimens including computerized accessioning, centrifugation, aliquoting, determining specimen acceptability, and delivery to the point of analysis or, if analysis is to be delayed, ensuring proper storage conditions are utilized to preserve specimen integrity. Additionally, they check-in/accession patients and collect specimens through phlebotomy procedures. AMERICA'S VETERANS NEED YOU!

Duties

• Duties include but are not limited to: Specimen Receipt (50%) Provides customer relation services when receiving laboratory specimens from patients and other services within the VA North Texas Healthcare System. Serves as a subject matter expert for other healthcare professionals on the collection and processing of all laboratory testing. Reviews and accepts test request orders for samples submitted for testing. This includes accessioning samples into the laboratory. Evaluates the suitability of specimens for analysis, requesting new specimens if determined to be unusable. Prepares specimens for analysis, ensuring that the physiologic state of the specimen properties is maintained. Follows established protocol for handling of mislabeled/unlabeled specimens. Separates and routes the specimen to the specific laboratory section that performs the ordered test. Receives packages delivered to the laboratory. Specimen and Send-Out Processing (25%) Performs the processing of all clinical laboratory specimens and is responsible for the timely and proper distribution of specimens to the technical areas of the PLMS laboratory and the reference laboratories to assure specimen integrity. Uses laboratory equipment such as centrifuges, refrigerators, and freezers, in addition to consumables such as transfer pipettes, laboratory pour-off tubes and reference laboratory specimen containers. Communicate with the reference laboratories to research the requirements on new tests that are not identified in the reference laboratory directories. Operates and performs periodic reviews on equipment including checking temperatures of laboratory refrigerators and freezers, etc. Responsible for monitoring technical equipment, performing maintenance, and quality assurance on instrumentation (centrifuge). Clerical Assignments (15%) Serves as key contact for Veterans and beneficiaries seeking Diagnostic services, experiencing problems, and/or requesting information. Operate standard office equipment, such as multiline phone, copier, scanner, fax, page printers, label printers, etc. Answer and route telephone calls to the appropriate technical area of P&LMS. Verifies patient information and tests ordered in the computer system. Prints patient order labels for sample collection and at leisure tests (urine, stool, 24-hour urine, etc.). Answers basic technical laboratory questions or following up with appropriate section. Venipuncture Collection (10%) Demonstrates knowledge of principles, techniques, and practices of phlebotomy, hemostasis, and requirement of blood collection for the various tests performed in the laboratory. Obtains timely and appropriate blood samples as ordered per PLMS policies and procedures for both inpatient and outpatient orders. Must understand isolation precautions and the proper personal protective equipment necessary to perform phlebotomy procedures. Identifies tests that require special handling conditions and appropriately performs proper specimen collection. Initiates emergency care procedures in the event a patient has reaction to blood collection procedures including fainting, hematoma, and anxiety. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, tour of duty varies within 6:30am to 5:30pm, Rotating Holidays and Weekends Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Laboratory Assistant)/PD00802A 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, 09/18/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational Requirement: 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: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performing blood collection using a variety of phlebotomy techniques including vacutainer systems, syringe, butterfly, and/or capillary finger sticks. Interacting with patients, visitors, staff, students and volunteers in a courteous, helpful, tactful, cooperative, respectful and compassionate manner. Assessing patient condition before, during, and after procedures. Adhering to all universal precautions, infection control, and safety regulations associated with phlebotomy. 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 a four (4) year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond ???????the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. 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

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/. Note: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application

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/13042885. 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, 09/18/2026. 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.