Summary

The Surgical Technician - Operating Room is located at our William S Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital and is part of the Perioperative Surgery Team. Provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. Participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 11/10/2025. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): 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. In addition - to the Individual Occupational Requirement above the following is the experience required to qualify for this position at the GS-7 grade level. Specialized Experience: One (1) full year equivalent to at least next lower grade level (GS-6). To be creditable - this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-6 level in the Federal service to qualify for the Grade-7. Examples of specialized experience include (but are not limited to): Experience in positions that required preparing patient and the operating room for procedures; knowledge of surgical procedures and the human anatomy; knowledge of a wide range of instrumentation used in surgical procedures; knowledge of supplies such as grafts - shunts - catheters - prosthesis - needles - suture - etc.; knowledge of patient care nursing principles and skills such as connecting drains and tubing - preparing sterile dressings - etc.; skill in aseptic and sterilization techniques to prevent cross contamination and spread of infection; providing competent educational instructions to patients; and communicates and assists customers - visitors and staff in a courteous and professional manner. Note: As a general rule education is not qualifying in this occupation at the GS-7 grade level. Graduate level education or an internship may meet the specialized experience required above the GS-6 grade level only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the Health Technician position. If utilizing education or internship to qualify for this position - transcripts and or certification of internship must be provided with your application package. Physical Requirements/Demands: Physical and mental stamina are required - the duties involve frequently working under considerable stress - tense (sometimes life-threatening situations and with patients who are in a sedated state with loss of orientation. Involves long - strenuous hours of standing - stooping - bending - stretching without a break during procedures which require intense concentration. Involves frequent lifting to position or transport handicapped or anesthetized patients. Requires strenuous physical exertion and agility. Manual dexterity and agility are required to correctly assemble - test or repair instruments. Strain is incurred in staying alert on long cases under difficult situations. Scheduled on-ca11 emergency procedures on a rotation basis - including holidays and weekends. Expected to respond - if reached - for life-threatening emergency - even when not on-call. Expected to stay beyond shift if more than one room is running beyond 3:30 PM. Work Environment: The work involves risks of regular and reoccurring exposures to infectious and contagious diseases which require the Infection Control Policy and safety precautions are followed. Although the use of safety precautions may eliminate a certain danger of discomfort - there are additional demands/stresses upon the employee in carrying out infection control and safety regulations and techniques. 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/.

Duties

• Major duties include but are not limited to: Setting up sterile field with all required items such as air-power equipment - fiber optic equipment - microscopes - lasers - etc
• Planning and discussing procedures with surgical professionals
• Making sure all supplies and equipment are available prior to surgical procedure
• Preparing and maintaining sterile surgical setups
• Assisting the surgeon during surgical procedure
• Handling specimens - supplies - and equipment following universal precaution and infection control policies
• Assisting with patient care - i.e. - positioning - prepping - etc
• Assisting surgeon in such procedures as
• preparing skin grafts - holding retractors - applying skin staples - and cutting sutures
• Maintaining correct count of instruments used during procedures
• Performing non-technical maintenance of equipment to prevent malfunctions
• Stocking replenishing - and preparing supplies and equipment for use Assists other members of the team with room clean up in readiness for next patient
• Providing customer service in a courteous - tactful - and respectful manner
• Providing customers with information according to policies and procedures
• Making sure computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained
• Perform all other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Full-time - Monday - Friday - 6:45am-3:15pm
• On call responsibilities and scheduling flexibility required
• May be required to work on weekends and holidays
• Work schedule and rotations will be discussed at interview
• Telework: Not Available
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician/PD07182A Preferred Experience: Recent Hospital experience in the last 2 years as a surgical Technician
• Experience working in multiple surgical specialties - including but not limited to - Orthopedics - General Surgery - ENT - Vascular - or Cardiac Surgery.