Summary

The full performance - Emergency Department (ED) Intermediate Care Technician (ICT) is assigned to the Department of Veteran Affairs - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in Fayetteville - NC. This position serves as an advanced technician - performing ongoing patient care duties for the ED - for patients who are present for treatment. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current or former 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. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: medication administration; clinical tasks; emergency care; mental health services - patient screening; performs observation-based screening and collection of patient information - assists in behavioral and psychiatric situations - and operates specialized medical equipment; collecting a wide range of specimens - prepare specimens for transfer - performs skin biopsies - assist with minor procedures (nail removal - skin graph placement - and Jones dressing) - conducts or assist with training and experience using Telehealth peripherals. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must demonstrate the following; Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school - 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Preferred Experience: Experience in the military as a Hospital Corpsman - Combat Medic or Medical Technician is highly desired. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience - including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. - Peace Corps - AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g. - professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies - knowledge - and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience - including volunteer experience. Physical Demands: The work requires a level of physical fitness that allows for standing for extended periods - heavy lifting to position patients - and manual dexterity to perform clinical procedures. The work will require recurrent bending - lifting - stooping - standing - squatting - stretching - sitting and walking.

Duties

• Intermediate Care Technicians (ICTs) are advanced Health Technicians who have graduated from intensive specialized military medical training programs and served as combat medics - medical technicians - and corpsman
• They possess fundamental knowledge - background and experience in emergency medicine - critical care - medical readiness - field medicine - bedside care - and primary care
• These tasks are not all inclusive and require the demonstration of appropriate training and documented competence prior to their performance
• Patient Screening: Duties include performing observation-based screening and collecting patient information in collaboration with licensed personnel
• This may involve obtaining patient health history for chief complaints - medication history - and information about health-related or high-risk conditions that may impact the patient's health status
• The incumbent will complete approved templates and tools - for example the MiniCog screening established by the agency
• Mental Health Services: The incumbent assists in behavioral/psychiatric situations in an emergency setting
• This can include assisting licensed personnel with crisis intervention - assists with the management of aggressive or suicidal psychiatric patients - by providing one-to-one observations and applying prevention and management of disruptive behavior techniques (PMDB)
• The incumbent performs duties focused on communication techniques required to complete the questioners and templates approved for use in the ED - including active listening - restating - and mirroring
• The incumbent will maintain a safe and therapeutic environment for the patient while promoting a sense of worth and dignity under the supervision of the licensed personnel
• Clinical Tasks: The incumbent assists ED licensed personnel with the delivery of care to patients with complex - specialized - and potentially life-threatening situations
• This may include setting up equipment and passing instruments in the event of: cardioversions - insertion of thoracostomy tubes - or initiation of mechanical ventilation to restore normal physiological function or prevent deterioration of patient's condition
• The incumbent must possess the knowledge to recognize life threatening situations and act to correct these emergent situations according to established national or local protocols
• The incumbent initiates cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BLS) and use of automatic external defibrillator (AED) once trained and certified and where appropriate according to American Heart Association (AHA) protocols and policies
• Clinical responsibilities include but are not limited to: Vital signs
• Examples: vital signs - 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Point-of-care (POC)
• Examples: Abbott hand-held blood analyzer (I-STAT) - glucometer
• Equipment and surgical instrumentation set up
• Examples: chest tube insertion - filling water chambers - handing instruments in a sterile field - and hooking up to suction when ordered
• Observations and interventions
• Examples: oxygen therapy and splinting
• Wound care
• Examples: bandaging - application of dressings and wound measurements
• Specimen collection and Preparation
• Examples: collecting and labeling venous blood samples and mucous specimens
• ICTs may perform tasks after proper education - training and competency - demonstrating knowledge - skills and abilities
• Thoroughly and continually documents actions - interventions and patient response in the health record
• Emergency Care: In addition to ongoing ED duties - the incumbent may be asked to respond to medical emergencies on the facility grounds - and sometimes encounters situations which may be life threatening as part of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) - Code Blue - or medical transport team
• The incumbent appropriately implements emergency care in accordance with established protocols and policies
• Works in concert with other members of these teams to determine the nature - extent - and seriousness of the patient's condition including the search for medical alert symbols and medications
• ICTs will obtain and maintain certification in basic life support (BLS) - and other certifications as pertinent to their local facility and may assist within the scope/guidelines of their role and qualifications
• Medication Administration: Medication administration will comply with national and local directives and policies
• Administration methods may include intramuscular - oral - topical - eye drops - ear drops - intranasal - rectal suppositories - local anesthetics - nebulized medications - subcutaneous - and intradermal
• Follows national and local pharmacy and facility guidelines for disposal of medications
• Other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: May work rotating shifts - including nights - weekends and holidays - to maintain adequate coverage of the Emergency Department 24 hours a day - 7 days a week
• Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be authorized
• Position Description Title/PD#: Intermediate Care Technician/PDS00031-A and PDS0031A