Histopathology Technician
Location: Fort Harrison Montana
Description: Department of Veterans Affairs is at present recruited Histopathology Technician right now, this career will be placed in Montana. For complete informations about this career opportunity kindly read the description below. Vacancy ID:
910927
OUR MISSION:
To fulfill President LincolnÂ's promise - Â"To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his w! idow, and his orphanÂ" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are AmericaÂ's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?
The
Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) needs employees who possess the energy, compassion, and commitment to serve those who served our Country. Whatever the job title, every position in VA will give you a chance to make a meaningful and personal contribution to the lives of truly special and deserving people - our Veterans. VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities. Working for VA is one of the most emotionally satisfying and professionally rewarding ways to dedicate the best within you to your Country's service.
If you are transitioning from the military or a Veteran already, we invite you to explore the! benefits of continuing your career at the VA.
The VA! is committed to hiring Veterans
.
The VA is much more than just another employer. It is an honorable, open and welcoming community of those who care. Gratitude is our motivation and service is our mission.
The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define Â"who we are,Â" our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries. The Values are
I
ntegrity,
C
ommitment,
A
dvocacy,
R
espect and
E
xcellence (Â"
I CARE
Â").
America's Veterans need you!
To find out more, go to
http://www.va.gov/jobs/
.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation.
DUTIES:
PART-TIME:
This is ! a part-time position (20) hours/week. The salary listed represents full-time employment
and will be pro-rated based on the actual number of hours worked each pay-period. Likewise, benefits and time-off accrual will also be prorated and based on your part-time work schedule.
NOTE
: This is a
part-time
,
TEMPORARY
(not-to-exceed 1 year) position. This appointment may be renewed for additional service in accordance with Agency needs. Temporary positions do not offer health or life insurance benefits and may be terminated at any time before the expiration date. The appointment to a temporary position does not confer eligibility for promotion or reassignment to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment.
You will be assigned to Histology/Cytology area of Anatomic Pathology section of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the VA Medical Center at Ft. ! Harrison, MT.
Duties include, but are not limited to:
Performs histological techniques such as; fixation, embedding, cutting, and straining in order to prepare tissue slides for final diagnosis by the pathologists.
·
Maintains specimen integrity and identification from initial accessioning through the entire specimen processing procedure.
·
Prepares frozen sections for rapid diagnosis of tissue during surgery.
·
Performs daily quality control, operation, troubleshooting and preventive maintenance on all Histology/Cytology equipment such as processor, automatic stainer, cryostat, microtomes, embedding center and coverslipper.
·
Assists
pathologists during autopsy procedures.
·
Maintains complete files of embedded tissue blocks, slides and other materials used in the Histology lab.
·
Ensures reagents are stored properly and used within expiration date.
·
Performs a full rang! e of routine and specialized cytological and histological procedures such as accessions in specimens, assists in fine needle aspirations, utilizes appropriate fixation and staining technique s etc.
·
Makes determination as to either accept or reject slides on the basis of proper staining reactions.
Work Schedule: Flexible schedule Monday - Friday 12:30pm 4:30pm or 1:00pm - 5:00pm
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.
***RELOCATION EXPENSES AND/OR INCENTIVES ARE NOT AUTHORIZED***
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
Â"HT(American Society for Clinical Pathology) certification prefe! rredÂ"
GS 6 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: one (1) year specia! lized experience that equips you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position at the GS-06. To be creditable this experience must have been equivalent to the GS-05 in Federal service. Specialized experience includes: anatomical pathology technician work in (a) cutting and staining very thing sections of human tissue specimens for microscopic examination; and/or in (b) testing and examining body fluids, etc. for abnormalities in cell structure; and would have included a practical knowledge of the techniques of laboratory practice in histopathology. A 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.
GS-! 6 EDUCATION:
6 months of graduate education or an internship with subjects related to the position. This education must have been obtained in an college or university. 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. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.
(Transcripts Required)
GS-6 COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION:
equivalent combinations of educatio or an internship and experience that would qualify me at the GS-6 level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
(TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
You will be rated on the following! Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other characteristics (KSAOs) as part! of the assessment questionnaire for this position:
Knowledge of tissue processing techniques
Knowledge of orienting, positioning, and cutting minute and delicate tissue
Ability to operate and maintain histology equipment
Knowledge of histology quality control processes
Ability to apply extreme focus to sample labeling and attention to detail
Knowledge of fine needle aspirate biopsies and assists in collection of bone marrow aspiration biopsies
Knowledge of laboratory safety including chemical hazards and biohazards
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: The work requires regular and recurring standing to perform tests; prolonged sitting while utilizing a microtome; walking, reach, stooping and bending to obtain supplies and operate instruments. You will occasionally lift heavy containers of reagents or supplies.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Offic! e of Personnel Management's website at
http://www.opm.gov/qualifications
.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Please refer to this
checklist
to ensure proper accreditation and for foreign education requirements.
Veteran's Preference:
When applying for Federal jobs, eligible veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of DD-214(s) showing all dates of service as well as character of service (honorable, general, etc.). Additionally, veterans with servic! e-connected disability of 10% or more must also submit a copy of their ! official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying their service-connected disability and/or their receipt of compensation for service-connected disability. If the military member is within 120 days of separation and does not yet have a DD214, the member may instead submit any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed.
Veterans with service-connected disability of less than 10%, non service-connected disability, and Purple Heart recipients, as-well-as those claiming derived preference for a spouse, widow or widower, or natural mother, should refer to and submit a completed "
SF15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference
," (go to
http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.p! df
) and required documentation with your application materials. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit
http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/veterans.aspx
.
HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:
Applicants will be ranked based on four quality groups, as follows:
Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of! the requirements of the job; and
Qualified - applicants posse! ssing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.
After the vacancy announcement closes, reviewed applications are evaluated against the questionnaire responses and placed in the appropriate quality group. Qualified veterans will be afforded preference by being placed at the top of the appropriate quality group. Qualifying veterans with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be placed at the top of the best qualified group. The best qualified group is the first to be referred to the hiring facility for further consideration and possible interview. The remaining groups may be referred based on the number of applicants available.
BENEFITS:
VA offers a comprehensive benefits package. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered:
http://www.va.gov/jobs/job_benefits/benefits.asp
.
The Federal Government has special excepte! d appointing authorities for persons with qualifying disabilities, such as Schedule A. Specific information can be found at
http://www.opm.gov/disability/peoplewithdisabilities.asp
. IMPORTANT: If you would like to receive consideration as a Schedule A applicant, you must contact the Human Resources office at the facility where this position is located at .
OTHER INFORMATION:
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members:
Please visit the
VA for Vets
site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
The
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
(ICTAP) and
Career Transition Assistance Plan
(CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competi! tive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate doc! umentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at
http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/
.
VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
You may be required to serve a probationary period.
- .
If you were eligible to t! his career, please email us your resume, with salary requirements and a resume to Department of Veterans Affairs.
If you interested on this career just click on the Apply button, you will be redirected to the official website
This career starts available on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 11:41:50 GMT