The New Mexico VA Healthcare Network is recruiting for a Medical Supply Censitrac Technician Supervisor assigned to Sterile Processing Services (SPS). The Supervisor is responsible for the direct supervision of day-to-day operations in SPS, regardless of tour of duty, including reusable medical equipment (RME) reprocessing for all clinical services. Supervisor will be responsible for operational deployment of a comprehensive training program for all SPS staff. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English. Experience and/or Education. (1) Experience. Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; OR (2) Education. One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; OR (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements, the following criteria must be used when determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. GS-08 Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds. 2. Ability to direct staff and manage tasks to be completed. 3. Ability to oversee and supervise all aspects of decontamination, preparation, sterilization, monitoring, and distribution of RME. 4. Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues. Preferred Experience. 1 to 2 years of Censitrac References: VA Handbook 5005/76, Part II, Appendix G47, Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) Qualification Standard, GS-0622, Veterans Health Administration, dated July 8, 2015. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is the GS-08. Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation) and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment. ["The Medical Supply Censitrac Technician Supervisor functions as a first-level supervisor responsible for the oversight of a group of MSTs, with administrative responsibility for planning and directing the work. Responsible for assisting in the direct supervision of day to day operations in SPS, regardless of tour of duty, including reusable medical devices (RMD) reprocessing for all clinical services. Incorporate and demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of the Censitrac system. Responsible for tracking direct employees' schedules, duty times, and absences via timekeeping system. Evaluates completed work from overall standpoint in terms of effectiveness in meeting the requirements of the Operating Room, Clinics, and patient. Establish protocols for incoming instrumentation including organization of computerized data sets, retrieving data, and generating reports. Coordinate and track instrument maintenance and repair. Incorporates all polices and standard operating procedures in the Censitrac system. Develop new programs and data collection functions of department to fully automate the activities with time verification, validation functions, and QA. Reviews and QAs documents, reports, and applications for errors and ensures up to date database accuracy. Reviews levels, policy implementation, and repots items not in compliance. Evaluates documents, workflow and Censitrac information, usage reports, and other data collection forms. Implements new processes and reviews RMD activities. Provide recommendations for change and updates processes in effort to improve timeliness, improve quality, and reduce costs. Track and inventory instrumentation and related maintenance. Laser marking individual instrumentation and application of tacking devices/tools/materials. Prioritize deadlines and assist with unusual and unprecedented situations. Monitors and perform QA data collection Performs inspections on end user areas to ensure compliance with all required standards. Demonstrate and perform Fiscal accounting processes and contracting procedures. Troubleshooting of Censitrac peripherals such as scanners, PDAs, Zebra printers, and monitors. Ensures strict support and adherence to all Federal and local policies and procedures is adhered. Review maintenance requirements with clinical and surgical services. Maintain contact and professional relationships with SPS vendors and all parties. Open communication with customers that result in uninterrupted and consistently accurate flow of necessary RMD Identifies developmental and training needs of Censitrac for employees. Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for RMD Pros, which are clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system. Reusable Medical Equipment: Reusable Medical Equipment (RME) is any medical equipment designed by the manufacturer to be reused for multiple patients. All personnel who are involved in the reprocessing of RME are responsible for knowing what reusable instruments, equipment, medical devices or supplies are used (inventory) in their clinical area. All personnel who are involved with the use of RME must be familiar with which items are reprocessed locally (on unit) and/or which items are sent to Sterile Processing for reprocessing and/or sterilization. If items are transported for reprocessing, personnel must be aware of the individual decontamination steps that must be taken prior to transport of item and the appropriate method of transport. All personnel who are involved in reprocessing of RME are responsible for following the local Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) drafted in accordance with the manufacturer's written recommendations. Sterile Processing and Infection Control should be consulted when clarification of written instructions is needed. No one should be reprocessing any reusable medical equipment based upon vendor's verbal instructions alone; this is not an adequate practice. All personnel that are in any way involved in the reprocessing of RME must have documented training in the setup, reprocessing and maintenance of specific equipment. Validation of competency will be done according to national policy guidelines. All personnel that have the responsibility of reprocessing reusable medical equipment can suspend the reuse of any RME if they suspect that the device was not properly cleaned, disinfected or sterilized according to the SOP and manufacturer's guidelines. Single-use (disposable) medical devices will not be reused or re-sterilized. All personnel must understand the importance of RME and the significant impact on our Veteran population through the risk of infectious disease. Work Schedule: Varies Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,298 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
