The incumbent serves as an expert providing authoritative advice and consultation for more difficult, complex, or unique tests requiring special knowledge. Advises all organizational levels on various aspects of the specialized testing including appropriateness that takes into consideration clinical context. The technical specialist often works independently and is given freedom of action under the general guidance of a pathologist or other laboratory practitioner. 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 MTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. Education and Experience A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in medical laboratory science, medical technology, clinical laboratory science or in a related science (e.g., laboratory sciences such as chemistry, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, immunology, AND completion of a medical technology clinical practice program. Clinical practice programs completed after 1974 must have been accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP, formerly CAHEA), or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). The professional curriculum may have consisted of a post-baccalaureate certificate program or be integrated into a fouryear program of study that culminated in a baccalaureate degree. OR A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND two years of post-certification clinical laboratory experience (e.g., blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, clinical microscopy, etc.) within the last ten years as a certified Medical Laboratory Technician by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP-BOC), American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR) or American Medical Technologists (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. OR A bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours of biological science (with one course in microbiology), 16 semester hours of chemistry (with one course in organic or biochemistry) and one course in mathematics, AND five years of clinical laboratory experience within the last ten years performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banking, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical experience which matches categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. OR Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational and/or experience requirements if the degree is found to be equivalent to degree programs recognized by the NAACLS or clinical laboratory experience as described in paragraph 2b(2) or (3) above. This finding may be based on either of the following: (1) A letter from a college or university with a baccalaureate program recognized by the NAACLS stating that the individual's foreign degree has been evaluated and been found to be equivalent to its bachelor of medical technology degree. (2) A letter from ASCP-BOC or AMT stating that the individual is eligible for the certification examination Certification Candidates must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT. Grade Determinations GS-11 Lead Medical Technologist Facilitates team or unit processes by working in collaboration with team members to ensure that tasks, priorities, goals and achievements are coordinated with management. Responsible for all aspects of operation in their area of specialty including preparation and maintenance of records and reports, analysis of testing methodologies, training, instrumentation and compliance. Acts as a liaison to other departments of the medical center for the appropriate laboratory specialty. Experience or Education Experience Must have 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the full performance level (GS-9), which is directly related to the position to be filled. OR Education. Must have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in medical technology or a directly related field. AND Knowledge, Sills, and Abilities In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of medical technology applicable to a wide range of duties to solve complex problems involving diverse aspects of clinical laboratory practice. Knowledge of regulatory, licensing and accrediting agency requirements and statutes governing clinical laboratory operations in order to plan, implement or monitor laboratory programs and services. Ability to manage and coordinate daily work activities and assignments in a section. Skill to maintain, troubleshoot and repair laboratory instrumentation. Ability to provide technical oversight in order to manage personnel and work assignments in a manner that assures completion of the laboratory workload References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/72 PART II APPENDIX G24 Physical Requirements: ???????The incumbent must be able to perform all activities of the position without restriction. This position involves Heavy Lifting (up to 40 lbs); Heavy Carrying (up to 40 lbs.); Straight Pulling (1-2 hours); Pushing (1-2 hours); Reaching above shoulder (occasional); Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (up to 3 hours); Standing (1 hours); Repeated bending (up to 1 hour); Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Sitting (up to 6 hours); Near vision correctable at 13" to 16"; Hearing (aid permitted). ["Acts as an expert Chemistry section technical advisor. Monitors chemistry inventory & oversees ordering of chemistry supplies Reviews daily maintenance & quality control studies. Troubleshoots analyzer issues & coordinates service. Assigns proficiency testing surveys as they arrive, & ensure their completion for submission via QA Technologist. Assists chemistry supervisor in reviewing & updating forms & standard operating procedures for clinical chemistry & general laboratory functions. Strategizes & enacts in-house testing modifications, additions, & retirements. Performs, evaluates, interprets, correlates & validate the accuracy of laboratory procedures & results. Involves accurate & timely completion of testing to provide relevant clinical information to physicians crucial to patient care. Judges the acceptability of samples submitted for testing using a broad body of knowledge of pre-analytic sample requirements. Shows how mastery of the VA Laboratory computer software package. Labels samples & subsamples, records data accurately in logs & worksheets with extreme attention to ID verification & accurate manual recording. Recognizes of all critical value results & for the effective & immediate communication of those results to the patient's provider following all required steps & documentation. Masters the preventive maintenance requirements for a large number of instruments & testing systems. Resolves procedural, reagent & equipment problems according to written procedures, verbal instructions & previous experience. Practices require thorough understanding & adherence to all safety requirements as per regulatory laws such as used in phlebotomy, proper handling of blood & body fluids, hazardous medical waste, safe chemical handling practices, & others. Serves the needs of other medical center staff seeking advice on the proper ordering of tests, technical information about tests offered, & the interpretation of test results. Provides effective & professional training to new staff members on theoretical & practical aspects of procedures in use providing demonstration of laboratory practices. Maintains the adequacy of the scientific knowledge applied in the performance of required tests. Assists in interpretation of reports, provide academic information or to direct provider to appropriate specialty resources. Makes a corrective action report for every event in the section where there is a failure of material, equipment, procedure or policy that hampers the delivery of accurate results to patient file. Tests all new lots of media, reagents, panels, chemicals, control organisms & any material required for services offered with appropriate control material prior to use in patient testing & interpretation. Performs & documents all instrument checks daily as required as well as any weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual & annual checks & maintenance. Advises all VA employees about any aspect of clinical chemistry testing, including being able to answer correctly all generalist technologists' questions regarding those duties & procedures & is able to answer all other medical, non-lab staff questions regarding what samples to collect, how to handle or preserve them post-collection. Reviews incomplete test status reports daily & resolves problems where testing was not completed in the specified time frame. Collects a variety of workload data from multiple sources, enter the data to spreadsheets & create reports tracking a variety of statistical indicators. Orders, receives; check-ins, tests, labels & records supplies received & document all of these steps on the appropriate supply logs, new lot logs & accounting records. Reviews or creates & publishes for the section all procedures, policies & forms required & is able to edit & reprint documents as required using current standards of document format, maintenance & control. Works with vendor staff on method validation & crossover studies with the installation of a new Clinical Chemistry section analyzer to evaluate data & documentation for accreditation requirement adequacy. Acts as member of any formal evaluation team required by VISN contracting staff when new Clinical Chemistry instruments are being examined for CPRR contract use. Develops new policies & guidelines, formulate plans, & the ability to judge effectiveness of the operation. Oversees day to day operations of highly complex test performance. Organizes workload & staffing. Empowers staff to perform independently. Monitors test analyses & specimen examinations to ensure acceptable levels of performance. Work Schedule: Shift covers the 11:00PM-7:30 AM . Weekends & Holidays may be required. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 56619-0 Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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