Medical Technician

Description:

Medical Technician performs specimen collection, accessioning and waived testing. This position is located at the VA Albuquerque Health Care System in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/02/2026.

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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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.

This occupation series has a Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), which is a basic requirement that you may qualify based on specialized experience or education:

Specialized Experience:

• (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or
• (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled.

Education:

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects appropriate to the position to be filled.

In addition, to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) above, you also need to meet the minimum qualification below.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Knowledge of the technical methods, venipuncture and procedures.
  • Apply practical knowledge of the basic theories and practices of the scientific discipline(s).
  • Knowledge to operate complex equipment systems (i.e., highly mechanical cartographic, hydrographic, or laboratory experiments on fluids).
  • Knowledge of accreditation/regulatory agency requirements sufficient to insure that works and procedures are consistent with standards (i.e., CAP, Joint Commission, VHA, etc.).
  • Knowledge of laboratory safety methods necessary to ensure safety of self and staff. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successful completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects appropriate to the position being filled. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school.
  • NOTE: Applicant must submit transcripts must be submitted at time of application, if using any part of education to qualify. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond first two years above high school with courses related to the occupation.
  • NOTE: Applicant must submit transcripts must be submitted at time of application, if using any part of education to qualify.

Preferred Experience: At least one year of phlebotomy experience.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Diagnostic Medical Testing
• Technical Competence

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.

Note : 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.

Physical Requirements: The work requires manual dexterity and exceptional hand/eye coordination, some physical exertion such as regular and recurring walking, bending, sitting over a microscopic and concentration for long periods of tie while reading specimens and to stand for several consecutive hours during the preparation of specimens; In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. Position requires lifting of reagent containers weighing up to 35 pounds.

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/ .