Health Technician

Summary

The Northern Arizona VA Health Care System is currently recruiting for one Health Technician for the primary care service line, in Cottonwood, AZ. The incumbent is responsible for providing comprehensive clinical services, including lab draws and phlebotomy collection with proper shipping, delivering patients and family education, and both clinical and clerical support to providers.

Major duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Provides customer service to staff, superiors, and Veteran patients and family
• Sets Up Equipment, Determines Technical Factors, and Sets Controls /Performs Diagnostic Tests and Procedures
• Maintains Patient Records/Maintains Control Records and Documents/Test Results
• Performs Personal Patient Care//Teaches Patients Proper Health Care Practices
• Handles Clerical/Administrative Support & Coordination Requirements /Receives and Directs Patients
• Keeps clinical staff appraised of changes or problems
• Interfaces with personal computer applications (PC).
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 7:00am- 3:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD07166A
Telework: This position is not suitable for telework
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

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.

Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary and is performed in a clinic responsible for treating patients with a wide variety of medical problems. Normal safety precautions and practices are required for working in a healthcare environment. This position requires emotional ability to deal effectively with multi-tasking and high volume of patient flow. Other physical demands include reaching, bending, stretching, walking and carrying light loads of supplies.

30 Day Hiring Model The Department of Veterans Affairs is implementing a streamlined 30-Day Hiring Model designed to accelerate hiring while maintaining the highest standards of merit-based selection. This improved process reduces traditional hiring timelines by integrating early coordination, faster assessments, and efficient pre-employment actions. Applicants can expect a more transparent, predictable, and efficient hiring journey from announcement to entry on duty.

What Applicants Can Expect:

• Expedited Candidate Review Once the announcement closes, Human Resources will quickly review applications, issue certificates of eligible candidates the day after the announcement closes and refer applicants for hiring manager consideration.
• Quick Interviews & References

HR may arrange interviews and will request references within 3-5 days after being referred to the hiring manager.

• Streamlined Pre-Employment Requirements: Following a tentative offer, applicants should be prepared to complete required steps, such as fingerprinting and background check, credentialing, and medical examination within 3 days of the offer.
• Clear and Timely Communication: Applicants will receive clear communication at key milestones, including referral, tentative offer, and onboarding instructions

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• All 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.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/16/2026.

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 GS5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS4. 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 position has an Individual Occupational Requirement that must be met:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.

OR

For GS-5: 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 directly related to the position.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: 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 meet the requirements of this position. ~AND~

In addition to the English language proficiency requirement, you must meet one of the following minimum qualifications to qualify for this position at the GS-5 level.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level in Federal service that has required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: performing both clerical and clinical duties in a medical/healthcare environment; answering and directing phone calls; scheduling appointments; documenting medical records; and taking and recording vital signs. This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. ~OR~
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 directly related to the position. 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. Transcripts required. ~OR~
Combination of Education and Experience: An equivalent combination of specialized experience and education as described that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. Transcripts required, and experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Customer Service
• Oral Communication
• Technical Competence
• Written Communication

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

Preferred Experience: One year of experience in primary care laboratory procedures and phlebotomy is preferred.

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; religious; 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.

References: Per the VA Handbook, 5005, Parts I and II, for general appointment into the VA system,
and; OPM Qualification Standards for applicable occupational series for General Schedule positions.

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/.

How You Will Be Evaluated