Clinical Laboratory Scientist

About the role

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Responsibilities

• Uses comprehensive knowledge of professional clinical laboratory science principles, practices, concepts, and theories to produce sound independent work.
• Applies comprehensive knowledge of laboratory quality assurance principles to consistently manage quality control, process improvements, inventories, and documentation in laboratory operations.
• Collects, handles, accessesions, and labels specimens according to safety, patient identification, and infection control policies.
• Writes standard operating procedures for a variety of users using extensive knowledge of Clinical Laboratory Science profession to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions and procedures.
• Evaluates the suitability and preparation of specimens for analysis, maintains seamless identification, preserves the viability of the specimen, and ensures uniformity is maintained.
• Recognizes and reacts to indicators of malfunction and implements corrections using independent technical judgment to analyze and interpret laboratory results, analyzer messages/flags, and incongruous data.
• Conducts quality control procedures for processes including equipment, reagents, and products. Maintains quality control data in format designed for each system. Produces statistical spreadsheets, charts, and records for quality control reports.

Requirements

• Current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies, and all US Citizens are eligible to apply.
• The duties and responsibilities of the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Generalist include, but are not limited to, the tasks listed above.

Qualifications

• Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship, proficiency in spoken and written English, bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university, and certification as an MLS or MT given by ASCP BOC or AMT.
• Grade Determinations: GS-07 requires no additional experience beyond the basic requirements, GS-09 requires 1 year of creditable experience or a master's degree, and GS-11 requires 1 year of creditable experience or a master's degree or a Ph.D.
• Physical Requirements: Typical for the occupation, includes standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May require wearing personal protective equipment and undergoing annual TB screening or testing.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37-50 days of annual paid time off.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Childcare subsidy for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance.
• Retirement benefits and telework options are available.

Pay

Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Schedule

Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm, subject to change based on needs of the facility.

Application Instructions

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.