Histopathology Technician (Advanced)

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.

01Basic 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: Histopathology Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5.a., this part.

02Experience and Education

Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical laboratory assistant (or technician) or health technician.

OR, Education. (a) Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation such as biological science or chemistry; or (b) Successful completion of two academic years of study above high school that included at least 24 semester hours in Chemistry and/or in appropriate fields of biological science and successful completion of a 12-month program of education and training in histopathology or cytotechnology. OR, Experience/Education Combination.

Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as biological science, surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field. (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or histopathology technicians given by the U.S.

Armed Forces. 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).

03Grade Determinations

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified. Histopathology Technician (Advanced), GS-07 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Assignment. Histopathology technicians at this level generally have a higher level of responsibility for technical oversight, and are expected to carry out assigned tasks of considerable difficulty independently.

The incumbent will have the responsibility of performing difficult specialized histological, histochemical, and immunohistochemical procedures, as well as developing, modifying, or adapting new staining methods or techniques, improving existing methods as necessary for routine histotechnology procedures. The technician will be responsible for troubleshooting issues with instruments and resolving problems.

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. (a) Skill in applying professional, complex anatomic pathology principles, practices, concepts, and theories in performing new or difficult specialized testing methods or techniques. (b) Ability to provide technical oversight of laboratory quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement exhibiting competence in managing reagent and supply inventories and document control systems. (c) Ability to validate methodologies, operate anatomic pathology laboratory equipment and perform complex instrument troubleshooting. (d) Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze and evaluate laboratory results and resolve problems.

04Preferred Experience

Knowledge of Histology/Cytology; skills in embedding, cutting (microtoming), grossing biopsies, immunohistochemistry, special stains. Candidates with Histopathology Technician (HT), Histopathology Technologist (HTL) certifications can apply. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-7.

05Physical Requirements

Intermittent moderate lifting (15-44 pounds); light carrying (under 15 pounds); use of fingers; both hands required; walking (up to 4 hours); standing (up to 4 hours); repeated bending (up to 2 hours); intermittent, but possible prolonged stooping and kneeling; ability to distinguish basic colors; near vision correctable at 13" to 16"; ability to read and comprehend ordinary type and computer screens; ability to hear (aid permitted)and work in an environment with constant noise; working closely with others; high cognitive function required to work in a fast paced environment with competing priorities without loss of accuracy; emotional stability required to maintain self-control in difficult and stressful situations; ability to wear required to personal protective equipment as required.

The duties and responsibilities of the Histopathology Technician (Advanced) include but are not limited to the following: Responsible for maintaining specimen integrity and identification from initial accessioning and through the entire specimen processing procedure.

Ensuring no margin of errors, quality or misrepresentation of tests results Responsible and accountable for testing surgical tissues, body fluids, and non-gyn specimen through the entire process Functions as an assistant to the Anatomic Pathologist by performing grossing of biopsy specimens Advanced skills in specimen dissection and expert knowledge of proper orientation and appropriate tissue selection are required Performs a variety of extremely difficult, delicate and complex tissue including the preparation of frozen sections for rapid diagnosis of tissue during surgery Performs routine histological techniques such as fixation, embedding, cutting and H&E staining Performs a wide variety of special stains such as H&E, PAS, AFB, Mucicarmine, Giemsa, Gram Stain, Iron, Sliver Stains such as Reticulum, Bielschowsky using automatic or manual methodologies and is able to control the staining procedures used in microscopic differentiation to achieve precise staining results Performs, interprets quality, maintains the integrity of special procedures such as lmmunohistochemistry and Thin Prep for diagnostic purposes using automated IHC Staining System and Thin Prep 2000 System respectively Prepares and processes Non-Gyn (Body Fluids), Gyn and FNAs specimens and stains according to departmental procedures and Turnaround Time with Cytological guidelines and state of the art methodologies Performs and documents quality control and assurance activities and corrective actions related to test performance Maintains Safety Data Sheet (SDS) inventory, ensuring all SDS sheets are provided to the Industrial Hygienist for uploading into database Communicates effectively and courteously while working as a healthcare team member.

Provides excellent service as defined by the customer (healthcare providers, patients, and others) Organizes work and sets priorities to meet deadlines Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 40241F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized