Medical Technologist - Senior Staff Specialist (Orders Portability) position is located in the VISN 12 Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service at Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care System located in North Chicago, IL. **Recruitment and/or Relocation incentives may be authorized for highly qualified candidates** 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. BASIC REQUIREMENTS for appointment as a Medical Technologist: 1) English Language Proficiency 2) Certification (copy of certification required) Applicants must currently possess the appropriate certification as a MT, MLS, or CLS given by the ASCP-BOC, ASCP-BOR, or AMT. 3) Education and/or Experience Combination (Transcripts Required): 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, etc.). AND Completion of a medical technology clinical practice program. Note: 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 SAHEA), 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 four-year program of study that culminated in a baccalaureate degree. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED 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 Technologist (AMT). This experience must include performing moderate and/or high complexity testing in blood banding, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and clinical microscopy (or categorical certification) in a clinical laboratory. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED 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. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GS-10 LEVEL BELOW: Experience: Must have at least 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the full performance level (GS-9), which is directly related to the position to be filled. Creditable specialized experience typically includes but is not limited to: Comprehensive knowledge of and skill in applying a wide range of concepts, principles and methodology of the field to perform advanced techniques; Ability to modify or adapt established methods, procedures or techniques to resolve difficult or complex problems; Knowledge of the application of laboratory regulatory requirements; Ability to provide or coordinate staff development and training . There is no educational substitution at this grade level. In addition, one must be able to demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skill and Abilities (KSAs): KSA 1 - Comprehensive knowledge of and skill in applying a wide range of concepts principles and methodology of the field to perform advanced techniques. KSA 2 - Ability to modify or adapt established methods, procedures, or techniques to resolve difficult or complex problems. KSA 3 - Knowledge of the application of laboratory regulatory requirements KSA 4 - Ability to provide or coordinate staff development and training KSA 5 - The ability to perform sound, independent work References: VA Handbook 5005/72, Part II, Appendix G24, Medical Technologist Qualification Standards, 5/12/2014. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-10. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-10. Physical Requirements: The employee works and functions in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and following practices and regulations governing biosafety and biosecurity in the workplace. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ["DUTIES INCLUDE: Identifies and reports any potential ESB laboratory test mapping issues contributing to Orders Portability Solution (OPS) failures of laboratory test order, accessioning, or resulting reporting, billing, and workload recording systems. Uses knowledge of laboratory computer systems in CHCS and Vista to generate \"pending\" lab test lists in both systems to identify orders and results that must be corrected either by using HL7 message retry tools or manually entering the missing information in the other computer system to ensure synchronized health record. Utilize the OPS End of Day Report to identify issues and transmission failures. Reports all patient correlation issues to the appropriate FHCC staff for correction and then uses specialized software tools to re-transmit failed lab orders and results transactions to synchronize the patient charts. Creates and maintains appropriate Excel spreadsheets for statistical purposes. Also, prepares PowerPoint presentations of statistics as required for FHCC leadership. Acts as liaison with the CHCS Helpdesk and the VA Helpdesk to report and create trouble tickets for all Orders Portability issues. This person will follow up on all OPS outstanding trouble tickets, provide any additional information, and document progress. Works with national contractors from the VA, DoD, and third party vendors to promote the Laboratory Order Portability Solutions for the VA/DoD merger including but not limited to troubleshooting and reporting issues, providing additional documentation as needed. Assists with testing of OPS software patches and enhancements to promote laboratory order and test resulting portability between the VA and DOD computer systems. Develops and updates technical policy and procedure manuals as related to Laboratory OPS. Performs other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday; 7:30am-4:00pm; occasional weekends/holidays may be required\nTelework: Not available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]