Qualifications

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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Experience: Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work
• or Education: One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position
• or Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable
• English Language Proficiency
• MSTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part
• GS-05 (Developmental Level) Grade Determination: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level
• OR Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor's degree
• AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• (KSAs must be clearly annotated on your resume) In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings
• Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility
• Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment
• Assignment: This is a developmental level MST position
• Removes soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing
• Inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembles basic sets and trays used throughout the medical center including those used in the operating room
• Prepares, loads, and operates sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor
• prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule
• MSTs receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex tasks and require direct supervision on new assignments
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings throughout the facility, to include but not limited to decontamination, endoscope reprocessing, high-level disinfection, preparation (inspection, assembly, packaging, sterilization) and sterile storage
• The trainee may be required to work in a multitude of temperature variants
• The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday, with frequent bending, lifting of instrumentation
• May require the ability to deliver loaded transport carts to the point of use
• May require the ability to operate equipment, such as cart transport assist devices
• The work requires dexterity and visual acuity, including the ability to differentiate color for interpretation of quality assurance tests, manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation
• On a regular and recurring basis, the trainee will be asked to rotate between carefully controlled clean environments and the contaminated area of decontamination
• The trainee wears personal protective equipment, as appropriate for their area
• This may include, but not limited to
• hospital provided surgical attire, hair covers, beard covers, and appropriate shoe coverings
• The trainee may be exposed to hazardous materials and loud noises within work areas
• The trainee may be exposed to chemicals and chemical/ sterilant fumes, blood-borne pathogens, varied temperature and humidity levels, slip/trip/fall conditions related to wet environments, and sharp items
• The trainee often works around body fluids, mucus, excretions, and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling
• Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while disinfecting instruments, RME, and work surfaces.