Supervisory Medical Instrument Technician (Anesthesia)

The Supervisory Anesthesia Technician in Anesthesiology Service, Operative Care Division (OCD) has authority for the full range of supervisory responsibilities requiring the consistent exercise of independent judgment. The position is accountable to the Chief, Anesthesiology Service, Operative Care Division.

Portland is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated in the northwestern area of the state at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. Portland is known for having the amenities of a major city (such as an international airport, an efficient public transit system, major league sports teams and many museums and art galleries) and the charms of a small city (such as plentiful arts and crafts fairs, independent bookstores and local traditions like the annual Rose Festival Parade). Rain or shine, you can take advantage of the city's proximity to nature by playing in the Willamette River, wandering through lush public parks and gardens, biking the city's 162 miles (261 km) of bike lanes and hiking trails both within city limits and in the nearby Columbia River Gorge.

Portland VA Medical Center provides primary care and specialty health services, including mental health services, surgical services, medical specialties, rehabilitation care and more. Below, you'll find our address, hours of operation, parking and transportation information, and the other health services we offer at VA Portland Health Care System.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Supervises Anesthesia Techs performing work at the GS-649-6/7/8 or 9 levels.
• Carries out their labor-management relations by being knowledgeable about regulations, directives, MCPs and standard operating procedures involving labor-management relations at PVAMC and by carrying out or effectively recommending the following labor-management relations actions for employees in the bargaining unit: responsible for leave approval, disciplinary actions and performance appraisals.
• Has authority in the interest of the agency to hire, direct, assign, promote, reward, transfer, counsel, suspend, discipline, or remove employees, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively recommend such action.
• Is the point of contact for all issues that directly relate to the workload, quality of work and the administrative coordination for all Anesthesia Technician activities in the Operative Care Division.
• Provides guidance and technical direction for accomplishing the work of the unit or team.
• Ensures the work assignments of employees in the unit or team are carried out.
• Liaises with representatives and leaders from other hospital services as appropriate to ensure the safe function of anesthesia equipment, systems, and supplies.
• Assigns functions to team members in order to meet routine and unusual deadlines and priorities, ensuring the work assignments of employees in the unit are carried out.
• Distributes and balances workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specialization. In case of shortage of personnel due to scheduled or unscheduled leave, the incumbent will be responsible for filling in and for distributing the workload to other team members to ensure smooth workflow.
• Ensures timely accomplishment of assigned tasks, and ensures that each employee has enough work to keep busy.
• Monitors the status and progress of work and makes day-to-day adjustments in accordance with established priorities.
• Maintains a current knowledge and answers questions of other employee's procedures, policies and directives.
• Trains or arranges for the training of team members in the accomplishment of tasks or projects.
• Gives on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices.
• Monitors and reports on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to see that instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met.
• Obtains assistance and/or needed information from the Chief, Assistant Chief, and Chief CRNA, Anesthesiology Service on problems that may arise or backlogs that cannot be disposed of promptly.
• Checks work in progress or spot checks work not requiring review, and reviews completed work to see that the instruction on work sequence, procedures, methods and deadlines have been met. Amends or rejects work not meeting established standards; refers questions or matters not covered by standards and problems in meeting performance standards to the Chief, Anesthesiology Service.
• Monitors working conditions such as heating, ventilation, lighting, safety.
• Approves or disapproves all requests for leave.
• Informs employees of available employee benefits, services and work-related activities.
• Prepares performance appraisals and evaluates employees, identifies progress and training needs of employees through competency review, and takes minor disciplinary measures such as warnings and reprimands and resolves behavior problems.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm PST; plus on-call time
Compressed/Flexible: Not available
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PD000000
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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.
• Education: There are no specific educational requirements for this occupation. Education may be substituted for experience only at the GS-4 and GS-5 levels. See the grade requirements part of this standard for information regarding educational substitutions.
• English Language Proficiency: Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d).
• Licensure or Certification: Licensure or Certification is not required for this occupation; however, it is strongly desirable at GS-6 or above as evidence of possession of the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities. For certain functional areas at the higher levels or supervisory assignments, specific certifications appropriate to the specialty are indicated in this standard under "Titles and Certification/Registrations". For all specialties identified in this standard, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable. Training which does not result in official certification does not meet this definition.

For all specialties identified in this standard, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable. Training which does not result in official certification does not meet this definition.

Grade Determinations GS-10: In addition to the core competencies defined at the GS-9 level, positions at this grade may be supervisory or non-supervisory with specialized advanced knowledge and assignments.
Supervisory Anesthesiology Technician: Individuals at this level plan and direct programs at affiliated medical centers and their satellite outpatient clinics and have full supervisory responsibility for a large staff of non-supervisory personnel and at least one subordinate team leader or supervisor. Typically these duties include assigning and evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving problems which may interfere with patient examination or treatment; providing anesthesia technician services in more complex and non-standard cases; evaluating new products and equipment and making recommendations concerning developments which would improve operations; participating as an instructor in the facility's clinical training program; making final decisions on selections based on recommendations from subordinate supervisors or leads; evaluation performance; taking disciplinary action when necessary; and identifying educational or training needs.
Experience. At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level, which is directly related to the duties of the position to be filled, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs and the potential to acquire the assignment specific KSAs designated by an asterisk (*):

1. Knowledge of the more complex procedures and techniques in the practice of anesthesiology such as extracorporeal blood salvage, washing and return to patient (also known as autotransfusion or cell saving) and arterial and/or venous cannulation for the establishment of arterial pressure monitoring or intravenous fluid/medication delivery.
*2. Ability to plan and assist in the establishment of a completely integrated treatment and procedure program.
*3. Ability to evaluate new products and equipment and make recommendations concerning developments which would improve operations. *4. Ability to manage the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (which would include fund controls, contracts and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs and administer the allocated budget. *5. Knowledge of and ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties which would include responsibility for assignment of work to be performed; performance evaluation; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements and, when appropriate, disciplinary actions.

Certification: Anesthesia technician certification through the American Society of Anesthesia Technologists and Technicians (ASATT) is highly desired. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable for employees at this level. Participation in recognized professional organizations as a Board examiner, in the development of curricula for training, or testing for the Board is evidence of competence.

Preferred Experience: Anesthesia technician experience.

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-10.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.