Health Technician

The Health Care Technician position at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, IL is organizationally aligned with Nursing Service. Under the supervision of a Registered Nurse, this role encompasses both direct and indirect patient care activities, as well as related support functions. Individuals in this position are required to demonstrate strong powers of observation, perception, and judgment. They must also show initiative and pay meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of their duties.

This position is located in the Inpatient Mental Health Unit

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Establishes helpful relationships with patients and others; interacts in a courteous manner; explains patient care provided. Provides emotional support, friendly assistance, sympathetic understanding, and encouragement to patients/families.
• Performs, reports, and records measurements, such as vital signs, intake and output, pulse oximetry, bladder scan, glucose finger stick, and other parameters.
• Identifies obvious patient problems, symptoms, behavioral changes, and deviations from normal in a timely manner to the appropriate Registered Nurse.
• Performs EKG as directed and provides results to the Registered Nurse.
• Assists nurses/physicians with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed on the unit. Safely transports patients to off-unit appointments in the absence of an escort.
• Serves as patient care observer (when necessary) in accordance with established Medical Center guidelines.
• Assists in monitoring the Environment of Care for cleanliness, rooms free of clutter, and ensuring patients' belongings are within reach.
• Follows policies and procedures to ensure safety for patients, staff, and self. Identifies and immediately reports safety hazards to supervisors.
• Maintains a safe, clean, and orderly work environment through routine maintenance activities such as ordering and stocking equipment and supplies; cleaning equipment and patient care areas; providing proper containment/ disposal of discarded materials; and reporting maintenance and security problems to appropriate personnel.
• Provides instruction to others on the correct performance of defined tasks/procedures.
• Assists in emergency situations and initiates CPR when indicated.

Work Schedule: 7:30pm-8:00am
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician/PD21231A

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/21/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS 6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Basic Requirements: Specialized Experience: Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING GRADE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.

GS-6 Grade Requirements
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Applying basic knowledge of basic anatomy/physiology and medical techniques to support direct patient care; effectively communicating and providing support to patients and healthcare professionals; utilizing and maintaining medical equipment and instruments; performing safety/emergency procedures related to patient transport, infection control, environmental safety; observing and reporting changes in patients physical and emotional behavior; performing medical tests and duties including phlebotomy, EKG, and CPR; and entering patient information and vital signs in computerized medical record systems using appropriate terminology.

Preferred Experience: 2-3 years Mental Health experience.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

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