This position is in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - South Central VA Health Care Network (VISN 16) - Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) in Houston - Texas - under Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (PLMS) in Inpatient and/or Outpatient Specimen Acquisition. A Medical Technician (phlebotomist) performs a variety of clinical and administrative functions.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 05/15/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individuals Occupational Requirements: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. Specialized Experience: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical - microbiologic - hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field - e.g. - biological laboratory technician work - that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. OR - Education and Training: For GS-4: Successful completion of (a) an associate-degree course of study of which the 2nd year of the 2-year program included successful completion of a training course of approximately a year's duration in a certified laboratory assistant school approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; (b) 1 year of study that included 6 semester hours in chemistry and/or the biological sciences - plus successful completion of the training course as described in (a) above for GS-3; or (c) 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours of chemistry and/or biological science course work that must have been directly related to the specialization of the position to be filled. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) - applicants must also meet the specialized experience directly related to this position. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have 6 months of specialized experience and 6 months of general experience equivalent to at described below. General Experience includes: (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position - or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Providing patient care appropriate to the age of the patient being served - recognizing differences in patients and adjusting their care accordingly. Performing blood collection using a variety of phlebotomy techniques including vacutainer system - syringe - butterfly or capillary finger sticks with minimal number of failures - patient bruising or required repeat collection. Assessing the quality of samples collected - readings and measurements taken - tests executed - observations made - and work completed. Venipuncture and correct preparation of specimens necessary to obtain the required quantities of specimens needed for a variety of laboratory examinations performed. Processing all specimens according to strict guidelines to assure specimen integrity. OR - Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 2 years above high school with courses related to the occupation. Note: This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school - junior college - college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours - 45 quarter hours - or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. (Transcripts Required). OR - Combination: Possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements at the GS-4 level. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires extensive and recurring physical exertion such as standing for long periods of time - stooping - pushing - pulling - reaching - walking - bending - lifting of light/moderate objects (<20 lbs.) and stretching. The work requires manual dexterity and a large degree of concentration. 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/.
Duties
Major Duties: Draws blood from patients for requested laboratory tests
This includes special drawing techniques and assuring proper tubes are used and the correct amount of blood is drawn
Verifies patient as the individual denoted on the request and labels all tubes with the patient's name - social security number - date and time to insure proper identification
Performs glucose Tolerance Tests and other specialized blood collections as indicated
Incumbent has direct patient contact and must treat all patients with the utmost courtesy and respect
Performs all types of specimen collection in a courteous manner
Provides for patient comfort
Adheres to safety - infection control - and universal precautions at all times while drawing specimen samples
This includes such things as removing tourniquets and wearing gloves
Must be proficient in the area of phlebotomy - being able to work with even the most difficult patients and follows proper procedures for redrawing blood
In addition - must develop the essential speed required to complete the blood drawing duties
Instructs patients in proper sterile midstream urine collections - 24-hour urine collection and the collection of specimens for culture and sensitivity - ova parasites and occult bloods
Assists in teaching laboratory and CBOC personnel theoretical and practical aspects of phlebotomy - a variety of specimen collections - and urine/blood specimen requirements
Must be able to respond to - report and assist in emergency situations
Must know first aid procedures for the care of patients who become sick or faint while having blood drawn
Observes and reports any physical or mental changes while patients are being drawn
Performs and exhibits knowledge and skills specific to the adult and geriatric patient
Provides care based on psychosocial - educational - safety and related criteria - appropriate to the age of patients served
Uses the VA computer system when processing specimens
Samples are accepted into the computer for testing - or the order removed from the computer if samples are not collected
Protects the security of the computer system and maintains patient confidentiality
Maintains accurate and orderly operational and quality control logs - records and worksheets where required according to established department protocol
Assures that phlebotomy tray is adequately replenished as required
Performs other specialized accessioning procedures as directed in Hematology - Special Hematology - Chemistry - Special Chemistry - Blood Bank (blood gases) and in Microbiology (blood cultures)
Assists with maintaining a neat and clean work area
Assists with heavy workload
Willingly helps other Medical Technician (phlebotomist) who need assistance
Work Schedule: Various schedules from Monday to Friday 03:30 pm-12:00 am / 04:00 am to 12;30 pm / 12:00 am- 08:00 am / 07:00 am- 3:30 pm Alternating Holidays & Weekends
Tour of Duty will be based on position selected - subject to change based on the needs of the facility
Telework: Not authorized for telework
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/PD#: Medical Technician - Phlebotomist/PD04163A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
