Health Aid - Health Technician

Health Aid - Health Technician

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Portland, Oregon

Salary Range: $31712 - $50500 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located at the Portland VA Medical Center, Inpatient & Emergency Services, Patient Transport (Escort) Unit in Portland, OR.

Major Duties:

• ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-4. At the GS-2 and GS-3 grade levels, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-4. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. The primary purpose of this position is to deliver a broad array of health care services throughout the medical center and it's various locations that provide patient care, i.e., living centers, etc. duties will include, but may not be limited to the following: Transports patients by stretcher, wheelchair, gurney and/or accompany the ambulatory patients who need assistance to areas within the Medical Center and OHSU. Recognizes and reports significant changes in patients that are being transported. Maintains communication with Patient Transport Courier and Patient Support Team Supervisor at each delivery point. Dispatches trips to all using services using computer systems/programs. Prioritizes workload for Patient Transport and Courier Service. Dispatches couriers to all areas within the medical center. Prioritizes various transports based on patient care needs and logistics, including patient condition, treatment, modality, mode of transport and scheduling. Gives guidance to Patient Transport & Courier staff/volunteers to promote efficiency and safe transport. Collects and delivers all specimens, labs, x-rays, charts and all medical related materials and equipment throughout the Medical Center and OHSU. Responds and assists in all emergencies, including, but not limited to codes (cardiac arrest, behavioral emergency and fire alert), and internal/external disasters throughout the Medical Center and the VA Bridge. Provides a full range of services to VA staff in caring for expired patients which includes preparing and transferring the body, as well as transporting to the morgue. Provides general clerical/administrative support coordination work for the unit. Performs a variety of receptionists, record keeping, and miscellaneous duties. Receives visitors, answers the telephone, and refers calls to appropriate staff or records messages. Plans. organizes and coordinates activities of the unit. Communicates in a tactful and courteous manner with a wide variety of individuals with varying levels of understanding. Utilizes software to produce specific printouts. Uses word processing software to produce a variety of documents. Performs other duties as assigned. DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: 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 the VA. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received. Work Schedule: Days Vary from 2pm - 10:30pm with every other weekends and holidays Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Qualifications: ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. AND To qualify at the Health Aid GS-2 level, applicants must meet at least one (1) of the following minimum qualification requirements: A. A least Three months of general experience in (1) Any type of work that demonstrates your 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. (Refer to the duties section of this announcement for detailed related general experience information) OR B. Successfully completed high school or the equivalent. NOTE: Education cannot be credited without documentation. Provide documentation/proof that you have met the applicable educational provision, i.e., Transcript, or statement from the institution's registrar or appropriate official, or the equivalent, i.e., copy of diploma, GED certification, etc. To qualify at the Health Aid GS-3 level, applicant(s) must meet at least one (1) of the following minimum qualification requirements: A. At least six months (6) of general experience in (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. (Refer to the duties section of this announcement for detailed general experience information) OR B. Successfully completed one full year of education above high school that included study in medical, health, or related fields. (NOTE: Education cannot be credited without documentation. Transcript Required (unofficial or official) OR C. Equivalent combination of successfully completed general experience and post high-school education in excess of 6 months. (Transcript required) To qualify at the Health Aid GS-4 level, applicant(s) must meet at least one (1) of the following minimum qualification requirements: A. You must possess six (6) months of General Experience: (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation and, six (6) months of Specialized Experience. This experience equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. 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 requires application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes safely transporting patients by stretcher, wheelchair, gurney and/or accompany the patients who need assistance. 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. ~OR~ B. You must have successfully completed 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in subjects related to the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) ~OR~ C. You must have equivalent combination of specialized experience and successfully completed education as described above to meet the total experience requirements to qualify at the GS-4 level. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Decision Making Interpersonal Skills Self-Management IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary but also requires some standing, walking, bending, lifting and carrying of light items. The work requires above average agility and dexterity. The work may require heavy lifting of equipment or patients. 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/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/12/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12828794. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (503) 220-8262. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Application Deadline: 2025-11-12