Lead Medical Care Transportation Technician - Paramedic - Full-time

Summary

The closing date of this announcement has been extended. The employee will serve as the Lead Medical Care Transportation Technician - Paramedic assigned to Veterans Transportation Services (VTS), Ambulance Service, located at the VA Maine Healthcare System in Augusta, ME.

Qualifications

English Language Proficiency Requirement: 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 perform the duties of this position. ~AND~ SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SCREEN-OUT) - THREE Selective Placement Factors (SPF) have been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. The SPF for this position is: Lead Paramedics must possess and maintain current Basic Life Support Provider (BLS) Certification and Advanced Cardiac Life Support Certification. (CERTIFICATIONS REQUIRED to receive credit for further consideration). AND The SPF for this position is: Paramedics must possess and maintain current and valid certification as a National Registered Emergency Medical Technician (Paramedic). (CERTIFICATION REQUIRED to receive credit for further consideration). AND The SPF for this position is: Possess a valid state driver's license. (Please DO NOT provide driver's license. We may not accept pictures. This requirement will be verified during interview). AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the Medical Care Transportation Technician- Lead Paramedic. 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. Specialized experience includes: leading paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMT), providing or arranges for employee training; applying skill of body systems (e.g., skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, circulatory) to conduct patient assessments and provide out-of-hospital emergency patient medical care, handling and stabilizing for transport; calculating patient medication doses considering various factors such as potential interaction with other medications, patient weight, and method of delivery. operating emergency vehicles and a variety of emergency/medical equipment, tools, supplies, and communication/radio equipment. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successfully completed two and a half (2.5) years of Graduate education is creditable only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Equivalent combinations of successfully completed Graduate education (in excess of a Master's degree) combined with specialized experience described above are also qualifying. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Administration and Management Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Emergency Care Patient Care Transportation 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: This position involves extended periods of heavy moving and lifting of patients in a variety of situations. Generally, the work requires recurring bending, lifting, stooping, stretching, and positioning of patients, frequently under adverse conditions or in confined areas. May be required to spend prolonged periods in protective breathing apparatus and protective closing during chemical, nuclear, biological, or hazardous materials incidents/exercises. Employee may be exposes to infection and contagious diseases, and may involve exposure to patients who are intoxicated, under the influence of drugs, or mentally unstable resulting in belligerent and sometimes violent behavior. 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

"***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The primary purpose of this position is to perform the technical duties as a Paramedic (Basic and Advanced Life Support) and Lead other paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT).
Duties will include, but may not be limited to the following: - Identifies, distributes and balances the workload and tasks among Paramedical and EMTs; makes adjustments to ensure timely accomplishment of assignments.
Reviews the work of subordinates to assure priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met; amends/corrects work performance not meeting standards.
- Trains or arranges for training of staff.
- Assists in scheduling staff assuring sufficient coverage to meet the needs of ambulance services; reviews leave/scheduling changes; and resolves simple, informal, complaints and refers significant issues/problems/personnel needs to the supervisor.
- Serves as coach/facilitator and reports daily job performance, progress and training needs to supervisor.
- Provides oversight and coordination of process improvement initiatives, assures teamwork and addresses customer issues; facilitates communication among patients, their families and ambulance service to resolve concerns and complaints.
- In addition to the above Lead duties, performs all duties and responsibilities of a Paramedic which includes: responds to accidents and other emergencies involving injury, illness, life threatening situations; patient triage and take/record patient vital signs; conducts complete assessment of patient's condition, obtains patient history; makes independent preliminary patient assessments and if and how the patient can be moved and to which facility to transport patient to; administers Basic and Advanced Life Support Care, responds to and monitors cardiac and defibrillation; provides fluid resuscitation by IV and manages trauma injuries, bleeding and post-traumatic shock.
- Operates various emergency vehicles and emergency/medical equipment, tools and supplies which may include ambulance, extrication tools, blood pressure cuff, cardiac monitor, glucose monitor, defibrillator, endotracheal tube, external pacing device, 1-lead EKG airway equipment, intravenous pump, oxygen terminal, pulse oximetry monitor, CPAP, auto-ventilator, medical supplies, radio communications equipment.
- Ambulance Interpretive Guidelines involve: Airway Obstruction and Respiratory Arrest; Cardiac Arrest; Mechanical Breathing Aids; Bleeding and Shock; Fractures of Torso and Extremities; Head, Face, Neck and Spine Injuries; Eye, Chest, Abdomen and Genitalia; Childbirth; Miscellaneous Medical Emergencies; Environmental Emergencies.
- Operates emergency transport vehicles, uses telephone and radio communications equipment and systems, selects most efficient route to and from sites taking into consideration traffic patterns, adverse weather conditions, and health facility locations.
Reads highway maps, program GPS devices and follows instructions.
Decontaminates the vehicle and assures vehicle is ready for the next run by replacing supplies and medical equipment and performs safety inspections and operator maintenance.
- Performs other duties as necessary.
Work Schedule: Paramedics work rotating shifts, including holidays, and are subject to occasional recall to maintain adequate coverage of the Emergency Department and ambulance service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Mandatory overtime may be required due to run times that may extend beyond normal scheduled work hours.
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.
Condition of continued employment: Paramedic shall obtain certification as a National Registered Emergency Medical Technician (Paramedic) no later than (NLT) 18 months after employment as condition of continued employment with VA.
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 VA.
Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received."