Summary

This position is assigned to the Department of Veteran Affairs - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - Veterans Transportation Services (VTS) - Ambulance Service - in various VA Medical Center (VAMC) locations with an emergency room - acute care or urgent care clinic - or other similar departments performing basic and advanced life support procedures.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 05/08/2026. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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
• GS-9 Grade Requirements: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) 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 -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 knowledge of a majority of body systems - i.e. - skeletal - muscular - nervous - respiratory - circulatory - digestive - and genitourinary - to perform patient examination
• responding to accidents and other emergencies involving injury and/or illness which may be life-threatening and require basic life support procedures
• experience providing transportation of patients to medical treatment facilities
• using communication equipment and techniques to accurately obtain and relay information to and from dispatchers and health care providers
• knowledge of protocols and treatments used in the delivery of emergency care for persons injured in chemical - nuclear - biological - and hazardous materials incidents
• and experience operating emergency or patient transport vehicles
• Certifications and License: EMT Basic shall possess: Maintain current Basic Life Support Provider certification
• A valid/current state issued license/certification (Paramedic) for eligibility for employment
• Possess and maintain current Advanced Cardiac Life Support Provider Certification
• A valid and unrestricted state driver's license
• Note: Must obtain certification as a National Registered Emergency Medical Technician (Basic) no later than (NLT) 18 months after employment as condition of continuous employment with VA
• 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/
• Physical Requirements and Work Environment: 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
• 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
• religions
• 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
• 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.

Duties

• The major duties include but are not limited to: Performs all duties of a Paramedic and Emergency Medical Technician 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 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 - 12 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
• Telework: This position is not telework eligibility Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Medical Care Transportation Technician (Paramedic)/PD99772S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required