Summary

The Primary Purpose of this Position is: To provide assistance in the Operation Room to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures; and participate with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the supervision of the perioperative registered nurse and surgeon. The Organizational Location of the Position is: Operating Toom - Perioperative Care - Patient Care Service - VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) - Dallas - TX.

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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-06; experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge - skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position - and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled - in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL TESTING - Handles surgical specimens.; INFECTION CONTROL -Creates - Maintains - and oversees sterile field.; APLIES TECHNOLOGY TO TASKS - Prepares and organizes surgical setups.; and ATTENTION TO DETAIL - Communicates and collaborates with members of the surgical team to ensure positive patient outcome. OR - Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate education. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). OR - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Bachelors Degree. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) The Individual Occupational Requirement: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): 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. To calculate - first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting - you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-07. For example - an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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. 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

• Duties include but are not limited to: Functions as a primary and lead scrub person responsible for handling surgical instruments - supplies - and equipment during all surgical procedures including but not limited to: open heart - thoracic - vascular - neurosurgery - ophthalmology - otolaryngology - orthopedic - urology - reconstruction surgery (plastics) - general surgery - robotic - endovascular - and pain management
• Creates - maintains and oversees the sterile field
• Performs as a scrub nurse for a wide variety of complex surgical invasive procedures and possible complications
• Anticipates and prepares surgical instruments and equipment for the next phase of surgery - Mentors and shares information related to complex procedures with inexperienced staff on the surgical team
• Passes operating surgical Instruments to the surgeon
• Identifies - assembles - handles - manages and operates specialized complex medical equipment such as microscopes - LASERS - PHACO-emulsifier machine - robot - specialized surgical tables and positioning devices
• Handles instruments - equipment - supplies - and implants used in laparoscopic and endo vascular surgery
• Communicates and collaborates with members of the surgical team to include the perioperative registered nurse - staff surgeon - surgical residents - anesthesia providers and other ancillary staff to achieve positive patient outcomes
• Collaborates with the surgical team to develop and implement a surgical procedure plan of care to assure that all necessary surgical supplies - instruments and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure
• Collaborates with the surgical team to initiate and request procurement for instruments - supplies - implants and equipment
• In conjunction with the circulating registered nurse - performs sponge - sharps - and instrument counts to verify accuracy
• Accounts for all surgical instruments and equipment during the surgical procedure
• Handles surgical specimens
• Ensures that instrumentation and equipment are prepared for thorough cleaning prior to leaving the OR for SPS
• Assists the surgeon by performing such procedures as preparing skin grafts - suctioning - holding retractors - applying skin staples - cutting sutures - and preparing the methyl methacrylate (cement)
• Prepares prosthesis and surgical devices (i.e
• pain stimulators - intraocular lens - hip and knee prosthesis) during procedures
• Processes - disassembles - cleans - re-assembles - and/or sets up Reusable Medical Equipment (RME) following manufacturers' guidelines and SPS Standard Operating Procedures
• Inspects and performs all recommended tests to assure that the equipment meet operational - sterilization and/or cleanliness requirements
• Reprocesses equipment
• and - monitors and interprets biological/chemical tests as indicated
• Uses and/or puts on proper personal protective devices
• Prepares/tests equipment using disinfectant agents as prescribed by SPD SOP - Infection Prevention Procedures - and/or manufacturers' instructions/guidelines
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 7:00am to 3:30pm or 2:00pm to 10:30pm Position Description/PD#: Surgical Technician (Operating Room)/PD07623A Physical Requirements: Duties regularly require manual assistance in lifting and positioning patients - most of which are in stages of unconsciousness
• Requires recurring prolonged standing - walking - bending - lifting - pushing - reaching - and prolonged stretching to provide easy accessibility of instruments and supplies for the surgeon - The surgical technician must be dexterous in passing instruments to surgeons without compromising principles of aseptic technique and in a manner requiring little or no effect from the surgeon
• The surgical technician must move expeditiously in taking emergency action.