Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) Position Available In Harrison, Mississippi

Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Health Administration
Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System
Summary
Duties
Requirements
How you will be evaluated
Required documents
How to Summary
This is a Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) position for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in the Sterile Processing Service (SPS) of the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System

• located in Biloxi, Mississippi.

This position supports the documentation, preparation and distribution of the hospital’s critical and semi-critical reusable medical equipment.
Duties
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure

Medical Supply Aide and Technician:

vacareers.va/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Medical-Supply-Aide-Career-Flyer
This position will provide sterilization, preparation, supply items and reusable medical equipment decontamination and distribution support for the medical center.
Duties performed may include, but are not limited to the following:
Clean and (when appropriate) disinfect critical and semi-critical Reusable Medical Equipment/Reusable Medical Devices (RME/RMD) through manual and mechanical processes that employ sinks, ultrasonic cleaners, washer-disinfectors, automated endoscope reprocessors (AER), ultra-violet sanitizing cabinets (UVC), and automated cart washers, as well as a variety of decontamination agents and high-level disinfectants. Processes non-critical equipment when necessary. All cleaning and disinfecting donein accordance with (IAW) industry standards, manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFUs), VA directives, and department protocols.
Assemble, package, sterilize, store, and distribute RME and RMD for all Sterile Processing Services (SPS) customers IAW industry standards, manufacturer’s IFUs, VA directives, and department protocols.
Conduct quality assurance testing on the SPS environment, equipment and processes IAW department and regulatory guidelines and manufacturer’s IFUs. Monitor all mechanical, chemical, and biological sterilization indicators; as well as all department-wide environmental indicators. Verify and record all sterilization, environmental, and mechanical oues as needed and submit repair request when necessary.
Wear appropriate work attire and personal protective equipment (PPE) while in both the SPS decontamination and sterilization areas IAW industry standards and VA directives. Observe standard precautions and aseptic technique when applicable.
Monitor department’s humidity, temperature, air exchange rates, and floor-plan integrity for each SPS section. Practice strict adnce to department workflow and traffic-flow patterns.
Perform daily assigned duties in their entirety, according to designatedpetency level without the need for additional guidance or correction from supervision or other team members. Complete all assigned duties and other work-related actions with IAW department guidelines, VA directives, regulatory guidelines, and with utmost integrity. Meet all deadlines to include daily work assignment deadlines, administrative deadlines and training deadlines. Maintain current knowledge of the department’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that ismensurate with this position.
Exhibit knowledge of current industry-standard for cleaning, assembling/packaging, sterilizing, storing, and distributing RME/RMD. Demonstrate acceptable knowledge of the correct form and function of RME/RMD being processed.

Work Schedule:

SPS is 24-hour operations that offers a variety of shifts Monday-Friday. Staff are required to be on call outside of normal hours to include weekends and holidays. Tour of Duty will be set based on the needs of the service and will be discussed during interview.

Pay:

Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

Paid Time Off:

37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year).

Parental Leave:

After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy:

After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family ie below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.

Retirement:

Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.

Insurance:

Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).

Telework:

Not Available.

Virtual:

This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 520-00642-F, 520-00643-F, 520-00644-F, 520-00645-F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives:

Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen to for this job.
All 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.
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
You may be required to serve a probationary period.
Subject to background/security investigation.
Selected applicants will be required toplete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required toplete pre-employment requirements (uscis/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver’s licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL IDpliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
May be required toplete pre-employment physical evaluation.
Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
Qualifications
Applicants pending thepletion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

Citizenship

• You must be a citizen of the United States
  English Language Proficiency
• English Language Proficiency
• You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d)
  Experience and/or Education
• Experience
• Six months of experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; OR
  Education
• One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; OR
  Experience/Education Combination
• Equivalentbination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

The full performance level for this qualification standard is the GS-06 grade level.
GS-03 Medical Supply Technician

• Experience/Education Requirement:

  None beyond the basic requirements.
  GS-04 Medical Supply Technician

Experience/Education Requirement:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-04 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:

Experience:

Six months experience as a MST, operating room or surgical technician or other position that demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing in a clinical setting; OR

Education:

Two years of education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation.

NOTE:

Successfulpletion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or nursing assistants obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces, the US. Maritime Service, or hospitals under close medical and professional supervision, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to 6 months of experience.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:
Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
Basic knowledge of medical terminology to assemble specialty operating room/clinic instrument sets.
Basic knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.
Ability tomunicate both orally and in writing.
GS-05 Medical Supply Technician

Experience/Education Requirement:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-05 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:

Experience:

One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Performing segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME);pleting segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center; operating equipment involved in sterilization processes; preparing operating room case carts; OR

Education:

Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor’s degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor’s degree.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:
Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility.
Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.
GS-06 Medical Supply Technician (Full Performance Level)

Experience Requirement:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-06 you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Removing soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing; Inspecting packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembling basic sets and trays used throughout a medical facility including those used in the operating room; preparing, loading, and operating sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor; prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following

KSAs:

Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, medical conditions and procedures.
Knowledge of sterility principles in regard to instrumentation.
Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures.

Preferred Experience:

1 year of Sterile Processing experience

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit va/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06.
The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-06.

Physical Requirements:

The work performed requires the incumbent to work and perform in various settings to include decontamination, preparation, clear sterile supply and other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. Must be able to walk, stand, bend, push, and pull for 8 hours per day. Must be able to lift/pick up items (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). Must be able to work under noisy conditions.

Environmental Factors:

May be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be ufortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment.
Education

Note:

Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education : ope.ed/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: sites.ed/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Foreign Education. To be creditable, educationpleted outside the U.S. must have?been submitted to a privateanization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign?educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent?to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit or 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.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not conferpetitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to . The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
If you are unable to online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant’s criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and theplaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Benefits
Qualifications
Applicants pending thepletion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

Citizenship

• You must be a citizen of the United States
  English Language Proficiency
• English Language Proficiency
• You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d)
  Experience and/or Education
• Experience
• Six months of experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; OR
  Education
• One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; OR
  Experience/Education Combination
• Equivalentbination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:

The full performance level for this qualification standard is the GS-06 grade level.
GS-03 Medical Supply Technician

• Experience/Education Requirement:

  None beyond the basic requirements.
  GS-04 Medical Supply Technician

Experience/Education Requirement:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-04 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:

Experience:

Six months experience as a MST, operating room or surgical technician or other position that demonstrated knowledge of sterile processing in a clinical setting; OR

Education:

Two years of education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation.

NOTE:

Successfulpletion of a course for medical technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or nursing assistants obtained in a training program given by the Armed Forces, the US. Maritime Service, or hospitals under close medical and professional supervision, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis for up to 6 months of experience.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:
Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
Basic knowledge of medical terminology to assemble specialty operating room/clinic instrument sets.
Basic knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.
Ability tomunicate both orally and in writing.
GS-05 Medical Supply Technician

Experience/Education Requirement:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-05 you must meet one of the following experience or education requirements:

Experience:

One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Performing segments of work pertaining to the decontamination, sterilization and inspection of reusable medical equipment (RME);pleting segments of work pertaining to the assembly of basic sets and trays for use in the medical center; operating equipment involved in sterilization processes; preparing operating room case carts; OR

Education:

Four academic years above high school leading to a Bachelor’s degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the occupation or a Bachelor’s degree.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below:
Basic knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
Basic knowledge of event-related packaging in regards to sterility.
Knowledge of sterilization and cleaning equipment.
GS-06 Medical Supply Technician (Full Performance Level)

Experience Requirement:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-06 you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Removing soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other containments by wiping, soaking, rinsing, and scrubbing; Inspecting packages for indications of proper sterilization, assembling basic sets and trays used throughout a medical facility including those used in the operating room; preparing, loading, and operating sterilizers such as steam, Sterrad, Steris, ETO, and a high level disinfecting scope reprocessor; prepares operating room case carts daily using surgery schedule.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following

KSAs:

Knowledge of surgical instruments used in operating rooms and clinic settings.
Knowledge of universal precautions for safety and prevention of cross contamination.
Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, medical conditions and procedures.
Knowledge of sterility principles in regard to instrumentation.
Ability to read and interpret written instructions and procedures.

Preferred Experience:

1 year of Sterile Processing experience

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit va/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06.
The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-03 to GS-06.

Physical Requirements:

The work performed requires the incumbent to work and perform in various settings to include decontamination, preparation, clear sterile supply and other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. Must be able to walk, stand, bend, push, and pull for 8 hours per day. Must be able to lift/pick up items (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). Must be able to work under noisy conditions.

Environmental Factors:

May be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. The employee is subject to the possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from material handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be ufortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment.
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit or 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.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not conferpetitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to . The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
If you are unable to online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant’s criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and theplaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Benefits
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
1st Area of Consideration

• current permanent Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System employees including satellites
  2nd Area of Consideration
• current permanent VA Nationwide employees
  3rd Area of Consideration
• current permanent Federal employees of other Agencies
  4th Area of Consideration
• All other Applicants

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and otheranizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual;munity; student; social). Volunteer work helps build criticalpetencies, 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.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members:

Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
Required Documents
To for this position, you must provide aplete Application Package which includes:
Resume

Resume Requirement:

Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (REQUIRED for ALL current Federal Employees):
Most recent, non-Award SF-50 to verify Tenure and Experience (Award SF-50s do not provide sufficient information).
You can find your latest SF-50 in e-OPF.
EHRI Electronic Official Personnel Folder (opm) for current VA employees.
Federal Employees should use their agency specific e-OPF URL.
Federal Employees received an SF-50 on 01/12/2025.
Failure to provide the

REQUIRED SF-50

(s) will result in disqualification.

Performance Appraisal:

Most recent copy is

REQUIRED

for ALL current Federal Employees to verify Promotion Eligibility
You can find your most recent Performance Appraisal in e-OPF.
EHRI Electronic Official Personnel Folder (opm) for current VA employees.
Federal Employees should use their agency specific e-OPF URL.
The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), etc.
Cover Letter
DD-214/ Statement of Service
Disability Letter (VA)
Other (1)
Performance Appraisal
Professional Certification
Resume
SF-15
SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
Transcript
Selections from this announcement will be made without regard to Veterans’ preference in accordance with OCHCO Bulletin dated 10/1/2024.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Tfore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Overview
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/30/2025 to 05/14/2025
Salary
$34,293

• $62,409 per year
  Pay scale & grade
  GS 3
• 6
  Location
  1 vacancy in the following location:
  Biloxi, MS
  1 vacancy
  Remote job
  No
  Telework eligible
  No
  Travel Required
  Not required
  Relocation expenses reimbursed
  No
  Appointment type
  Permanent
  Work schedule
  Full-time
  Service
  Excepted
  Promotion potential
  6
  Job family (Series)
  0622 Medical Supply Aide And Technician
  Supervisory status
  No
  Security clearance
  Other
  Drug test
  Yes
  Position sensitivity and risk
  Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
  Trust determination process
  Credentialing
  Suitability/Fitness
  Financial disclosure
  No
  Bargaining unit status
  Yes
  Announcement number

CBST-12730786-25-KK

Control number
836182100