Summary

Employee will be assigned to the Office of the Chief - Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) - VA Medical Center - White River Junction - VT. The specialist aids Pathologists by performing the gross examination - dissection - dictation - and processing of all samples - preparing frozen section slides for examination by a Pathologist.

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT - Applicants must possess a Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree with major study in an academic field related to the medical field - health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) at the time the degree was obtained. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE - In addition to meeting the basic education requirement above - applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the knowledge - skill and ability to successfully perform the duties of this position - and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable - this specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: performing gross examination and sectioning of surgical pathology specimens; overseeing and performing specialized tests (i.e. - histochemical and immunohistochemical stains and cytometry) and interpreting results; preparing frozen tissue sections; performing autopsies to determine cause of death; photographing gross specimens; and providing training in pathology. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Successful completion of three (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree with a major in a field appropriate to the work of this position and that provided the knowledge - skills - and abilities necessary to do the work of this position - is qualifying at the GS-11 grade level. OR COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Critical Thinking Education and Training Interpersonal Skills Quality Assurance Specimen Collection 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 of this position requires long periods of standing while performing gross examinations - and while teaching others to do the same - recurring periods of bending when performing frozen sections - the occasional lifting of heavy items (team lifts for bodies or using a lift device) - and above average dexterity in dissecting specimens and cutting frozen sections are also required. 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*** NOTE: This is a part-time position (25 hours/week)
• The salary listed represents full-time employment and will be pro-rated based on the actual number of hours worked each pay-period
• Likewise - benefits and time-off accrual will also be prorated and based on your part-time work schedule
• Duties include - but may not be limited to the following: Oversees daily Surgical Pathology functions - working independently - or in collaboration with one or more physicians - pathology resident(s) - medical student(s) - technologist(s) - and technician(s) to perform these high complexity functions
• The specific tasks include - but are not limited to the following: Performs all elements of gross examination - dictation - and sampling/sectioning all types of surgical specimens - noting size - color - consistency - and anatomic orientation - identifying abnormalities - and taking appropriate samples/sections according to published criteria for microscopic examination - pathologic diagnosis - and cancer staging
• Performs photography of gross specimens (both fresh and fixed) and maintenance of an archive of gross photographs for conferences and teaching
• Collaborates with Pathologists regarding unusual findings during the macroscopic examination and dissection
• Receives and accessions samples - including verification of patient identifiers and ensures that required information is provided
• Independently evaluates the acceptability of submitted material and - acting for the Chief - Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service - returns unacceptable specimens with an explanation to the contributor
• Examines and takes appropriate sections of fresh tissue for Frozen Section evaluation - preparing and staining frozen section slides for examination by a Pathologist - including cover slipping and labeling according to all regulatory requirements
• Performs accessioning - embedding - cutting - staining - and labeling of routine histology
• Ensures that all paperwork for specimens being sent out for consultation or analysis is completed accurately and ensures that send-out specimens are packed and handled appropriately - especially those requiring special processing or packaging (some examples include: kidney biopsies - muscle biopsies - bone marrow biopsies - samples for flow cytometry - blood / tissue / or blocks for genetic studies - samples for immunofluorescence or other special histologic techniques - or electron microscopy)
• Maintains the frozen section room - including maintaining cryostats - frozen section stain line (including tracking reagent lot numbers) - frozen section instruments - frozen section work stations - and frozen section quality assurance (QA) documents
• Performs resident - intern - medical student - medical technologist - and histotechnologist/technician training
• Maintains - develops - or participates in the development of up-to-date Anatomic Pathology protocols
• Assists in the collection and interpretation of data for Anatomic Pathology QA programs
• Collects data and creates graphic representations of the data for presentation and publication
• Performs other related duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - part-time 25 hours per week
• Specific work schedule will be determined at time of hire
• Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized