Health Aid/ Health Technician

Description:

This position is located at the Portland VA Medical Center, Inpatient & Emergency Services, Patient Transport (Escort) Unit. The incumbent provides guidance and information pertaining to patient whereabouts and accesses as needed to provide required care and services.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 11/12/2025.

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-2 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-1.
• For a GS-3 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-1.
• For a GS-4 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-3.

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.

Individual Occupational Requirements:

• 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.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: 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 meet the requirements of this position.

You may qualify based on your specialized experience and/or education as described below:

• For the GS-02 :
  • General Work Experience : Applicants must have at least 3 months of general work experience. Examples of general experience include, but not limited to: under direct supervision performing duties such as customer service, direct and indirect patient care in a clinical setting. OR
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully graduated high school or the equivalent. Must be indicated in resume.
• For the GS-03 :
  • General Work Experience : Applicants must have at least 6 months of general work experience equivalent to the GS-2 level. Examples of General Experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Under supervision performing duties such as customer service, direct and indirect patient care in a clinical setting. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, GS level (if a federal position), duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. OR
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-3 level. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) year above High School education with course(s) related to a study in medical, health, or related fields. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. (One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school). Transcripts required. OR
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-3 level. You must have a combination of education above High School with course(s) related to a study in medical, health, or related fields, and General Experience to meet total experience requirements. NOTE: If using education combined with General Experience to qualify, a transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-3.
• For the GS-04 :
  • General and Specialized Experience : Applicants must have at least 1 year of work experience (can combine 6 months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-3 level). Examples of General Experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Independently performing duties such as customer service, direct and indirect patient care in a clinical setting. Examples of Specialized Experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Recognizes and reports significant changes in patients that are being transported. Prioritizing transportation based on patient care needs. Responding to patient emergencies. Clarifying discharge procedures, etc. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, GS level (if a federal position), duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. OR
  • Education: 2 years of education above high school with course(s) related to the occupation. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. OR
  • Combination of General/Specialized Experience and Education : Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-04 level. You must have a combination of of college level education beyond one (1) year with course(s) related to a study in medical, health, or related fields, and General and/or Specialized Experience to meet total experience requirements. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-04. NOTE: If using education combined with General Experience to qualify, a transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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/ .