Federal
Health Technician (Phlebotomist)
Veterans Health Administration · Department of Veterans Affairs
About This Position
The position is at the full performance level located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), at the VA San Diego Healthcare System Administration for Nursing Service in the various Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) including Oceanside, Kearny Mesa, Sorrento Valley and Chula Vista. The primary purpose is to serve and function as an independent Health Technician, Phlebotomist, as there is no direct clinical supervisor on site.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. This position has an Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR). You must meet the following: Possess technician experience that requires application of knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. (This position is part of the series that range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists.) In addition to meeting the IOR above, you must meet the experience/education as described below: GS-05 grade level: One (1) year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the federal service); 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 is defined as Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled such as providing skilled phlebotomy, quality assurance compliant specimen processing and testing functions, clinical patient support and general administrative support for all patient related activities in the satellite CBOC labs. Performs skilled venipuncture in accordance with facility and laboratory policies and procedures. Perform a wide variety of blood collection in a responsible nature requiring enhanced knowledge of clinical science to understand the multiplicity of tests and specimen requirements, the mechanics of venipuncture and patient preparation. Phlebotomy collection will be from a variety of outpatient veterans and employees. The employee will be expected to demonstrate versatility of skill in rapidly proceeding from one patient to another to perform multiple and simultaneous collections using accurate patient and specimen identification procedures. OR, Applicants may substitute education for the experience to qualify at the GS-05 level: Successfully completed one full year in a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. Training: Completion of appropriate training such as in service training programs, training acquired while serving in the Armed Forces, and government-sponsored developmental training programs will be allowed credit on a month-for-month basis, generally through the GS-5 level. Such training meets general or specialized experience requirements depending upon its applicability. Such training meets general or specialized experience requirements depending upon its applicability. OR, Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level: Have a combination of specialized experience and education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Determine the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level. Then determine the applicant's education as a percentage of the education that meets the requirements for GS-5. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-05.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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
Major Duties
Major duties include, but are not limited to: Performs skilled venipuncture in accordance with facility and laboratory policies and procedures. Assures all test tubes are labeled accurately when performing venipuncture using facility and laboratory designated patient identifiers. Verifies correct patient identification, performs proper specimen handling and labeling, accessions specimens, checks that lab test requests are consistent with physician orders, generates labels and sorts labeled specimens. Performs a wide variety of blood collection in a responsible nature requiring enhanced knowledge of clinical science to understand the multiplicity of tests and specimen requirements, the mechanics of venipuncture and patient preparation. Demonstrates versatility of skill in rapidly proceeding from one patient to another to perform multiple and simultaneous collections using accurate patient and specimen identification procedures. Establishes minimum acceptable criteria for control/documentation protocol pertaining to test or examination procedures. Accepts responsibility for the accuracy of the results and for the adequacy of the results in furthering the clinical objectives. Works closely with facility and laboratory computers systems, CPRS and VistA to accession specimens and retrieve results. Performs routine Electrocardiograms and ensure data uploading to electronic medical record (CPRS). Displays expertise with preparing lab equipment for all phlebotomy procedures, ensuring phlebotomy and ancillary equipment is functioning to standard. Recognizes abnormalities and brings them to the attention of the appropriate Medical/Health Care Provider. Maintains record of procedures performed in the phlebotomy area. Provides orientation/training in performance of phlebotomy and test procedures with the information and experience required to understand underlying disease processes, and inform the physician if unable to obtain specimen. Sets up equipment for all phlebotomy procedures, making sure that all phlebotomy and ancillary equipment is functioning to standard. Maintains laboratory in a clean and safe condition according to agency or accreditation requirements. Calibrates and maintains laboratory Instrumentation on timely intervals so as to minimize breakdown and delay of procedures. Utilizes phone and face to face communication with all levels of clinical, clerical and administrative staff and our Veteran customers. Incumbent must exhibit a professional attitude and technical competence. Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with agency customers, co-workers, the general public and others who come in contact with the lab. Obtains release forms as per policy and assists patients, visitors, and others requesting information. Provides guidance or referral for special assistance. Communicates and treats customers (Veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful and respectful manner. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8 hour shift between 6:30am to 6:00pm. Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician (Phlebotomist)/PD09972A
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Designated and/or random drug testing may be required Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
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 here: http://ope.ed.gov/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.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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.
How You Will Be Evaluated
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.
Additional Information
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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 02/17/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12877944. 1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. 2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Required Documents
Documents Accepted: Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Documents Required: Resume Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application. Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted. Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position. Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the salary for the Health Technician (Phlebotomist) position at Veterans Health Administration?
The salary range for this position is $46,533 - $60,494/yr. This is a GS-5 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Health Technician (Phlebotomist) job located?
This position is located in San Diego, California. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. This position has an Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR). You must meet the following: Possess technician experience that requires application of knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. (This position is part...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Feb 17, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What does GS-5 mean?
GS-5 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.