Cytotechnologist

About the Position: This position is located at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA in the Directorate of Clinical Support, Lab/Clinical Pathology Recruitment or relocation incentives MAY be authorized for highly qualified candidates. Advance Leave Accrual MAY be authorized for highly qualified candidates. Salary Negotiation MAY be authorized for highly qualified candidates. This is a Direct Hire Solicitation

Major duties

• Perform a wide range of cytological and consultative services in support of a Medical Treatment Facility.
• Oversee administrative, clerical, and technical support activities of other personnel within the laboratory, coordinating workload and administrative duties.
• Makes recommendations to supervisor or other officials for adoption of new techniques which are of practical value.
• Assist the medical director and resident physicians with research projects.
• Determines the suitability of cases for accessioning and renders a diagnostic judgment. Based on complex cytological tests and procedures, renders a microscopic diagnosis of cases independent of a physician's (pathologist's) interpretation.
• Provides direct patient care for diagnostic support to clinics by assessing specimen adequacy after procurement by fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy technique, independent of direct physician (pathologist) supervision.
• Assures compliance with quality assurance/control and proficiency testing programs, safety standards, accreditation requirements and departmental policies.
• Correlates all cytopathology specimens (abnormal and normal) with any corresponding tissue biopsy specimens and prepares a daily cyto-histo correlation report for review by pathologist.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for a Cytotechnologist: Degree: Bachelor's or graduate (or 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 accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes conducting quality control and/or microscopic diagnosis on cytologic specimens; maintaining cytology equipment; and preparing diagnostic reports. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Cytotechnology. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. The following Certifications are highly desired:

• Valid American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) Cytology (CT or SCT)
• A valid thin-prep certification

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.