Student Trainee (Medical & Health)

Student Trainee (Medical & Health)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Columbia, Missouri

Salary Range: $37193 - $47334 Per Year

Job Summary: The Pathways Internship Program allows students to join VA in career positions that emphasize long-term training and development. As a Student Trainee (Medical and Health), the incumbent performs duties of a medical laboratory aide in the clinical laboratory of the Harry S. Truman Veterans Affairs Medical Center in drawing routine specimens during high workload times, late clinic hours, and short staff coverage.

Major Duties:

• This position is being filled under the Pathways Internship Program. The program is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with paid work opportunities in agencies to explore Federal careers while still in school. The Internship provides managers a ready source of student employees and potential permanent employees upon completion of the program requirements. It also provides the student with work experience directly related to the curriculum studies or career goals while offering eligibility for non-competitive conversion to permanent employment upon completion. For more information on Internship opportunities within the Department of Veterans Affairs, please visit: https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/pathways-internship-program/. The Pathways Internship Program allows students to join VA in career positions that emphasize long-term training and development. Major responsibilities and duties may include but are not limited to: Performing phlebotomy duties on both inpatients and outpatients. Utilizing a personal computer to access patient medical information. Using centrifuges and other laboratory equipment and supplies to process specimens after collection. Sorting, aliquots and distributing specimens throughout the laboratory and to other hospital and referral labs. Acting as courier to deliver specimens to UMHC laboratories and returning pathology reports, test results and specimens to the laboratory. Measuring, aliquots, and preparing preservatives for surgical and cytology specimens. Picking up, preserving, measuring, and aliquots and preparing for shipment all 24-hour urine collections. Stocking blood drawing and processing supplies in the receiving area and blood drawing room. Insuring printers in receiving room and blood drawing room are functioning properly, programs set up, and replacing paper, labels and ribbons. Answering queries from physicians, nurses and other hospital staff regarding test requirements, processing instructions, and test order status. Routing calls to the proper section of the laboratory. Work Schedule: This position is part time, Not-to-Exceed (NTE) 1-year. The Student Trainees will work rotating weekends, holidays and hours during school breaks. Work includes various shifts during the hours of 5:30am to Midnight and will change according to class schedules.

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/20/2026. Internship Program: To be eligible, applicants must be accepted for enrollment or currently enrolled and seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) in a qualifying educational institution, on a full or half-time basis as defined by the institution in which you are enrolled. Internship Program: To be eligible applicants must: Be accepted for enrollment or currently enrolled and seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) in a qualifying educational institution, on a full or half-time basis as defined by the institution in which you are enrolled. Be seeking a degree that is relevant to this position. Be able to work at least 4 hours per week. Meet the grade qualifications must be met prior to start date. To qualify for the GS 4 grade level: Completion of 2 academic years of post-high school study or associate's degree (60 semester hours/90 quarter hours). Transcripts are required. Sign a Pathways Internship Program Participant Agreement, Maintain status as a current student, Maintain good academic standing, at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 grading scale, Adhere to an established work schedule approved by the supervisor, Provide proof of enrollment in a qualifying educational institution and academic transcripts at the end of each academic period and upon request, Perform, successfully, the duties and responsibilities in the assigned position description, Observe all workplace rules, such as dress code, office conduct and behavior, Participate in all VA mandatory training programs (either on-line or in the classroom), Notify the supervisor of any changes in the completion of the educational program, such as graduation date, changes in the major degree requirements, or changes in the educational institution's accreditation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Infection Control Medical Information Specimen Collection Technology Application 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. 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/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 01/20/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12859503. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. 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. 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. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. 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. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ 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.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-20