Summary

The VA Cheyenne Health Care System is hiring for one Medical Instrument Technician-Echocardiography.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Education
• There are no specific educational requirements for this occupation
• Education may be substituted for experience only at the GS-4 and GS-5 levels
• Licensure or Certification
• Licensure or Certification is not required for this occupation
• however - it is strongly desirable at GS-6 or above as evidence of possession of the essential knowledge - skills - and abilities
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the criteria discussed in the applicable headings - or that defined in the appendices - must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• For individuals at the GS-4 and GS-5 levels - the approved title will be Medical Instrument Technician (Trainee)
• GS-4 Experience
• At least 1 year of experience which demonstrates the knowledge - skills - abilities - and other characteristics related to the duties of the position to be filled
• Six months of this experience may have been in medically related fields such as nursing assistant - practical nursing - or similar fields
• The remaining six months must have been in operating diagnostic and therapeutic equipment covered by this occupation
• Experience gained in the operation of equipment for animal diagnosis or treatment may be credited at this level
• OR Education
• Successful completion of two years of education above high school or an associate's degree with a major field of study directly related to the medical instrument technician occupation
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities 1
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology
• 2
• Ability to learn the components - operating characteristics - and settings of the equipment to be used
• 3
• Ability to learn typical patient reactions to the basic procedures involved and ability to recognize signs of distress
• 4
• Ability to learn the standard positions for the procedure being conducted
• 5
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing
• GS-5 Experience
• At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level which demonstrates the knowledge - skills - abilities - and other characteristics related to the duties of the position to be filled
• This would be experience in operating equipment related to the particular specialization for which application is made or in related functional areas
• Experience gained in the operation of equipment for animal diagnosis or treatment may be credited through this grade level
• OR Education
• Successful completion of 4 academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation - or a bachelor's degree in a major field of study appropriate to medical instrument technician functions
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities 1
• Knowledge of standard medical terminology to interpret physician orders or instructions
• 2
• Knowledge of common physical disabilities and ability to position patients for the examination or treatment
• 3
• Ability to learn the normal and abnormal results for routine procedures to recognize and report obvious abnormalities
• 4
• Ability to operate the equipment to administer routine/standard diagnostic treatment or procedures
• 5
• Ability to perform standard operator maintenance on the equipment including the ability to disassemble - clean - reassemble - and calibrate the machine
• GS-6 Experience
• At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level which demonstrates the knowledge - skills - abilities - and other characteristics related to the duties of the positions to be filled
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: 1
• Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the heart and great vessels
• 2
• Knowledge of cardiac arrhythmias and their relationship to hemodynamic conditions of the cardiac cycle
• 3
• Knowledge of basic cardiac ultrasound physics and the acoustic mechanisms by which high quality cardiac images are obtained
• 4
• Ability to set up and adjust the ultrasound equipment to meet the conditions of the examination and the patient and to operate the equipment for standardized - routine procedures
• 5
• Ability to interact with patients explaining procedures and positioning the patient for the procedure
• GS-7 Experience
• At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level which demonstrates the knowledge - skills - abilities - and other characteristics related to the positions to be filled
• This would be experience which provided the individual with the knowledge - skills - and abilities to independently conduct difficult but standardized echocardiographic examinations
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: 1
• Ability to perform more complex electroencephalography studies such as evoked potential (visual - auditory - somatosensory) and transcranial Doppler studies
• 2
• Knowledge of medication effects related to electroencephalography studies and clinical situations requiring medication
• 3
• Knowledge of life threatening or medically emergent testing or patient situations
• 4
• Ability to recognize artifacts (patient or environmental) and document - eliminate - or take proper measures to monitor the artifact
• GS-8 Experience
• At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level which demonstrates the knowledge - skills - abilities - and other characteristics related to the duties of the positions to be filled
• This would be experience which provided the overall knowledge - skills - and abilities to conduct diagnostic echocardiography examinations in complex and unusual cases
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: 1
• Ability to produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency shift recordings using M-mode - two-dimensional - pulsed and continuous wave Doppler spectral display - and color flow Doppler imaging
• 2
• Knowledge of normal echocardiographic findings and deviations produced by a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases
• 3
• Ability to perform complex procedures such as cardiac studies of the four chambers of the heart and valves using sector scanning techniques to detect stenotic and incompetent valves - chamber enlargement - and pericardial effusion and cardiovascular studies deriving pressure gradients across obstructed valves - etc
• 4
• Ability to perform complementary ultrasonic examinations (including noninvasive) transthoracic - Bubble studies and contrast echocardiography - (invasive) stress echocardiography - and transesophageal echocardiography
• 5
• Ability to adapt transducer positioning - instrument controls - and examination techniques to the individual patient being studied and the problem being evaluated including recognizing pertinent abnormalities and documenting abnormal findings
• Reference: VA HANDBOOK 5005/54 - PART II -APPENDIX G27 For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-4 to GS-8. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Duties

• The Medical Instrument Technician (MIT) functions as a member of the Cardiology multidisciplinary team and works in the Cardiology/Echocardiography Section of the Cheyenne VA Medical Center in Cheyenne - WY
• The incumbent identifies and records anomalies of the heart indicative of disease - injury - or other medically significant conditions utilizing ultrasound imaging equipment while performing simultaneous Doppler recordings
• They change and develop scanning techniques to accommodate such variables as limited patient mobility - variation in physical condition - cardio pathology - body habitus and anatomical variations of the patient
• Uses adaptive scanning methods to accommodate the presence of prosthetics or foreign objects
• Recognizes the ultrasonic response of different body parts and tissues
• They produce diagnostic quality cardiac images and Doppler frequency recordings using M-mode - two dimensional - and Doppler ultrasound
• Echocardiography technician assignments at this level involve performing routine - standardized cardiac ultrasound examinations under the supervision of a fully qualified cardiac sonographer
• The work involves generating adequate gray scale images to define cardiac borders and learning to perform Doppler integration of cardiac valves for determination of flow velocities
• Other duties include - but are not limited to: Performs complex procedures such as cardiac studies of the four chambers of the heart and valves using sector scanning techniques to detect stenotic and incompetent valves - chamber enlargement - pericardial effusion - thrombus - and cardiovascular studies deriving pressure gradients across obstructed valves - etc
• Identify and record anomalies indicative of diseases - injury - or other medically significant condition from ultrasound imaging and simultaneous recordings of the Doppler
• Monitors patient's condition during procedure
• Performs quality assurance reviews as assigned by supervisor
• Communicates effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels
• Participates in organizational and VISN level conferences - task forces and committees as assigned to implement performance standards at the local level
• Adopts - develops - or improves imaging procedures and techniques for individual problems
• Takes initiative to learn new developments in the field - recommend changes to improve service - correct deficiencies - and improve reliability of test and treatment results
• The procedures and techniques adapted or developed by the sonographer may be considered to form the basis for hospital standardization
• Assists in maintaining and ordering adequate supplies used in the Echo lab
• Assists in the transport of patients when transportation services are not available
• Work Schedule: Full-time - Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:30pm Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Ad-hoc and Situational Telework is Available
• Functional Statement #: PD58799-A - PD58800-A - PD58801-A - PD58802-A - and PD58803-A