Summary

The Specialty Care service is looking to recruit for two (2) Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography). Echocardiography Technicians operate diagnostic equipment to graphically record the position and motion of the heart walls or the internal structure of the heart and neighboring tissue by the echo obtained from beams of ultrasonic waves directed through the chest wall. Duty locations will be James M. Inhofe VA Hospital Tulsa (primary) and Ernest Childers VA Clinic (secondary).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Citizenship of the US
• 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
• 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
• For certain functional areas at the higher levels or supervisory assignments - specific certifications appropriate to the specialty are indicated in this standard under "Titles and Certification/Registrations"
• For all specialties identified in this standard - Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable
• Training which does not result in official certification does not meet this definition
• English Language Proficiency: Candidate must be proficient in spoken and written English
• 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)
• MIT (Trainee) - GS-4 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
• 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
• Knowledge of basic medical terminology
• Ability to learn the components - operating characteristics - and settings of the equipment to be used
• Ability to learn typical patient reactions to the basic procedures involved and ability to recognize signs of distress
• Ability to learn the standard positions for the procedure being conducted
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing
• MIT(Trainee) - 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
• Knowledge of standard medical terminology to interpret physician orders or instructions
• Knowledge of common physical disabilities and ability to position patients for the examination or treatment
• Ability to learn the normal and abnormal results for routine procedures to recognize and report obvious abnormalities
• Ability to operate the equipment to administer routine/standard diagnostic treatment or procedures
• Perform standard operator maintenance on the equipment including the ability to disassemble - clean - reassemble - and calibrate the machine
• MIT- Echocardiography - 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
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the heart and great vessels
• Knowledge of cardiac arrhythmias and their relationship to hemodynamic conditions of the cardiac cycle
• Knowledge of basic cardiac ultrasound physics and the acoustic mechanisms by which high quality cardiac images are obtained
• 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
• Ability to interact with patients explaining procedures and positioning the patient for the procedure
• MIT- Echocardiography - 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 duties of 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
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• Ability to scan transthoracic echocardiograms in all views with colorflow and some Doppler
• Ability to conduct cardiac testing to determine the severity and variety of cardiac problems - i.e. - valvular dysfunction - myocardial wall kinesia - effusions - endocardial lesions - etc
• Knowledge of the set-up for transesophageal echocardiograms
• 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 more complex - but standardized procedures
• MIT- Echocardiography - 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
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• Ability to produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency shift recordings using M-mode - two-dimensional - pulsed and continuous wave Doppler spectral display - and colorflow Doppler imaging
• Knowledge of normal echocardiographic findings and deviations produced by a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases
• 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
• Ability to perform complementary ultrasonic examinations (including noninvasive) transthoracic - Bubble studies and contrast echocardiography - (invasive) stress echocardiography - and transesophageal echocardiography
• 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: 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-04 to GS-08
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

Duties

• Tulsa (James Mountain Inhofe VAMC) - https://youtu.be/3fMEu0iS7_Q?si=Y5RtGcnKKbJGxxk6 Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Performs highly complete ultrasonic echocardiographic-doppler imaging examinations of heart structures and range of movement of component elements for example - valves or chambers
• Examples of imaging examination include deriving obstructed valve pressure gradients - stenotic and incompetent valve detections - chamber enlargements - pericardial effusions - artificial valve evaluations - semi-quantitative valvular leakage - and degenerative aortic valve narrowing determinations
• Echocardiogram examinations involved two-dimensional - M-mode and Doppler - including pulsed and continuous wave and color flow Doppler
• Examinations are performed on both inpatient and outpatients
• The examinations are registered and tracked through the computerized patient chart
• Schedule's examinations - evaluates the critical findings of examinations - prioritizes and arranges examinations to accommodate patient conditions
• Interprets and assesses varied data and/or information (e.g. - patient illness - cardiovascular conditions - physician request - examination requirements - etc.) Operates system keyboard to enter patient identifying information - tracing measurements - and computations
• Selects - applies and positions probes on patient's body
• Probes on patient body must be constantly varied depending upon incumbent's instantaneous recognition of produced images
• and to obtain proper and appropriate penetration resulting in the best images and interprets sonographic tracings as they are being generated
• Specific diagnostic patterns must be recognized during conduct of examination to be able to perform proper and complete studies
• - Tracings are obtained by appropriate patient positions - and varied system control adjustments
• Recognizes heart valvular structure abnormalities
• Exercises judgement concerning associated lesions and records additional information which enhance views - adding M-modes and Doppler signals for inclusion/exclusion of such abnormalities as valve obstruction or regurgitation and etiology determinations - (e.g. - infective - congenital - inflammatory - etc.)
• Doppler tracing including pulse continuous waves and color flow required additional control adjustments - (e.g. - gain filtering grey scale for spectral images - etc.)
• Determines which transducers to utilize and arranges transducers in various positions to obtain Doppler signal recordings
• listens to produced sounds and observes images on oscilloscope (monitor)
• Analyzes recording for specific measurements on computerized screen (e.g. - chamber internal dimensions - wall thickness - wall motion to derive ventricular/stroke volume and ejection fraction evaluations - and valve areas from tracings - prior to cardiologist review)
• Advises physician of examination results
• notifies physician of significant results requiring immediate medical attention and review of findings
• Perform system pre/post-operative preventative maintenance - as required (e.g. - cleaning filters - exteriors - etc.)
• Required to use standard isolation techniques for appropriate patients
• Troubleshoots operational deficiencies - responsible for noting technical difficulties in system operations
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30 to 4:00 or 8:00 to 4:30 Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 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) Functional Statement #: 54078-0