The Marion, Illinois VA Medical Center, based in Evansville IN, is seeking a full time Medical Instrument Technician to join the Medicine Clinics as an Echocardiography Technician. This position provides technical assistance to the Cardiologist during all procedures occurring in the Cardiology Clinic.

Duties

These duties include but are not limited to performing Electrocardiograms, assisting with Cardiac Stress Tests and ZIO patches, MUSE system administration and assistance in the Pacemaker Clinic. The technician monitors the progression of procedures; assists the manager in improving technical training of new employees and students as well as directing patient inquiries to the appropriate person. This position is aligned under Medicine Clinics and provides support to the service as needed within the scope and complexity of the position. Duties include but are not limited to: Performs transthoracic examinations for outpatients and inpatients. Performs bubble and contrast echocardiography in conjunction with nurse and cardiologist.. Performs stress echocardiograms with and without pharmaceuticals.. Receives patients, explains procedure and performs exams. Assists physician with results of exam. Independently obtaining and monitoring routine and special procedure 12 lead electrocardiograms. Assists in editing and management of the MUSE system. Sets up, operates, and monitors electrocardiograph equipment to perform specialized examinations and studies involving exercise stress testing and ambulatory monitoring of arrhythmias. Technician monitors tracings to identify arrhythmias and when gross abnormalities appear, when to repeat certain procedures, when to stop test procedures and when to get the immediate attention of a provider. Performs ZIO patches application, removal, and analysis report generation. Appropriate intervention is accomplished by editing and selecting an appropriate sample portion of the tracing for further interpretation by the physician. Performs clinical evaluation of patients' implanted cardiac devices and recommends treatment and needs, to make referral to appropriateness to the provider. Assists in additional duties as needed to include maintenance of statistics, quality assurance activities, and educational in service. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0800-1630 excluding federal holidays Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Preferred Experience: Minimum of one year sonography cardiology experience and certification/licensed sonographer.

Requirements

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. See the grade requirements part of this standard for information regarding educational substitutions. 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. 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. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency: Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography) GS-4 Experience. At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level GS-03 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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: OR, Education. Successful completion of two years of education above high school or an associate 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. GS-5 Experience. At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level GS-04 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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 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. 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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 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. Certification. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification is desirable. *QUALIFICATION STANDARDS CONTINUED ON THE "EDUCATION TAB" OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT:

Education

• 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:

1. Ability to scan transthoracic echocardiograms in all views with color flow and some Doppler.
2. 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.
3. Knowledge of the set-up for transesophageal echocardiograms.
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 more complex, but standardized procedures.

Certification. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are desirable.

• 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: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 colorflow 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.

Certification. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are desirable.

References: VA Handbook 5005/15, Part II, Appendix G27.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-04 to GS-08


IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Marion VA Medical Center 2401 West Main Street Marion, IL 62959 US
• Name: David Orozco
• Phone: 361-905-3700
• Email: [email protected]