Incumbent services the medical center as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist in the Nuclear Medicine Service with the responsibility for performing the routine, specialized and new radionuclide studies for the diagnosis, treatment and investigation of pathological disorders. Participates in an on-call rotation to provide emergency study coverage outside regular department hours.

Duties

The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being. Duties include but are not limited to the following: Performs computer acquisition and analysis of data. Selects and modifies programs to acquire patient studies. Analyzes radioimaging, in vitro, and research studies. Performs a wide variety of functional studies of organs/systems Compounds radiopharmaceuticals, preparing appropriate dosages, ensuring pharmaceutical quality of agents, ensuring that patients receive correct amounts of radioactivity, determining proper route of administration, administering radiopharmaceuticals intravenously to patients, determining need for and performing specialized injection techniques and assisting physicians in administering therapeutic amounts of radioactivity. Prepares imaging, counting, and ancillary equipment for patient use. Calibrates imaging cameras, by means of testing flood uniformity, linearity, spatial resolution with devices such as point sources, radioactive flood field sources, bar phantoms, orthogonal hole phantoms, and ECT phantoms. Performs daily calibration of energy settings of gamma cameras. Ascertains the accuracy of dose calibrators, well counters, and uptake units by checking the linearity of unit response with standard calibrated radionuclide sources. Routinely checks the operational status of complex ancillary equipment such as cardiac treadmills, microhematocrit units, GM counters, centrifuges, automated film processors, transparency film duplication devices, spirometers and radioactive gas traps. Will assume all the duties and responsibilities of a technologist in the operation and calibration of the PET scanner and will be willing to receive the necessary training to engage in the daily operation of the PET Center when staffing requires. This will include scheduling the patients, patient preparation, as well as actual imaging. Schedules patients from inpatient, outpatient, and outside hospital referrals with judgment as to the equipment parameters needed for each individual patient or study. Receives the daily doses of radiopharmaceuticals, monitors for appropriate expected results, monitors package dose rates and records results. Performs the proper quality control procedures and checks the doses in the dose calibrator. Performs and maintains in-vivo statistics as appropriate. Maintains all necessary documentation including policy/procedure manuals, patient dose records, quality assurance records of equipment and radiopharmaceuticals, radioactive materials disposal records, etc. Instructs nurses, physicians, students, and other persons on any related aspect of Nuclear Medicine science. Work Schedule: Varies Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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. Certification. All applicants must be certified in nuclear medicine technology by the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB) or the American Registry of Radiologic Technology (ARRT) (N). NMTCB or ARRT (N) certification eligibility requirements are normally satisfied by one of the following: Completion of a NMTCB-recognized nuclear medicine technology program, OR Completion of a nuclear medicine technology program accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology (JRCNMT), or other accrediting agencies as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), culminating in a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, or master's degree. Educational programs must have structured clinical training sufficient to provide clinical competency in radiation safety, instrumentation, clinical procedures, and radio-pharmacy, as deemed acceptable by the NMTCB. NOTE: Technologists functioning as multi-modality technologists require additional specific certifications as stated in assignment descriptions below.] Exceptions. Non-certified applicants, who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for NMTCB or ARRT (N) certification, may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate NMT under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (a)(1)(D). Failure to obtain certification [within 1 year from the date of appointment] is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. This may result in termination of employment. Grandfathering Provision. [ ]All persons employed in VHA [as a NMT] on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a [certification], may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the journey (full performance) level, or [changed to lower grade] within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Such employees in an occupation that requires a certification only at higher grade levels must meet the certification requirement before they can be promoted to the higher-grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or certification that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was [in the NMT] occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status, and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019[, Employee Occupational Health Service.] English Language Proficiency. [NMTs] must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, of this part. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Nuclear Medicine Technologist, GS-9 Experience. Completion of 1 year of [creditable] experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-7) directly related to the position to be filled (i.e., experience that demonstrates possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to provide nuclear medicine technology services at that level) [is required.]. Examples of experience is the following: knowledge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations [that pertain to nuclear medicine technology practices, knowledge of the medical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and physics and how they relate to the cardiovascular, skeletal, endocrine, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems of the human body, knowledge of radioactive package types, package surveys, and radioactive materials record management, ability to independently use and interpret Geiger-Mueller meter.] Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. [In addition, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:] Ability to document excessive radiation exposure in the working environment. Knowledge of medical events requiring documentation and the ability to properly document them and make recommendations to the radiation safety officer (RSO). Ability to communicate orally and in writing post iodine-131 therapy radiation safety precautions. Ability to troubleshoot gamma camera and auxiliary equipment problems. Ability to analyze computer generated data for technical quality and artifacts and initiate corrective measures. References: VA Handbook 5005/125 Part II Appendix G19 Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-9.

Education

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 Minneapolis VA Medical Center One Veterans Drive Minneapolis, MN 55417 US
• Name: Amy Bakner
• Phone: 612-629-7180
• Email: [email protected]