This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist provides clinical and administrative support to staff, patients, and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of networks, networked medical equipment, and associated systems. The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) will use his/her extensive practical knowledge and expertise in engineering, information technology physiology, anatomy, the principles and techniques of operation of medical equipment, and research or clinical procedures to: Advise clinicians and management regarding the need for and appropriateness of acquiring and/or replacing medical equipment and systems; Assist in developing requirements and evaluating technologies and specific equipment and systems for possible purchase; Plan for installation, including development of design criteria for construction and site preparation when necessary. Duties include: Lifecycle management of network equipment including, but not limited to, network switches, servers, routers and related infrastructure for any and all networked complex medical devices and systems such as imaging, life support, dialysis, and monitoring. Manage, troubleshoot, and maintain complete systems of computerized networks, databases and servers including, but not limited to, biomedical information systems that store or facilitate patient information. Implement and plan for new and emerging technologies including but not limited to diagnostic modalities, network management and storage, and virtual data centers. Design, implement, and manage network incident response due to infection, loss of service, or regional and local policy changes according to VA guidelines. Ensure proper security configuration for assigned devices and networks. Regularly review and install available approved software updates and virus definitions for applicable networked medical devices. Lead development of disaster recovery procedures for critical systems to be enacted in the event of device failure. Adhere to Medical Device Isolation Architecture Guidelines in both pre-procurement and during system implementation. Load operating system and clinical application software as needed. Maintain functional knowledge of relevant safety codes and standards of regulatory bodies including, but not limited to, The Joint Commission, National Fire Protection Association, Food and Drug Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. Document all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system. This documentation is completed in accordance with regulatory body requirements, the Office of Healthcare Technology Management Documentation of Services policies and guidelines, and other VA requirements. Maintain knowledge of the state of the art in medical technology, including scientific advances, network protocols, and vendor changes. Focus on professional development in all areas of medical technology lifecycle management including technical skills. Knowledge and training is obtained from formal (conference, vendor-provided classes) or informal (magazines, articles, peer training) means. Provide training and education as appropriate to medical technology end users and clinical staff. Provide mentoring and technical training to peers and Biomedical Equipment Support Specialists at developmental levels. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Title/Functional Statement #: Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Biomedical Information Systems)/23990F EDRP Authorized: Contact the VISN 2 EDRP Coordinators ([email protected]) for questions/assistance. 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. English Language Proficiency. Must be proficient in spoken and written English. Education or Experience: Associates degree in Biomedical Electronics Technology, Biomedical Equipment Technology, or Biomedical Engineering Technology or in a related technical field such as Electronic Technology or Information Technology and two years of experience as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer, or Information Technology Specialist. OR, Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering Technology or in a related field such as Electronics Engineering Technology or Information Technology. OR, Completion of a military training program in biomedical equipment and two years of experience as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist or Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer, or Information Technology Specialist. 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: To qualify for the GS-12 level, Applicants must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, directly related to the position to be filled. GS-12 Candidates must possess all of the following: Current knowledge of computer virus protection software, available software patches and upgrades, and information security tools. Expert knowledge of electronics, computer and networking theory with experience maintaining, interfacing and troubleshooting networked medical equipment to include VLAN configuration, IP addressing, sub-netting, and network security. Ability to utilize and maintain computer and server based medical equipment, medical record databases, and proprietary and generic software, Experience with TCP/IP, HL7, networking, network security, and DICOM standards. Ability to interpret, identify, and apply network engineering principles and practices where there often times is no previous example to follow, or precedence. Skill to distinguish networking problems from non-networking problems and discuss various options with IT networking and operations staff members. Preferred Experience: Certification as a Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM) is highly desirable at this level but not required. References: VA Handbook 5005/130, Part II, Appendix G49 - Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist Qualification Standard Physical Requirements: Maintain, repair, inspect and calibrate a wide variety of technical medical electronic equipment. Involves some bending, stretching. Use of carts and ladders and light power tools. Working under stressful deadlines.

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 Biomed - VA Western New York Healthcare System 3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 US
• Name: Susan Malecki
• Phone: (716) 862-3293
• Email: [email protected]