The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System is recruiting for a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. The Nuclear Medicine Technologist will function in Nuclear Medicine Service.

Duties

Duties: Prepare, assay, and administer radiopharmaceutical doses by injection, inhalation or ingestion as prescribed. Be proficient in introducing intravenous catheters in patients for administration of radiopharmaceuticals and/or medications. Test blood glucose levels in patients. Respond properly to results that are outside normal range. Be knowledgeable regarding possible side effects of radiopharmaceuticals and other medications, such as Lasix and Captopril, to be administered. Take immediate action to remedy any noted effects. Order and manage radiopharmaceutical doses as required for daily patient studies. Maintain adequate supplies of doses to perform patient studies without a delay whenever possible. Receive patients, explain procedure, answer questions relating to the procedure, position patient for all necessary views and tend to their comfort for the duration of the procedure. Obtain pertinent clinical data from the patient, electronic chart, requisition, and interviewing the patient and/or family. Operate nuclear medicine equipment such as SPECT, SPECT/CT, and PET/CT, well counters, GM survey meters, thyroid uptake system, FDG dose injector, and dose calibrators for various patient procedures. Understand and perform exposure rate calculations. Perform a full range of nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging, non-imaging, in-vitro and therapeutic procedures, including highly specialized computer assisted studies such as gated, tomographic, quantitative procedures. Perform and understand a range of hybrid imaging including SPECT/CT and PET/CT. Be knowledgeable in low dose Computed Tomography aspects including KeV and MAS settings. Understand attenuation correction and anatomical landmarks as they relate to CT. Also be attentive to CT safety and reducing the patient's dose to as low as reasonably possible. Analyze procedure images for quality. Obtain additional images when necessary. Administer radiopharmaceuticals to patients. Utilize necessary quality management methods of patient identification such as using two unique identifiers and using active rather than passive identification. Perform radionuclide therapy in collaboration with Nuclear Medicine Physician. Receive and assay prescribed therapeutic doses. Fill out appropriate forms and administer dose with the nuclear medicine physician. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of personnel requiring film badges. Read and understand the film badge exposure report. Determine exposure patterns and recommend actions to reduce exposure levels to public, radiation workers and self. Prepare studies for nuclear medicine physician's interpretation by insuring completeness of all forms (IE dose and initialing each study) involved in the procedure. Record appropriate data and related information on the proper patient worksheet and images. Schedule patient procedures, taking into consideration camera availability, scan length, patient condition, the need for multiple nuclear medicine studies, other clinic appointments of the patient, contraindications for the test and urgency of the request. Inform patient of all pertinent preparations for his/her scan, i.e. NPO, follow certain diet, bowel prep, etc. Adjusting schedule to prevent over-booking and to prevent extended patient wait times Perform required technical procedures for safe receipt, handling, transport, usage and disposal of radioactive materials, assuring compliance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), National Health Physics Program (NHPP), Department of Transportation (DOT) and license conditions. Understand different precautions used based upon the various package types. Understand, utilize, and practice the concepts of ALARA principal, maintaining radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible: Not available. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 92157-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified applicants Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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: [(1) Completion of a NMTCB-recognized nuclear medicine technology program, OR (2) 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. Preferred Experience: 2-3 years experience as a staff Nuclear Medicine Technologist with scheduling experience. Grade Determinations: GS-11: Completion of one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position to be filled (GS-9), i.e., experience that demonstrates possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to provide nuclear medicine technology services at that level. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: Analyzing consequences of improper packaging of radioactive material and take appropriate actions. Determining personnel needing personal monitoring devices, analyze personal monitoring results, and recommend corrective action, if needed. Analyzing instances of increased radiation exposure levels and recommend measures to reduce. Calculating exposure rates. Documenting excessive radiation exposure. Developing new protocols for imaging procedures. Motivating and/or mentoring staff, if supervisory position. Developing continuing education standards, if supervisory position. Responding to any decrease in staffing or increase in workload involving all parties to restructure work assignments, if encumbering a supervisory position. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience listed above, the candidate must also demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to produce and assess high quality scans and quality control images using independent judgement to recognize abnormal or unacceptable results. Knowledge and skill in use of ancillary equipment with an understanding of how the results will affect the study outcome. Knowledge of physiologic processes as they relate to altered radiopharmaceutical uptake and/or artefactual findings. Ability to obtain, assess, and document pre-therapy patient preparation information and provide post-therapy patient education following proper administration of advanced therapy dose. Ability to develop new protocols for imaging procedures. Ability to analyze instances of increased radiation exposure levels and recommend measures to reduce. Ability to analyze consequences of improper packaging of radioactive material and take appropriate actions. The full performance level of this position is GS-11. References: VA Handbook 5005/15, Part II, Appendix G19 Physical Requirements: This position requires the ability to do the following: heavy lifting (45lbs and over), moderate carrying (15-44lbs), pushing, use of fingers, use of both hands, walking (up to 8hrs), standing (up to 8hrs), repeated bending (up to 8hrs), ability to distinguish basic colors, emotional/mental stability. Environmental factors include: exposure to radiant energy, slippery or uneven walking surfaces, working closely with others and/or working alone. Areas of Consideration - Applicants will be considered based on the following areas of consideration. First Area of Consideration (Facility Employees) - Current, permanent VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System employees (this includes Outpatient Clinics, permanent employees of the Veteran Canteen Service assigned to this facility, Office of Information & Technology employees assigned to this facility, CPAC bargaining unit employees located at the Cleveland VAMC, and Virtual CBOPC bargaining unit employees under station 741 located at the Cleveland VAMC. Second Area of Consideration (Other VA Employees) - Current, permanent Department of Veterans Affairs Employees (VA employees who are located at other VA medical centers).

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 VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System 10701 East Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44106 US
• Name: Robert Braholli
• Phone: 216-791-2300
• Email: [email protected]