The incumbent serves at the full performance level of a Nuclear Medicine Technologist in the Nuclear Medicine Service with responsibility for PET/CT, general and nuclear cardiac imaging, radiopharmacy, radiopharmaceutical therapy, radiation safety, clinical research, and clinical nuclear medicine technology education.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Provides effective patient care by being responsive to the physical and emotional needs of the patient. Establish and maintains communication with the adult and older adult patient family. Evaluates the individual needs of the adult and older adult patient and provides appropriate care/support. Provides functionally safe and sanitary conditions using standard precautions. Monitors patient's medical status and ensures patient comfort, privacy and safety during the procedure. Responds appropriately to emergency conditions. Performs patient assessment of medication use, mobility cognitive function, and sensory changes in patient. Explains the procedure in a manner that can be understood by the patient and documents patient education, obtains relevant patient history and collects pertinent data about the patient to verify that patient has not had previous diagnostic studies, medications, or conditions that may invalidate the scan/test result or cause artifacts and to ensure that pre-study preparation had been Veterans Health Administration Functional Statement Official Title: Nuclear Medicine Technologist completed. Verifies that informed consent has been obtained, when necessary. Determines the appropriate sequence for multiple procedure requests and coordinates Nuclear Medicine procedures with other diagnostic procedures or therapy. Evaluates performance of scintillation cameras by performing photopeak alignment, flood field, bar phantom, high-count uniformity flood images, center of rotation, and SPECT phantom images. Evaluates performance of scintillation probes and well counter by performing constancy checks on day use, energy resolution, and chi-square test. Records appropriate equipment quality control data, evaluates results, and takes corrective action, when indicated. Maintains records for quality control program and regulatory/accreditation agency review. Administers radiopharmaceuticals and/or pharmaceuticals using administration protocols and standard precautions. Performs common imaging procedures, such as thyroid, parathyroid, bone, 3-phase bone, ventilation and perfusion lung, quantitative lung, liver and spleen, cardiac blood pool (MUGA), gastric emptying, GI bleed, and PET. Performs specialized imaging procedures, such as rest and stress myocardial perfusion, hepatobiliary, hemangioma, lasix renal, captopril renal, SPECT brain, and tumor and infection studies. Procedures may require administration of intervention drugs, such Lexiscan, adenosine, Dobutamine, Lasix, cholecystokenin, morphine, and other drugs, under the supervision of a physician and special techniques for administering radiopharmaceuticals. Procedures may also require acquisition and processing of SPECT data by selecting appropriate filters, frequency cutoff, and attenuation correction and defining regions of interest to provide qualitative and quantitative result. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am- 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 667-00224-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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. 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. Grade Determinations GS-09. Experience. Completion of 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to document excessive radiation exposure in the working environment. (b) Knowledge of medical events requiring documentation and the ability to properly document them and make recommendations to the radiation safety officer (RSO). (c) Ability to communicate orally and in writing post iodine-131 therapy radiation safety precautions. (d) Ability to troubleshoot gamma camera and auxiliary equipment problems. (e) Ability to analyze computer generated data for technical quality and artifacts and initiate corrective measures. Note: Experience and KSAs must be clearly reflected in your resume to be found qualified for this position/grade level. Preferred Experience: Nuclear Medicine experience, PET, Nuclear Cardiology References: VA Handbook 5005/125, Part II, Appendix G19 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09. Physical Requirements: Work is active and demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items.

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 Overton Brooks VA Medical Center 510 East Stoner Avenue Shreveport, LA 71101 US
• Name: Heather Caudill
• Phone: (217) 274-5442
• Email: [email protected]