The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) (Imaging) provides clinical and administrative support to staff, patients, and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of advanced imaging or radiological devices and other medical devices including Cerner Project and Applications during Installation and Maintenance. .

Duties

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, Ohio and Fort Thomas, Kentucky serving 15 counties in Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana with 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH, and Georgetown, OH. Cincinnati VAMC also supports two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division. Duties: Lifecycle management of advanced imaging or radiological devices to include physical and network support. Completes both routine and complex assignments involved in the installation, maintenance, modification, troubleshooting, repair and calibration of these complex therapeutic and diagnostic devices and systems. Utilizes comprehensive knowledge of imaging techniques, technologies, radiological practices and procedures in resolving highly complex equipment failures that have immediate risks to patient safety. Coordinates and works effectively with other facility support departments including but not limited to Facilities Management Service (FMS), Office of Information Technology (OIT), Sterile Processing Service (SPS), and Environmental Management Service (EMS). Utilizes advanced radiological test equipment including but not limited to radiation dosimeters, calibration phantoms, high voltage testing devices, KV and MA meters and monitor calibration devices in addition to common test equipment including electrical safety analyzers, oscilloscopes, patient simulators, pulse generators, network analyzers, and multimeters, among others. Troubleshoots and maintains radiology information systems and interfaces (i.e. HL7, DICOM, TCP/IP) with EHR alongside PACS Administrators, OIT, BESS (Biomedical Information Systems) and other experts. Support and evaluate DICOM & COMPASS connectivity, troubleshoot, and perform system integration. Configure Imaging Devices to pull worklists and send to storage destination. Performs advanced testing and troubleshooting of advanced imaging or radiological devices involving their interfaces and connections to other medical devices or information systems directly or through the facility's hardwired and wireless networks. Adheres to Medical Device Isolation Architecture (MDIA) Guidelines in both pre-procurement and during system implementation, and system management. Loads operating system (OS) and clinical application software as needed. Executes VA guidelines when responding to network incident response (due to infection, loss of services or regional and local policy changes). responsible for all lifecycle management medical devices and systems. Maintains functional knowledge of relevant safety codes and standards of regulatory bodies including The Joint Commission (TJC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), American College of Radiology (ACR), Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). Documents all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). Functions as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and keeps appropriate certification levels. Uses knowledge of government contract procedures and documentation requirements to develop statements of work, sole source justifications, other applicable documentation (6550, Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), etc.) and to oversee vendor work. Investigates, remediates and documents recalls and safety alerts within established timeframes. Participates in local safety improvement processes such as Root Cause Analysis (RCA), safety work groups, and Environment of Care Rounds. Identifies hazards during routine job performance and ensures they are addressed and corrected. Maintains knowledge of the state of the art in medical technology, including scientific advances, network protocols, and vendor changes. Provides training and education to medical technology end users and clinical staff. Provides mentoring and technical training to peers and development graded BESS. Additional duties are performed as assigned by supervisor related to maintenance, remediation, and tracking of advanced imaging or radiological devices and other medical devices to meet mission critical requirements. May be asked to assist in hiring panels or working on VISN/National initiatives as a technical expert. Represents Biomedical/Clinical Engineering department on committees and in meetings as delegated by supervisor. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:00am-3:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

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: Be a Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g. Education and/or Experience The individual must meet either item (1) or (2) below to meet this requirement: Experience and Education. 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 (EET) 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: Biomedical Engineer GS-12 Full Performance Level Experience. Completion of at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level; or completion of a post-doctoral research fellowship in the field of biomedical engineering, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of codes and standards relevant to safe operation of radiation producing medical devices such as National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), The Joint Commission (TJC), American College of Radiology (ACR), Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) and The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). Comprehensive knowledge of imaging techniques, technologies, radiological practices and procedures. Skill in using advanced radiological test equipment such as radiation dosimeters, calibration phantoms, high voltage testing devices, KV and MA meters and monitor calibration devices. Ability to resolve highly complex breakdowns that have an immediate risk to patient safety. Ability to maintain and troubleshoot networked medical imaging equipment to include VLAN configuration, IP addressing, sub-netting, and network security, and build, configure, repair and install workstations and servers in imaging and non-imaging environments. 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, and DICOM standards. Assignment. For all assignments above the full-performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The incumbent may be responsible for the complete systems management of computerized/networked imaging systems and databases and their inter-connectivity with P ACS, related modalities and the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). Utilizes specialized diagnostic software, specialized quality assurance tools and measuring equipment, detailed technical literature, and standard electronic and computer test equipment. Ensures required software updates and backups are completed to maintain continued functionality of equipment, patient safety, and data integrity. The incumbent assists in designing and implementing best approaches to recovery of critical computerized databases and operating systems. The incumbent should be considered a technical expert on one or more advanced imaging system and may provide input to the VISN High-Cost/High-Tech Committee, may serve as a VISN or national technical resource as needed. Advises clinicians and management regarding the acquisition, integration, and application of medical imaging technologies. Participates in the acquisition, technical requirements and evaluations, project planning and deployment of medical imaging systems. May serve as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for purchase of medical equipment, maintenance/repair contracts, and facility projects. He/she is responsible for coordinating with the facility stakeholders including but not limited to medical staff, clinical personnel, Biomedical Engineering, OI&T, service managers, Patient Safety, senior salespeople and equipment manufacturers on procurement related or technical issues. Preferred Experience: Currently working as a Biomedical Support Specialist (BESS) for a VA Medical Center with 10 years plus experience in Radiology Imaging. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G49, Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist Qualification Standard GS-1601The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 .

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Cincinnati VA Medical Center 3200 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45220 US
• Name: Kelly Webb
• Email: [email protected]