Job opening: Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist

Salary: $39 576 - 94 317 per year

Relocation: YES

Published at: Feb 21 2024

Company: Veterans Health Administration

Employment Type: Full-time

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) provides clinical and administrative support to staff, patients, and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of medical equipment.

Duties

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. 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. English Language Proficiency: Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for appointment, the following criteria must be used when determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates: GS-5 Experience: (Entry Level) Applicant must have at least one year of experience, examples of specialized experience are: Provide support of basic medical equipment and systems (not limited to: installation, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, calibrations and safety inspections). GS-7 Experience: At least one year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Examples of specialized experience: Knowledge of medical equipment, including current technology and future advances, provide support of basic medical equipment and systems to include, but not limited to: installation, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, calibrations and safety inspections. KSA's: In addition to the experience required, you must also meet the ALL of the demonstrated knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) for the respective GS-07 level: Ability to read, interpret, and apply a great variety of technical data such as schematic drawings, wiring diagrams, table charts, mathematical expressions and formulas. Ability to learn equipment maintenance, operating procedures, and repair procedures from training materials and courses. Fundamental knowledge of electronics to include analog, digital and microprocessor theory, pneumatics, hydraulics, optics, electro-mechanics, physics, basic networking, and chemistry. Knowledge of the use of standard level test equipment to include, but not limited to, multi meters, electrical safety analyzers, patient simulator, storage oscilloscopes, manometers, tachometers, etc. Knowledge of anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, medical equipment, and technology. Knowledge of basic networking, computer/server hardware/software and information technologies and computer virus protection software, available software patches and upgrades, and information security tools GS-9 Experience: At least one year of GS-07 experience that include: Performs and documents all repairs and preventive maintenance activities; and ensures that the data is correctly entered into the medical equipment management computer system. Utilizes schematic drawings, wiring diagrams, and technical manuals as guidelines for accomplishing work. Uses specialized electronic test gear or software to analyze, evaluate, diagnose, troubleshoot, calibrate or repair analog and digital microprocessor controlled, computerized or networked digital systems. Makes determinations as to whether systems are safe for patient and operator use and initiates appropriate corrective action when necessary. Performs incoming inspections on new medical equipment and systems to determine that all government safety regulations, manufacturer's specifications, contract requirements, and needs of the user are met; Provides biomedical equipment related technical training to peer and clinical staff. AND, KSA's: In addition to the experience required, you must also meet the ALL of the demonstrated knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) for the respective GS-09 level: Knowledge of electronics and electricity including analog and intermediate digital electronics to test, calibrate, maintain, and repair biomedical equipment and moderately complex biomedical instrumentation systems; Skill in the setup and use of standard and advanced level test equipment to perform precise and detailed analysis of the operating and design characteristics of equipment and initiate repairs, reconfiguration, or redesign of moderately complex medical systems; Skill in applying theory, concepts, techniques, design characteristics, operation, and functions to assist and support installation, operation, test, maintenance, repair, design, and modification for a comprehensive range of medical equipment connected to networks or other operating systems; Ability to evaluate practical and technical information from manufacturers, contract specifications, manuals, and historical data in order to perform analysis required to make effective recommendations concerning operation, maintenance, and repair of medical equipment; Ability to perform testing and troubleshooting of medical devices involving their interfaces and connections to other medical devices, clinical systems, or information systems either directly or through the hospitals hardwired and wireless networks; Ability to use application software and hardware as it relates to the operation and diagnostics of medical equipment. Knowledge of computer equipment with a wide variety of software to input and retrieve data as required, and to prepare a variety of specific working documents and forms such as spreadsheet, database, word processing, and other similar products. GS-11 Experience: At least one year of GS-09 experience that include: Provide support of medical equipment and systems, install, maintain, safety test, calibrate, troubleshoot, and support medical technologies such as sleep lab monitoring systems, GI endoscopic systems, dental imaging equipment, surgical equipment, and clinical laboratory equipment; Performs and documents all repairs and preventive maintenance activities and ensures that the data is correctly entered into the medical equipment management computer system; Utilizes schematic drawings, wiring diagrams, and technical manuals as guidelines for accomplishing work; Maintains inventory documentation of assigned networked-attached medical equipment/systems to include electronic protected health information (ePHI) requirements, Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), IP addresses, Access Control Lists (ACL), anti-virus software, and other necessary information; Provides biomedical equipment related technical training to peer and clinical staff. The KSA's for the GS-11 are continued in the education section.

Education

Continued from qualifications -

KSA's. In addition to the experience required, you must also meet the ALL of the demonstrated knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) for the respective GS-11 level:

Knowledge of a wide range of sciences including, but not limited to, electronics (analog and digital), computer science/networking, mechanical engineering design, pneumatics, hydraulics, chemistry, physiology, medical terminology, anatomy, optics, and biology to perform duties of a broad scope and nature on complex and sophisticated patient-related medical systems and sub-systems;
Ability to perform advanced testing and troubleshooting of medical devices involving their interfaces and connections to information systems either directly or through the hospitals hardwired and wireless networks;
Knowledge of codes and standards relevant to safe operation of medical instrumentation such as National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Joint Commission (TJC), and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI);
Skill in the use of all types of test and calibration equipment such as digital multi-meters, electrical safety analyzers, defibrillator analyzers, patient simulators, digital oscilloscopes, pulse generators, and Local Area Network (LAN) analyzers
Ability to configure and maintain medical servers and desktop computers;
Knowledge of contracting regulations, requirements, and specific contract specifications including performance-based contracts.

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/.