The Wilkes-Barre VAMC is currently recruiting for a Health Technician-Telemetry. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) supports the provision of patient care using telehealth technologies which increase a Veteran's access to care and support a Veteran's self-management. The Health Technician will be assigned to work in the Patient Care Service Line under the direct supervision of the nurse manager.

Duties

The Technician provides continuous cardiac surveillance, interpretation and reporting of monitor and telemetry tracing of patients within Patient Care Services. Expected to recognize changes in patient's condition and be astute in assessing the need for intervention which may be an emergent nature requiring immediate attention. Will provide assistance to the nursing staff to assure coordinated and efficient delivery of patient care services. Knowledge of medical terminology is required. Performs patient care tasks, cleaning and supply duties, escorting functions, and clerical tasks. Patient care tasks are delegated by the professional nurse based on assessment of the task and the individual patient needs. Duties include but not limited to the following: Performs Continuous monitoring and analysis of cardiac rate, rhythm, and patterns of conduction on telemetry patients through the use of approves telemetry monitoring system. Detects abnormal or changing rate, rhythm, or pattern of conduction directly from oscilloscopic rhythm display, from computer triggered alarms, or from EKG records on computer memory. Monitor for non-invasive blood pressure and continuous pulse oximetry (SP02) alarm events. Promptly validates/invalidates alarm conditions. Establishes and maintains morphologically suitable and noise free EKG signal. Detects need for lead changes by observing accuracy of computer diagnosis and noting clarity of EKG signal at console oscilloscope. Preserves an analyzed six second strip every 8 hours and as needed for rhythm changes. Labels rhythm strip with the patient's name, lead, PR QRS and QT intervals and rhythm interpretation. Monitor patients in lead II or MCL unless specified. Notifies appropriate personnel of minor/ major/ life threatening cardiac rhythm disturbance. Sets alarm limits per policy. Admit/discharge patient in computer arrhythmia system. Documents, on admission to telemetry, an analyzed baseline rhythm strip. Marks monitors with patients' location when they are temporarily taken off the monitor (i.e., medical procedures).Gives verbal reports to nursing staff regarding patient EKG rhythm. Completes hand-off communication to oncoming MT. Runs a continuous strip on a telemetry patient during emergency situations. Keeps an accurate log of all cardiac arrhythmias on the notification sheet. Prints summary every 4 hours on patients recorded on notification sheet. Ensures high quality information and visual display of patients tracing. Promptly reports signal interference to RN. Reports inoperable telemetry equipment to the nurse manager/designees and biomedical engineering department immediately. Performs or assists RN with personal car such as body and oral hygiene, dressing/undressing, and toileting/elimination ensuring patient privacy at all times. Monitor one to one observation patients. Answers call lights and if unable to independently assist, communicates patients needs to assigned RN or charge nurse. Under the direction of assigned RN or provider feed patients and records intake for calorie counts. Assists with meal set-up and/or feeds patients as needed. Performs or assists RN with search and inventory of patient belongings. Change linen on occupied and unoccupied beds. Required to assist in RN patient care as directed to include but not limited to dressing changes, triage, turning and positioning of patients, enema administration, postmortem care, and morgue transfers. Measures and records vital signs in computerized patient records system (CPRS) vital signs package and notifies assigned RN or provider, such as temperature (oral and rectal), pulse, respirations, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and pain levels. Vital signs, weights, intake and output, and bladder scans, Measures and empties urine output from urinary catheters and notifies RN or provider. Collects and sends routine urine, stool, and sputum specimens. Obtains nasal cultures for MRSA upon admissions, discharges, and transfers. Performs venipuncture, draw labs, and obtain blood cultures labels and sends specimens to lab. Performs bladder scans to identify the volume of urine retained in the bladder and notifies RN or provider of results. Performs glucometers checks and notifies assigned RN or provider of results. Assists with turns and properly positions patients, and transfers and ambulation of patients. Obtains and immediately delivers blood products from blood bank to assigned RN. Assisting with incentive spirometer, cough, and deep breathing exercises. Applying leads and connecting to ECG monitor, performing 12 lead EKGs. Work Schedule: 3:45 pm-12:15 am with rotating weekends/holidays Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician-Telemetry/PD025410 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Monitor and analyze cardiac rate, rhythm, and patterns of patients, performs venipuncture and obtains blood cultures, measures and records vital signs in CPRS, admits/discharges patients in computer system. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCompliance InspectionTechnical Competence Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Requires considerable walking, bending, standing, lifting and handling of equipment and supplies. Requires dexterity in performing technical procedures. Proper body mechanics should be utilized at all times. Required to have the physical ability to manipulate patients while they are in bed to perform such tasks as weighing patients on bed scales and records necessary to maintain the CPRS vital signs packages and assisting RNs with turning and positioning. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center 1111 East End Boulevard Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 US
• Name: Beverly Gurdock
• Phone: (570) 824-3521 X24174
• Email: [email protected]