Echocardiography Technicians operate diagnostic equipment to graphically record the position and motion of the heart walls or the internal structure of the heart and neighboring tissue by the echo obtained from beams of ultrasonic waves directed through the chest wall.

Duties

The Echocardiography Technicians executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to managing complex systems including the following. Ability to produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency shift recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, three-dimensional, four-dimensional, pulsed and continuous wave Doppler spectral display, and color flow Doppler imaging. Knowledge of normal echocardiography findings and deviations produced by a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases. Ability to perform complex procedures such as cardiac studies of the four chambers of the heart using sector scanning techniques to detect stenotic and incompetent valves, chamber enlargement, and pericardial effusion and cardiovascular studies deriving pressure gradients across obstructed valves, strain technology, pericardiocentesis, etc. Ability to perform peripheral IV insertion/discontinuation for administration of an ultrasound enhancing agent per local policy. Ability to perform complementary ultrasonic examinations (including noninvasive) transthoracic echocardiography, Bubble studies and contrast echocardiography (invasive), stress echocardiography, and transesophageal echocardiography.6. Ability to adapt transducer positioning, instrument controls, and examination techniques to the individual patient being studied and the problem being evaluated including recognizing pertinent abnormalities and documenting abnormal findings. Ability to interact with patients explaining procedures and positioning and prepping the patient for procedure. Ability to follow policy for sterilization process for TEE probes. Ability to complete diagnostic studies ordered by and in collaboration with physician on all tours of duty with minimal or no direct supervision; coordinates appointments/ workload per appropriateness of patients/staffing. Ability to accept verbal orders and record entries into the patient's medical record for the procedure performed. Ability to manage Echocardiography images in Centricity and copy to CD. Knowledge of more complex examination and treatment procedures and techniques to provide training and supervision in these procedures, to evaluate and initiate performance improvement projects, and to write policies, procedures, and protocols that pertain to Echocardiography. Knowledge of JCAHO and other regulatory requirements. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels. Provides technical guidance and/or mentors sonographer students, technicians, nurse's and physicians. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Recruitment Incentives: May be available for highly qualified candidates. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education. There are no specific educational requirements for this occupation. Education may be substituted for experience only at the GS-4 and GS-5 levels. Licensure or Certification. Licensure or Certification is not required for this occupation; however, it is strongly desirable at GS-6 or above as evidence of possession of the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities. English Language Proficiency. Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d). 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-09:(a) Experience. At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level GS-08, which identify and record anomalies indicative of disease, injury, or other medically significant condition from ultrasound imaging and simultaneous recordings of the Doppler; incorporate the causes and results of a variety of symptoms and conditions into a plan of ultrasonic diagnostic examination; change and develop sounding techniques to accommodate such variables as limited patient mobility, variation in physical condition or dimension of the patient, presence of prosthesis or foreign objects, and ultrasonic response of different body parts; produced diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, and Doppler ultrasound. In addition to the experience, the candidate MUST demonstrate the following technical Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) and the potential to acquire the assignment specific KSAs designated by an asterisk (*). Knowledge of the more complex examination and treatment procedures and techniques in order to provide training and supervision in these procedures, to evaluate and initiate performance improvement projects, and to write policies, procedures, and protocols, that pertain to Echocardiography. *Knowledge of JCAHO and other regulatory requirements. Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels. * Ability to manage and supervise employees. *Ability to provide, or provide for, staff development and training. Certification. Registration by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) as a Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) or by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) as a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) is highly desirable. Preferred: Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 09. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-09 Physical Requirements: The tasks of this position generally require sitting, standing, and occasional crouching or kneeling. Moderate lifting is required to move equipment throughout the department and facility. Considerable manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination are required. This includes continuous observation of a computer screen.

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 Kansas City VA Medical Center 4801 Linwood Boulevard Kansas City, MO 64128 US
• Name: Lisa Chabarria
• Phone: 443-220-9562
• Email: [email protected]