The incumbent performs as an expert polysomnography tech. They maintain state-of-the-art quality in the principles, practices, & procedures associated with Sleep Disorders Medicine. Performance of a variety of routine & complex sleep studies performed on VA patients at the sleep lab at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. This is largely a daytime position with staging & scoring of sleep studies as a crucial function & with the ability to manage/troubleshoot patients on CPAP equipment.

Duties

Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties Using state of the art equipment the incumbent obtains polysomnograms on patients with life threatening sleep disorders. The incumbent obtains multiple sleep latency tests on patients with possible narcolepsy or other disorders of excess sleepiness. All of the testing performed requires on line analysis by the technologist to obtain the necessary data for correct diagnosis and therapy for the patient. The incumbent must make decisions about therapy in the case of patients with sleep apnea who are undergoing split night studies. This requires both obtaining studies that are representative and making decisions during the study if the patient is appropriate that night to undergo therapy, and determining that the therapy is optimal. The incumbent is able to stage and score sleep studies. The incumbent is comfortable with troubleshooting CPAP equipment and assisting in the optimization of this treatment in patients already on CPAP or BiPAP or variants. The incumbent assists in the education of students (medical students, polysomnography students) and residents and fellows. Based on experience and knowledge the incumbent provides oxygen therapy, and or nasal CPAP and or nasal BiPAP and or nasal autopap therapy, determining the proper levels to be administered. The incumbent is able to determine the appropriate settings of BiPAP ST as well as Servopap. The incumbent recognizes various cardiac arrythmias and independently decides when to call for professional intervention. The incumbent recognizes and describes seizures and other behavior during the sleep study that may require intervention. The incumbent is able to utilize the sophisticated equipment to obtain studies with an extended montage to allow for seizure monitoring. This is performed much more frequently than in most other labs and speaks to the complexity of our referred patients. The incumbent is also able to utilize the more limited equipment that allows monitoring of respiratory parameters in sleep. The incumbent maintains the guidelines on infection control for our laboratory and interfaces with manufacturers to determine appropriate specifications and with our infectious control group and SPD to insure that we are following safe and appropriate procedures. The incumbent disseminates this information on a regular basis to other staff via in-service presentations and informal teaching to make sure guidelines are followed. Teaching - the technologist will assist in teaching new technologists on use of equipment and newer techniques and insure that they are proficient in these techniques. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 08:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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 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. (For all specialties identified in this standard, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable. Training which does not result in official certification does not meet this definition.) Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. 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). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all Title 38 Hybrid qualification standards. Some of these provisions may not apply to this occupation. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/ registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that does not require a licensure/certification/registration, may be reassigned, promoted, or demoted within the occupation. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or demoted within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: GS-8 Medical Instrument Technician (Polysomnography) (Full Performance Level) (a) Experience. At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics related to the duties of the positions to be filled. This would be experience which provided a knowledge of the more complex procedures as well as knowledge of the uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Advanced knowledge or the International Classification of Sleep Disorders and the ability to recognize uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders. Ability to summarize and report polysomnographic data in narrative form. Knowledge of event characteristics (e.g., respiratory, cardiac, sleep stage, seizures, etc.) and ability to take appropriate action. Ability to provide briefings and orientation to hospital staff including physicians. (c) Certification. No certification or registration is required. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable for employees at this level. (d) Assignment. This represents the full performance level. At this level Polysomnographic Technicians are able to interact fully with the patient and physician to diagnose sleep disorders including those that are uncommon or rare. They are able to conduct full sleep studies including overnight studies and evaluate the relationship of events, sleep stages, and possible medical conditions which influence or result from events occurring during sleep. They anticipate problems likely to occur during the sleep study and prepare for such situations, make changes in established procedures, or recommend alternative courses of action. They are able to mentor lower graded technicians. Preferred Experience: Polysomnography Technicians operate the electroencephalograph and other devices to record the electrical activity of the brain during sleep. Registration is offered by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT). Also, Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable for employees at this level Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The physical requirements of the position (i.e. standing, bending, stooping, sitting, pulling, pushing, etc.) Requires standing, bending stooping, sitting, pulling and pushing patients must be able to perform gross and fine coordinated hand movements

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 Washington VA Medical Center 50 Irving Street, Northwest Washington, DC 20422 US
• Name: Carla Joyner
• Phone: 1-832-316-9423
• Email: [email protected]