Job opening: Supervisory Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist

Salary: $103 409 - 134 435 per year

Published at: Dec 16 2024

Company: Veterans Health Administration

Employment Type: Full-time

The Supervisory Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) works in support of the Facility Management Service by providing leadership, guidance and supervision among assigned employees at the Sheridan VA Medical Center and supporting Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's). They provide clinical and administrative support to staff, patients, and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of medical and electronic equipment.

Duties

Core Duties Performs lifecycle management of any & all medical systems such as imaging, life support, dialysis, & monitoring to include physical & network support. Completes both routine & complex assignments involved in the installation, maintenance, modification, troubleshooting, repair & calibration of these complex therapeutic, diagnostic & life support medical devices & systems. Coordinates & works effectively with other facility support departments. Utilizes common test equipment. Performs advanced testing & troubleshooting of medical devices & systems involving their interfaces & connections to information systems either directly or through the facility's hardwired & wireless networks. Performs advanced testing & troubleshooting of various electronics, digital transmission & communication equipment. Maintains computers & computer networks including standard network hardware, software, operating systems, standard topologies, various media types, & popular protocols & communication strategies. Manages servers to reload software in the event of a system failure, & interface with OIT locally, & at other sites. Develops policy for the Biomedical Engineering department, Electronics department, & local facility. Translates management goals & objectives into well-coordinated & controlled biomedical work operations. Applies relevant safety codes & standards of regulatory bodies. Documents all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system. Implements the Biomedical Section training program, in-house cross training, & vendor training. Functions as a Contracting Officer Representative & keeps appropriate certification levels. Investigates, remediates & documents recalls & safety alerts within established time frames. Participates in safety improvement processes such as Root Cause Analysis, safety work groups, & Environment of Care Rounds. Identifies hazards during routine job performance & takes action. Maintains knowledge of the state of the art in medical technology, including scientific advances, network protocols, & vendor changes. Focuses on professional development in all areas of medical technology including management including technical skills. Provides training & education as appropriate to medical technology end users & clinical staff. Provides mentoring & technical training to peers. Leads & manages installation or upgrade projects for medical devices & systems, along with various electronic building systems. Performs maintenance, remediation, & tracking of medical systems. Supervisory Functions: Develops goals, objectives, & policy for the medical equipment management program & monitors progress. Provides analysis, identifies, & plans workload among subordinates in accordance with established workflow and/or job specializations. Assigns daily work to staff, establishing priorities based on workload related to BESS & electronic technicians & ensures that each employee has an integral role in developing the final team product. Advises supervisor & other management officials as necessary on status of critical medical equipment. Provides input to the annual budget for the unit, & monitors spending throughout the fiscal year to ensure that adequate resources are available to support mission. Leads the team in assessing its strengths & weaknesses & provides leadership to the team in exploring alternatives & determining what improvements can be made. Develops performance standards for subordinates; evaluates work performance of subordinates using work order & other relevant data. Gives advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both technical & administrative matters; serves as coach & facilitator in consensus building activities among team members. Hears & resolves complaints from employees, referring group grievances & more serious unresolved complaints to a higher-level supervisor or manager. Effects minor disciplinary measures, such as warnings & reprimands, recommending other action in more serious cases. Identifies developmental & training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development & training. Plans for long-range staffing needs, considering changes to medical equipment inventory, medical center strategic plan, & budget. Interviews candidates for positions in the unit; recommends selection, appointment, promotion, or reassignment to such positions. Recommends awards or bonuses for subordinates, subject to approval by higher level officials, supervisors, or others. Approves & monitors the use of overtime and/or alternate tours needed to accomplish work. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am-4:00pm (nights, weekends, and holidays may be required.) Compressed/Flexible: May be available Telework: Not available Virtual: Not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 59521-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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 (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education, Experience, or Certification: Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field; OR Associates or higher degree in electronics, a field of information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program (Please provide a copy of your military transcript if claiming this option); OR Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience (Please provide a copy of your military transcript if claiming this option); OR Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship; OR Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Hold or having ever held certification as a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET), Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES), Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES), or Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM). Continuous maintenance of certification is not required throughout VHA employment. (Please provide a copy of your certificate if claiming this option). Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Grade Determination Requirements: Supervisory Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, GS-13 Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-12). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Skill in managing workflow by directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives. Skill in developing policies to oversee medical equipment and clinical systems. Skill in managing interpersonal relationships between employees, team leaders, and managers. Skill in applying standards for safe operation of medical equipment and clinical systems including 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). Ability to supervise subordinate staff (for example, plan, organize, delegate, direct, control, and review activities and performance). Ability to provide guidance on multiple types of medical equipment and clinical systems. Ability to analyze data to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity. Assignment for the GS-13 Supervisory BESS. For all supervisory assignments the BESS must spend 25% or more of their time providing administrative and technical supervisor and perform major duties above those at the FPL consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety. Employees in this assignment serve as a Supervisory BESS at a facility that provides multi-faceted specialty care for both inpatient and outpatient services that may be delivered at a variety of sites. They exercise a full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities and responsibilities in planning, directing, and assessing the work and competence of subordinate staff. Supervisory BESSs may also perform the duties of FPL BESSs. Supervisory BESSs establish performance standards and evaluate the overall performance of employees. They define competency requirements and identify development and training needs. Supervisory BESSs take necessary actions to ensure subordinate personnel maintain and enhance technical expertise. They ensure compliance with all applicable standards, policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements. Supervisory BESSs develop, implement, and monitor the medical equipment management program. They develop program-specific policies and procedures. Supervisory BESSs oversee administrative management of resources such as budgets, staffing, purchases, and contracts. They collaborate with executive leadership, clinical, and administrative staff regarding management of medical equipment. Supervisory BESSs solicit feedback from customers to monitor the quality of the medical equipment management program. They identify, prioritize, and coordinate training through manufacturers, vendors, VISNs, national program offices, or other sources to enhance competencies of staff members. Supervisory BESSs oversee the medical device cybersecurity program. They establish workload distribution, priorities, and revise work schedules to meet workload changes. Supervisory BESSs have oversight of large-scale, complex projects involving cross-functional teams. They oversee vendor services, review work performed, and ensure defined specifications are met and documented. Supervisory BESSs oversee medical device patient safety aspects of the program including investigating and documenting equipment incidents, damage, and abuse. Preferred Experience: Previous bio-medical experience with testing and troubleshooting medical devices and systems. Previous experience with testing and troubleshooting various electronics, digital transmssion and communications systems. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Environment of Care: Follows Life Safety Management (fire protection) procedures. Reports safety hazards, accidents and injuries. Reviews hazardous materials/Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)/waste management. Follows Emergency Preparedness plan. Follows security policies/procedures. Complies with federal, state and local environmental and other requirements preventing pollution, minimizing waste, and conserving cultural and natural resources. Infection Control: Demonstrates infection control practices for disease prevention (i.e. hand washing, universal precautions/isolation procedures, including TB requirement/precautions.

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/.