Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography)

Description:

The electrocardiograph technician is a member of the Nursing team. He or she adheres to medical center policies and guidelines of practice the monitor technician is a clinical/technical specialist who provides cardiac monitoring and directed patient care under the supervision of the RN. This position requires skill and proficiency in monitoring, interpreting, assessment, and evaluation of the patient receiving care in the inpatient setting. This position requires flexibility in scheduling.

Requirements:

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 at this grade level for this occupation .
• ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
• LICENSURE OR CERTIFICATION: Licensure or Certification is not required for this occupation; however, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable are strongly desirable at GS-6 or above as evidence of possession of the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• Grandfathering Provision : Applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria may qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation.

Grade Determinations :

GS-6 EXPERIENCE : At least 1 year of experience comparable to the GS-5 grade level which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics related to the duties of the positions to be filled. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities at the GS-6
1. Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the heart and great vessels.
2. Knowledge of cardiac arrhythmias and their relationship to hemodynamic conditions of the cardiac cycle.
3. Knowledge of basic cardiac ultrasound physics and the acoustic mechanisms by which high quality cardiac images are obtained.
4. Ability to set up and adjust the ultrasound equipment to meet the conditions of the examination and the patient and to operate the equipment for standardized, routine procedures.
5. Ability to interact with patients explaining procedures and positioning the patient for the procedure.

CERTIFICATION : Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification is desirable.

ASSIGNMENT : Echocardiography technician assignments at this level involve performing routine, standardized cardiac ultrasound examinations under the supervision of a fully qualified cardiac sonographer. The work involves generating adequate gray scale images to define cardiac borders and learning to perform Doppler integration of cardiac valves for determination of flow velocities.

GS-7 EXPERIENCE: At least 1 year of experience comparable to the GS-6 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 knowledge of the equipment, standard tests and procedures, and typical readings including arrhythmias and abnormalities. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
1. Ability to scan transthoracic echocardiograms in all views with colorflow and some Doppler.
2. Ability to conduct cardiac testing to determine the severity and variety of cardiac problems, i.e., valvular dysfunction, myocardial wall kinesia, effusions, endocardial lesions, etc.
3. Knowledge of the set-up for transesophageal echocardiograms.
4. Ability to set up and adjust the ultrasound equipment to meet the conditions of the examination and the patient and to operate the equipment for more complex, but standardized procedures.

CERTIFICATION . BCLS (Basic Cardiac Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certifications are desirable.

ASSIGNMENT . At this level, medical instrument technicians (echocardiography) perform a range of standard, but complex, echocardiographic examinations with responsibility for calibrating all instruments prior to the procedure. They are expected to keep an accurate record of tests, daily logs, and videotapes. They maintain cidex logs.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .

Physical Requirements: The tasks of this position generally require sitting, standing, occasional crouching or kneeling. Moderate lifting may be required to move equipment throughout the Medical Center locations. Considerable manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination are continuously required while performing respiratory therapy procedures. This includes observation of a computer screen. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation demands coordination and stamina.