Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Salem (VA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) at the Salem VA Health Care System specializes in information systems within the HTM section of Facilities Management Service. They support the medical equipment management program and maintain medical servers, networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, and clinical applications not managed by OIT.

Qualifications include an associates or higher degree in biomedical tech/engineering or related IT/electronics with experience, plus possible

Qualifications

• Knowledge of HL7 and DICOM standards.
• Knowledge of advanced testing methods to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces.
• Skill in maintaining computer and server based medical equipment, databases, and software.
• Skill in managing medical equipment and clinical system projects that interface with the electronic health record or other information systems.
• Skill in applying cybersecurity standards to medical devices and clinical systems such as FDA, FISMA, and NIST guidelines.
• Ability to apply information security tools including virus protection, software updates, and operating system patches.
• Ability to establish a medical network including VLAN configuration, Internet Protocol addressing, and network security.

Skills

HL7 knowledge

DICOM standards

Network troubleshooting

Cybersecurity basics

Medical servers management

Clinical systems interfaces

Education

Associates or higher degree in biomedical technology or biomedical engineering

Associates or higher degree in electronics or information technology or non-biomedical engineering with 1 year of creditable experience

DOD biomedical equipment technician training program

DOD repair/maintenance of electronic systems or IT with 1 year of creditable experience

HTM certificate program with internship

HTM certificate program without internship with 1 year of experience

Certification: CBET, CRES, CLES, or CHTM

Job description

A Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) specializes in information systems within a Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) Section of Facilities Management Service at the Salem VA Health Care System. Works in support of the medical equipment management program. In addition to duties, the BESS maintains medical servers and networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, clinical applications software and other facility servers and software systems not managed by OIT.

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).

And

• Education, Experience, or Certification:

1. Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field; OR
2. Associates or higher degree in electronics, a field of information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
3. Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program; OR
4. Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
5. Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included and internship or apprenticeship; OR
6. Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
7. 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.

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:

Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems), GS-12

• Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.
  • Knowledge of Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards.
  • Knowledge of advanced testing methods to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces.
  • Skill in maintaining computer and server based medical equipment, databases, and software.
  • Skill in managing medical equipment and clinical system projects that interface with an electronic health record or other information systems.
  • Skill in applying cybersecurity standards to medical devices and clinical systems such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines.
  • Ability to apply information security tools including virus protection, software updates, and operating system patches.
  • Ability to establish a medical network including VLAN configuration, Internet Protocol addressing, and network security.
• Assignment. For all assignments above the Full Performance Level (FPL), the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety, as described in this standard at the specific grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At the advanced level, the BESS, in addition to the duties at the FPL, manage medical servers and networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, and clinical applications software. They manage projects for medical equipment and clinical systems that interface with the electronic health record or other information systems. BESSs (Information Systems) manage virtual and physical hardware components including storage, memory, processing, graphical, and network interfaces. They facilitate operating system updates, upgrades, and virus protection. BESSs (Information Systems) perform maintenance for networked systems. They leverage resources and knowledge to minimize the need for unit and intermediate-level service contracts and manufacturer or vendor expenditures for tasks that can be completed in-house. BESSs (Information Systems) identify and troubleshoot issues related to networked medical equipment and clinical systems. They evaluate compatibility and adaptability of biomedical devices for integration to the electronic health record. BESSs (Information Systems) regularly review, coordinate, and implement available software patches, updates, and system or data backups with other BESSs, manufacturers, informatics, and IT staff. They are responsible for compliance with physical security, privacy, and information standards and infrastructure standards. BESSs (Information Systems) ensure compliance of networked clinical systems to all Medical Device Protection Program (MDPP) requirements. They design, implement, and manage appropriate security measures and disaster recovery plans critical to ensure system uptime and prevent loss of patient data from critical medical equipment and clinical systems.

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G49.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements:

The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.