Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Fort Meade (SD); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography) to identify and record anomalies from ultrasound imaging and Doppler. The role develops plans for ultrasonic diagnostic examinations and adapts techniques for complex cases.

Desirable BCLS/ACLS certifications; licensure not required but preferred at higher levels. Applicants may be referred while meeting educational cert/licensure requirements.

Qualifications

• No specific educational requirements; education may be substituted for experience at GS-4 and GS-5.
• Licensure or Certification is not required but desirable at GS-6 or above as evidence of knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Responsibilities

• Identify and record anomalies from ultrasound imaging and Doppler recordings.
• Produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler recordings.
• Assess and document findings to develop ultrasonic diagnostic examination plans.
• Adapt transducer positioning and examination techniques to individual patients.

Skills

Scan transthoracic echocardiograms

Color flow and Doppler imaging

Interpret cardiac abnormalities

Complex echocardiography studies

Equipment setup and adjustment

Education

No specific education requirements

Job description

The Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography) will identify and record anomalies indicative of disease, injury or other medically significant conditions from ultrasound imaging and simultaneous recordings of the doppler. They incorporate the causes and results of a variety of symptoms and conditions into a plan of ultrasonic diagnostic examination. 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.

Grade Determinations

Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography),GS-8

(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 the overall knowledge, skills, and abilities to conduct diagnostic echocardiography examinations in complex and unusual cases. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 1. Ability to scan transthoracic echocardiograms in all views with color flow 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.

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• 1. Ability to produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency shift recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, pulsed and continuous wave Doppler spectral display, and color flow Doppler imaging.
• 2. Knowledge of normal echocardiographic findings and deviations produced by a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases.
• 3. Ability to perform complex procedures such as cardiac studies of the four chambers of the heart and valves using sector scanning techniques to detect stenotic and incompetent valves, chamber enlargement, and pericardial effusion and cardiovascular studies deriving pressure gradients across obstructed valves, etc.
• 4. Ability to perform complementary ultrasonic examinations (including noninvasive) transthoracic, Bubble studies and contrast echocardiography, (invasive) stress echocardiography, and transesophageal echocardiography.
• 5. 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.

(c) Certification

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

(d) Assignment

This represents the full performance level. Echocardiography technicians at this level identify and record anomalies indicative of disease, injury, or other medically significant condition from ultrasound imaging and simultaneous recordings of the Doppler. They incorporate the causes and results of a variety of symptoms and conditions into a plan of ultrasonic diagnostic examination. They 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. They produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, and Doppler ultrasound.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-8.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.