Medical Instrument Technician-EKG

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 42,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Medical Instrument Technician (Telemetry/Electrocardiograph) in the Telemetry/Step-Down unit of the Critical Care department at the SLC VAMC. Responsibilities include monitoring the Telemetry Monitor, ECG waveforms, and notifying clinical staff of significant findings.

Eligibility notes: applicants may be referred while meeting requirements; Grandfathering provisions apply for current VA employees.

Qualifications

• General knowledge of medical terminology and patient care.
• Ability to learn equipment components, settings and operation.
• Ability to recognize distress and respond appropriately.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally.
• Experience operating diagnostic/therapeutic equipment.

Responsibilities

• Monitor telemetry/ECG waveforms and correlate to patient status.
• Notify nurses and clinicians as directed of patient changes.
• Operate and troubleshoot ECG/telemetry equipment.
• Assist in positioning and patient care as needed.

Skills

Telemetry monitoring

Medical terminology

Communication skills

Ability to recognize distress

Equipment operation

ECG interpretation

Holter monitoring

Education

Two years of education beyond high school or associate's degree in related field

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

ECG telemetry equipment

Holter monitoring equipment

Job description

The Medical Instrument Technician (Telemetry/Electrocardiograph Technician) position is located within the Telemetry/Step-Down unit within the Critical Care department at the SLC VAMC. The MIT's functions are to monitor the Central Information Computer (Telemetry Monitor) which displays patients' electrocardiographic waveforms, remote pulse oximetry, and hemodynamic measurements and notify primary nurses and clinical staff as directed

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a,

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: All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of the qualification standard (June 7, 2012) 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

Grade Determinations

GS-4 Experience or Education: 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 position to be filled. Six months of this experience may have been in medically related fields such as nursing assistant, practical nursing, or similar fields. The remaining six months must have been in operating diagnostic and therapeutic equipment covered by this occupation. Experience gained in the operation of equipment for animal diagnosis or treatment may be credited at this level.

OR Successful completion of two years of education above high school or an associate's degree with a major field of study directly related to the medical instrument technician occupation.

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of basic medical terminology
• Ability to learn the components, operating characteristics, and settings of the equipment to be used
• Ability to learn typical patient reactions to the basic procedures involved and ability to recognize signs of distress
• Ability to learn the standard positions for the procedure being conducted
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing

GS-5 Experience or Education

GS-5 Experience or Education: 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 position to be filled. This would be experience in operating equipment related to the particular specialization for which application is made or in related functional areas. Experience gained in the operation of equipment for animal diagnosis or treatment may be credited through this grade level.

OR Successful completion of 4 academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation, or a bachelor's degree in a major field of study appropriate to medical instrument technician functions.

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of standard medical terminology to interpret physician orders or instructions
• Knowledge of common physical disabilities and ability to position patients for the examination or treatment
• Ability to learn the normal and abnormal results for routine procedures to recognize and report obvious abnormalities
• Ability to operate the equipment to administer routine/standard diagnostic treatment or procedures
• Ability to perform standard operator maintenance on the equipment including the ability to disassemble, clean, reassemble, and calibrate the machine

GS-6 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.

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's): In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Ability to recognize special patient needs such as disabilities, impaired mobility, and complicating medical conditions in order to prepare and position the patient for the prescribed procedure.
• Knowledge of the specialized equipment and accessories appropriate to Holter monitoring and ability to perform such tests.
• Knowledge of universal precautions and sterilization techniques and ability to follow CDC guidelines in cleaning equipment.
• Ability to monitor the patient for adverse reactions and take appropriate action.
• Ability to operate the equipment to perform standard and routine highly specialized procedures including exercise stress testing.

Certification

No certification is required; however, it is desirable that employees at this level have BCLS (Basic Cardiac Life Support) certification.

GS-7 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.

AND

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's): In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of typical patient reactions and signs of distress including the ability to recognize, report and treat potentially lethal arrhythmias.
• Knowledge of common equipment settings and standardized procedures plus knowledge of common errors and corrective measures.
• Ability to modify procedures/positions to obtain the correct results with patients with complicating conditions such as amputations, Parkinson's disease, structural defects, and scar tissue.
• Ability to act as a mentor or preceptor to lower graded technicians.
• Ability to conduct in-service training on the EKG equipment and related instrumentation.

Certification: No certification is required; however, it is desirable that employees at this level have BCLS (Basic Cardiac Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certifications

Preferred Experience: Rhythm interpretation, EKG certification, general computer knowledge.

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-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-4 to GS-7.

Physical Requirements

The work requires at various intervals, long periods of sitting to observe cardiac rhythms on EKG telemetry monitors. Incumbent experiences extended periods during which continual visualization of monitors, various equipment, and computer screens is required. Incumbent assists in positioning patients, placing EKG/Telemetry leads as needed.