Medical Instrument Technician - Polysomnography

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 42,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Medical Instrument Technician - Polysomnography (MIT) to support sleep studies, PAP therapy management, and patient education. Role includes coordination of telehealth, in-person appointments, and telephone consultations to optimize PAP adherence and patient outcomes.

Applicants should have expertise in sleep disorder diagnostics, PAP technologies, and regulatory compliance. GS-grade progression may apply according to VA standards.

Qualifications

• Expertise in sleep diagnostics and PAP technologies.
• Ability to support telehealth and in-person patient care.
• Understanding and adherence to regulatory standards for sleep medicine.

Responsibilities

• Assist in conducting sleep studies and managing PAP therapy.
• Educate patients on PAP use and adherence.
• Support continuity of care through telehealth, phone, and in-person visits.

Skills

Sleep diagnostics

PAP therapy

Telehealth

Patient education

Tools

CPAP equipment

Job description

The Medical Instrument Technician - Polysomnography (MIT), plays a crucial role in the evaluation, management, & education of patients with sleep disorders, ensuring high-quality patient care & adherence to sleep medicine protocols. They support patients through telehealth, in-person appointments, and telephone consultations, ensuring optimal use of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. Requires expertise in sleep disorder diagnostics, PAP technologies, & adherence to regulatory standards.

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, this part.

Certification: Certification is not required for this occupation; however, Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification is strongly desirable at the GS6 or above as evidence of possession of the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities. The Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification is also highly desirable for employees at the GS8 level.

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

GS4 MIT-Polysomnography Experience or Education: Must have at least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level whichdemonstrates 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~

Successfully completed 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.

GS4 MIT-Polysomnography Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): In addition to the experience, 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.

GS5 MIT-Polysomnography Experience or Education: Must have 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~

Successfully completed 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.

GS5 MIT-Polysomnography Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): In addition to the experience, 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.

GS6 MIT-Polysomnography Experience: Must have 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.

GS6 MIT-Polysomnography Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): In addition to the experience, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of standard, computerized polysomnographs for recording continuous all night physiological data including EEG, EOG, EKG, EMG and respiratory parameters.
• Knowledge of standard devices such as oximeters, respiratory effort devices, nasal pressure devices, thermistors, thermocouples, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, and laboratory computers including the ability to calibrate and operate the equipment and recognize and eliminate recording artifacts.
• Knowledge of medical terminology and medical record organization to review medical records, sleep study orders, consent forms, medical charts, etc.
• Knowledge of polysmnographic procedural protocols (including overnight sleep studies, MSL T, MWT, PAP, etc.).
• Knowledge of basic anatomy and physiology and the international 10-20 electrode placement system in order to conduct the sleep studies.

GS7 MIT-Polysomnography Experience: Must have 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 individual with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to independently conduct difficult but standardized polysomnography examinations.

GS7 MIT-Polysomnography Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): In addition to the experience, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of CPAP function and operation to select and fit appropriate PAP patient interface devices.
• Ability to independently titrate and document PAP level to achieve therapeutic goals.
• Knowledge of indications, complications, and contraindications of CPAP therapy.
• Knowledge of Bi-Level pressure titrations.
• Ability to recognize changes seen during the PSG tracing and identify all stages of sleep. This includes the ability to score and analyze sleep stages in clinical polysomnography recordings.

GS8 MIT-Polysomnography Experience: Must have at least 1 year of experience comparable to the GS7 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 which provided a knowledge of the more complex procedures as well as knowledge of the uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders.

GS8 MIT-Polysomnography Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's): In addition to the experience, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Advanced knowledge or the International Classification of Sleep Disorders and the ability to recognize uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders
• Ability to summarize and report polysomnographic data in narrative form
• Knowledge of event characteristics (e.g., respiratory, cardiac, sleep stage, seizures, etc.) and ability to take appropriate action
• Ability to provide briefings and orientation to hospital staff including physicians

Preferred Experience

Registration by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) is highly desirable.

Reference

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS4 to GS8.