Medical Instrument Technician (Telemetry Technician)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 52,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Portland VA Health Care System is seeking a Medical Instrument Technician to provide cardiac telemetry monitoring on acute care floors in Portland, Oregon. The position supports the inpatient and emergency service division and emphasizes proper patient preparation and equipment operation.

The role requires KSAs related to recognizing patient needs, operating Holter and ECG equipment, sterilization per CDC guidelines, and monitoring for adverse reactions, with potential progression to GS-7

Qualifications

• Knowledge of Holter monitoring and related equipment.
• Ability to recognize and position patients with disabilities or special needs.
• Knowledge of universal precautions and CDC cleaning guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Operate, calibrate, and clean ECG monitoring equipment.
• Document procedures and interpret physician requests for diagnostic tests.
• Monitor telemetry and respond to patient conditions during procedures.
• Provide instruction and support to patients undergoing cardiac testing.

Skills

Holter monitoring

Patient positioning

Sterilization

Adverse reactions

ECG operation

Job description

This Medical Instrument Technician position is located in the Inpatient and Emergency Service Division at the Portland VA Health Care System in Portland, Oregon. This position provides cardiac telemetry monitoring for patients located on any of the acute care medical-surgical floors. There are up to 80 beds of telemetry at any given monitoring time frame.

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

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).

GS-6 (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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

GS-6 (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• 1. 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.
• 2. Knowledge of the specialized equipment and accessories appropriate to Holter monitoring and ability to perform such tests.
• 3. Knowledge of universal precautions and sterilization techniques and ability to follow CDC guidelines in cleaning equipment.
• 4. Ability to monitor the patient for adverse reactions and take appropriate action.
• 5. Ability to operate the equipment to perform standard and routine highly specialized procedures including exercise stress testing.

GS-6 (c) Certification

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

GS-6 (d) Assignment

Medical instrument technicians at this level receive and interpret physician's requests for diagnostic procedures and/or treatments; explain the procedure to the patient to secure the patient's confidence and cooperation; document the patient's record; independently perform standardized testing monitoring the patient for adverse reactions; and operate, calibrate, and clean and/or sterilize commonly used equipment. Assignments at this level require knowledge of standard medical terminology as well as common diseases and their specific affects.

GS-7 (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 knowledge of the equipment, standard tests and procedures, and typical readings including arrhythmias and abnormalities. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

GS-7 (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• 1. Knowledge of typical patient reactions and signs of distress including the ability to recognize, report and treat potentially lethal arrhythmias.
• 2. Knowledge of common equipment settings and standardized procedures plus knowledge of common errors and corrective measures.
• 3. 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.
• 4. Ability to act as a mentor or preceptor to lower graded technicians.
• 5. Ability to conduct in-service training on the EKG equipment and related instrumentation.

GS-7 (c) 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.

GS-7 (d) Assignment

This represents the full performance level. Medical instrument technicians at this level operate and monitor electrocardiographic equipment to perform specialized examinations and studies involving exercise stress testing, ambulatory monitoring of arrhythmias, and indirect carotid pulse tracings on chronic patients. They monitor tracings to identify arrhythmias and when gross abnormalities appear, when to repeat certain procedures, when to stop test procedures, and when to get the immediate attention of a physician. They evaluate test results to determine appropriate machine adjustments and use alternative techniques and procedures when established procedures do not accomplish acceptable results. This includes adapting equipment and accessories to yield the best results during the examination. They edit and select an appropriate sample portion of the tracing for further interpretation by the physician.

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-07. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-06 to GS-07.