Medical Instrument Technician -Vascular

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Medical Instrument Technician (Vascular) to perform comprehensive vascular ultrasound exams in the cardiovascular lab, including complex or non-routine studies. The position supports clinical diagnosis and documentation by adapting techniques to achieve optimal results.

Applicants may be considered under grandfathering provisions; education substitutions are allowed for GS-4/5 levels and licensure is not strictly required but desirable at

Qualifications

• US citizenship required.
• No specific educational requirements; substitutions allowed at GS-4/5.
• Licensure/certification not required but desirable at GS-6 or higher.
• English language proficiency required for spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

• Perform full range of vascular ultrasound procedures in the cardiovascular lab.
• Adjust procedures to obtain diagnostic-quality results as required by clinical diagnosis and documentation.

Skills

Vascular ultrasound

Noninvasive procedures

Anatomy knowledge

Doppler waveform analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in a field related to medical instrumentation

Education substitutions allowed GS-4/5

Foreign education evaluation if applicable

Job description

The Medical Instrument Technician (Vascular) is expected to perform the full range of vascular ultrasound procedures including the most complex and non-routine, making appropriate adjustments to obtain results required for clinical diagnosis and documentation and will perform all examinations, as needed, in the cardiovascular lab.

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. See the grade requirements part of this standard for information regarding educational substitutions.
• 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.
• 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).

Grade Determinations

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the criteria discussed in the applicable headings, or that defined in the appendices, must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Education/Training

To be creditable, education must have been gained in an accredited Community College, College, or University.

(1) Training.

Completion of appropriate training such as in-service training programs, on the job training, training acquired while in the Armed Forces, government sponsored developmental training programs, and/or training under physicians certified in the functional area will be allowed on a month-for-month basis through the GS-5 level.

(2) Foreign Education.

To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

OR Education.

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.

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. This would be experience which demonstrates that the technician has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform complex procedures requiring the ability to select appropriate equipment based on symptomology and the objective of the examination and the ability to adapt procedures and techniques to enhance diagnostic results.

In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 1. Ability to perform noninvasive vascular ultrasound procedures or examinations of upper and lower extremity, abdominal, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular vessels which require adaptation of procedures or instruments.
• 2. Knowledge of anatomy and physiology including location and function of major body organs and structures as they relate to vascular ultrasonography. This would also include knowledge of physiological influences on the hemodynamics of blood flow.
• 3. Knowledge of pharmacology and chemistry to understand drug reactions, action, effects, and method of administration specifically related to vascular ultrasonography.
• 4. Knowledge of disease entities that impact the vascular system and their influence on the test results to select the appropriate procedures.
• 5. Ability to obtain a patient history and perform and appropriate physical assessment based on patient presentation and type of exam to include observation, inspection, auscultation, and palpation.

GS-8 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 position to be filled. This would be experience which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform noninvasive vascular ultrasound procedures as a senior technician.

In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 1. Knowledge of cross-sectional and longitudinal vascular anatomy in normal and abnormal vessels, anatomical planes and tissue structures, physiologic effects of disease entities that impact the vascular system, signs and symptoms of acute and chronic vascular disease, and the characteristic appearance of aneurysms, pseudoaneurysms, thromboses, stenoses, occlusions, AV fistulae, and morphology of atherosclerotic plaque formulation.
• 2. Ability to provide Doppler information of peripheral vessels; demonstrate characteristic differences related to the organs they supply; accurately quantify carotid artery stenoses; and identify and correlate specific waveform analysis, plethysmographic tracings, velocity changes, and pressure gradients characteristic of normal, obstructed, or occluded vessels or grafts.
• 3. Ability to perform intracranial (transcranial) vascular examinations.
• 4. Ability to operate the instruments to extract the highest quality image utilizing the appropriate transducer frequency, Doppler angle, focal zones, gain, depth, color map, wall filter, and sample volume.
• 5. Ability to provide objective data to document progression or regression of disease.

Certification.

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

Preferred Experience.

5 years experience vascular/ ultrasound testing

Reference.

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

Physical Requirements.

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Additional Information.

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