Health Physicist
Veterans Health Administration - Department of Veterans Affairs
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational Requirements for 1306 series: Basic Requirements: Degree in natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus.or Combination of education and experience of equivalent combination of experience and education in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus, plus appropriate experience, or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics, plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics (Transcript and/or certification required). NOTE: The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation and clearly listed in your resume. In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement, you must also meet the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 1. Understanding and applying health physics as it relates to a medical environment; 2. Demonstrating radiation/ health physics concepts, principles, practices, and administrative techniques; 3. Identifying and evaluating radiation hazards and recommends corrective actions; 4. Evaluating the various degrees of radiation exposure in relation to radiation standards per health, safety, and regulatory guidelines; and 5. Interpreting federal regulations, standards, concepts, and procedures to include, but not limited to, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Health Physics Integrity/Honesty Nuclear Physics Self-Management Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion such as long periods of walking and standing while performing audits and surveys and consulting with staff. Time is also spent in formal and informal meetings with many different groups. Additionally, much of the work is administrative in nature and requires sitting in an office and utilizing computers. Decontamination team participation is very physically demanding since one wears a sealed suit with respiratory device. The incumbent must be medically cleared to participate on the decontamination team. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The HP/ARSO performs professional work of marked difficulty requiring extended professional training skills. The HP/ARSO participates in CQI collaborating with physicians, technologists, biomedical engineers and OEMs to optimize diagnostic imaging in accordance with ACR Quality Control Manuals (e.g., mammography, nuclear medicine, PET, CT and MRI).