Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography)

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. For certain functional areas at the higher levels or supervisory assignments, specific certifications appropriate to the specialty are indicated in this standard under “Titles and Certification/Registrations”. 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. Grade Determinations: 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: (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the heart and great vessels. 2. Knowledge of cardiac arrhythmias and their relationship to hemodynamic conditions of the cardiac cycle. 3. Knowledge of basic cardiac ultrasound physics and the acoustic mechanisms by which high quality cardiac images are obtained. 4. Ability to set up and adjust the ultrasound equipment to meet the conditions of the examination and the patient and to operate the equipment for standardized, routine procedures. 5. Ability to interact with patients explaining procedures and positioning the patient for the procedure. (c) Certification. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification is desirable. (d) Assignment. Echocardiography technician assignments at this level involve performing routine, standardized cardiac ultrasound examinations under the supervision of a fully qualified cardiac sonographer. The work involves generating adequate gray scale images to define cardiac borders and learning to perform Doppler integration of cardiac valves for determination of flow velocities. (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 the individual with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to independently conduct difficult but standardized echocardiographic examinations. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Ability to scan transthoracic echocardiograms in all views with colorflow and some Doppler. 27 2. Ability to conduct cardiac testing to determine the severity and variety of cardiac problems, i.e., valvular dysfunction, myocardial wall kinesia, effusions, endocardial lesions, etc. 3. Knowledge of the set-up for transesophageal echocardiograms. 4. Ability to set up and adjust the ultrasound equipment to meet the conditions of the examination and the patient and to operate the equipment for more complex, but standardized procedures. (c) Certification. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are desirable. (d) Assignment. At this level, medical instrument technicians (echocardiography) perform a range of standard, but complex, echocardiographic examinations with responsibility for calibrating all instruments prior to the procedure. They are expected to keep an accurate record of tests, daily logs, and videotapes. They maintain cidex logs. GS-8 (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 the overall knowledge, skills, and abilities to conduct diagnostic echocardiography examinations in complex and unusual cases. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 1. Ability to produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency shift recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, pulsed and continuous wave Doppler spectral display, and colorflow Doppler imaging. 2. Knowledge of normal echocardiographic findings and deviations produced by a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases. 3. Ability to perform complex procedures such as cardiac studies of the four chambers of the heart and valves using sector scanning techniques to detect stenotic and incompetent valves, chamber enlargement, and pericardial effusion and cardiovascular studies deriving pressure gradients across obstructed valves, etc. 4. Ability to perform complementary ultrasonic examinations (including noninvasive) transthoracic, Bubble studies and contrast echocardiography, (invasive) stress echocardiography, and transesophageal echocardiography. 5. Ability to adapt transducer positioning, instrument controls, and examination techniques to the individual patient being studied and the problem being evaluated including recognizing pertinent abnormalities and documenting abnormal findings. (c) Certification. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are desirable. (d) Assignment. This represents the full performance level. Echocardiography technicians at this level identify and record anomalies indicative of disease, injury, or other medically significant condition from ultrasound imaging and simultaneous recordings of the Doppler. They incorporate the causes and results of a variety of symptoms and conditions into a plan of ultrasonic diagnostic examination. They change and develop sounding techniques to accommodate such variables as limited patient mobility, variation in physical condition or dimension of the patient, presence of prosthesis or foreign objects, and ultrasonic response of different body parts. They produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, and Doppler ultrasound. Preferred Experience: One year of experience. 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-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-6 to GS-8. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
The position is located in the Eugene Health Care Center (HCC) Medicine Service which is part of the Roseburg VA Healthcare System. The incumbent will perform routine and emergency studies and obtain testing results of diagnostic quality. He/she could rotate through inpatient and outpatient setting when needed. He/she may also work off hour shifts, weekends and holidays as priorities demonstrate need.