Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography)

About the role

Our mission is to fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

Responsibilities

- Performs diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency shift recordings using M-mode, 2-D, pulsed and continuous wave Doppler spectral display and color flow Doppler imaging. - Performs complex procedures such as cardiac studies of the 4 chambers of the heart and valves using sector scanning techniques to detect stenotic and incompetent valves, chamber enlargement, and pericardial effusion, thrombus and pressure gradients across obstructed valves. - Performs Dobutamine and exercise stress. - Adapts transducer positioning, instrument controls and examination techniques to the individual patient and to the problem to be evaluated. - Monitors patient's condition during procedures and reports significant findings according to policies and procedures. - Accurately documents information in the medical record and any other clinical or administrative applications. - Is proficient in the operation, calibration and maintenance of the specialized equipment in the ECHO suite. - Completes encounters on all ECHOs performed, using the correct CPT codes, diagnosis, service connection status and other fields as required and assists management in overall encounter practices in ECHO suite. - Communicates effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels, patients and their families, and customers from outside facilities. - Assists in the development of new policies and procedures that pertain to the echocardiography suite. - Assists the scheduling MSA in determining appropriateness of consults, triage and priority when needed. - Independently maintains competence with Peripheral IV insertion for contrast use in Echo studies. - Be sufficiently familiar with cardiac related symptoms, cardiac auscultation results, medical terminology, and other pertinent diagnostic tools in order to assess possible areas of cardiac abnormality or rule out or validate a suspected diagnosis. - Analyze echo tomograms to obtain a diagnostic quality echo by adjusting the position of the patient's body, adjusting respiratory rate, and probe position as well as machine controls to obtain at least one diagnostic quality heart cycle in a given projection. Echo exams are operator (rather than equipment) oriented. - Recognize serious problems diagnosed from echo tracings. Exercise professional judgement in order to determine when an emergency exists requiring immediate medical intervention.

Requirements

- Must be proficient in written and spoken English. - Subject to background/security investigation. - Must be proficient in written and spoken English. - Subject to background/security investigation.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: - English Language Proficiency: Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 USC 7401(d), 7407(d). - GRADE REQUIREMENTS: - At least one full year of experience as a Medical Instrument Technician - (Echocardiography) comparable to the next lower level (GS-7) which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics related to the duties of the position. - Knowledge of normal echocardiographic findings and deviations produced by a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases. - 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. - Ability to perform complementary ultrasonic examinations (including noninvasive) trans-thoracic, Bubble studies and contrast echocardiography, (invasive) stress echocardiography, and trans-esophageal echocardiography. - 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. - 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). CERTIFICATION/REGISTRATION: Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), as a Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) or by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) as a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS), Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are not required, but highly desirable.