Medical Instrument Technician (Ekg)

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.Qualifications: 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.
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 required.

• NOTE: For all specialties identified in this standard, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable.

English Language Proficiency.Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, per VA Handbook 5005, Qualification Standards.
GRADE REQUIREMENTS:
Medical Instrument Technician (EKG). GS-06: Medical Instrument Technicians (EKG) 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.
Experience: At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level (GS-05) which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics related to the duties of the positions to be filled. Knowledge, skills, and abilities at the GS-05 level are:

• Knowledge of standard medical terminology to interpret physician orders or instructions.
• Knowledge of common physical disabilities and ability to position patients for the examination or treatment.
• Ability to learn the normal and abnormal results for routine procedures to recognize and report obvious abnormalities.
• Ability to operate the equipment to administer routine/standard diagnostic treatment or procedures.
• Ability to perform standard operator maintenance on the equipment including the ability to disassemble, clean, reassemble, and calibrate the machine.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs

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

Medical Instrument Technician (EKG). GS-07: Medical Instrument Technicians (EKG) 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.
Experience: At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level (GS-06) 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. Knowledge, skills, and abilities at the GS-06 are listed above.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs

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

Preferred Experience:

• BLS Certification
• ACLS Certification
• Cardiac Monitor Technician Certification
• One year of recent of recent hospital telemetry monitoring experience (within 1 to 2 years)

References: VA Handbook 5005/15, Part II, Appendix G27, Appendix E., Medical Instrument Technician (EKG) Qualification Standard, GS-649
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.
Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work requires, occasional moderate lifting, (15- 44 pounds) moderate straight pulling/pushing, reaching above shoulder to retrieve printed rhythm strip, use of fingers, both hands, sitting/walking/standing approximately 4 hours, kneeling 1 hour, bending approximately 4 hours, patient repositioning, occasional climbing related to stairs, use of both legs, near vision correctable at 13' to 16" to jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and o 20/40 in the other. Hearing aid permitted. For additional Information please see VA Directive and Handbook 5019.Education: IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.Employment Type: FULL_TIME