Summary

This Medical Instrument Technician (Polysomnography) Position is in the Specialty Care Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System located at the Brockton - MA VA location. This position is a full-time at 40 hours per week.

Qualifications

Applicants should be fully qualified by the closing date of this announcement.

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
• Registration by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) is highly desirable
• For all specialties identified in this standard - Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable
• Training which doesn't result in official certification does not meet this definition
• English Proficiency: Proficient in English (written and spoken) is required for patient care positions
• Grade Determinations: GS-09 Experience: At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level (GS-8) - which is directly related to the duties of the position
• At this level Polysomnographic Technicians are able to interact fully with the patient and physician to diagnose sleep disorders including those that are uncommon or rare
• They are able to conduct full sleep studies including overnight studies and evaluate the relationship of events - sleep stages - and possible medical conditions which influence or result from events occurring during sleep
• They anticipate problems likely to occur during the sleep study and prepare for such situations - make changes in established procedures - or recommend alternative courses of action
• They are able to mentor lower graded technicians
• You must also meet the following GS-8 KSAs: (1) Advanced knowledge or the International Classification of Sleep Disorders and the ability to recognize uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders
• (2) Ability to summarize and report polysomnographic data in narrative form
• (3) Knowledge of event characteristics (e.g. - respiratory - cardiac - sleep stage - seizures - etc.) and ability to take appropriate action
• (4) Ability to provide briefings and orientation to hospital staff including physicians
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate the following technical GS-9 KSAs and the potential to acquire the assignment specific KSAs designated by an asterisk 1
• Knowledge of the more complex examination and treatment procedures and techniques in order to provide training and supervision in these procedures - to evaluate and initiate performance improvement projects - and to write policies - procedures - and protocols - that pertain to Polysomnography
• 2
• Knowledge of JCAHO and other regulatory requirements
• 3
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels
• Certification
• Registration by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) is highly desirable
• Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable for employees at this level
• Preferred Experience: Registered Polysomnographic Technologist - Preferably having prior experience with home sleep testing - scoring - CPAP setups and troubleshooting sleep issues
• References: https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-9. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as standing or walking for prolonged periods of time
• frequent bending - reaching - stooping - and stretching to set up and take apart equipment and apparatus
• lifting and repositioning patients
• and pushing or pulling heavy objects such as oxygen tanks and/or equipment
• The work may require specific physical characteristics and abilities such as above-average dexterity to perform intricate respiratory therapy / sleep procedures.

Duties

• The Polysomnographic technologist has multiple clinical and technical responsibilities
• The majority of these functions will be performed at the Bedford Veterans Administration Site within VISN 1 under the direction of the Boston Healthcare System
• The responsibilities at this location will include but not limited to managing the Home Sleep Study Program - Establishes and maintains CPAP Compliance Monitoring Program - as well as providing a Sleep Clinic Support for equipment - education and any other related issues that arise to meet the patient's needs
• Major duties include but are not limited to: Act independently and recognize that technical decisions will vary with each patient based on their medical condition and patient reaction to the variety of tests performed
• Each action by the technologist may further vary due to the response or result from the patient
• Participates in the development of new procedures and assists and reviews existing procedures - updating them in accordance with new equipment and clinical practice
• Set up the patients with monitoring devices according to established rules and protocols
• Recognize and respond appropriately to critical events that can occur in sleep - such as cardiac arrhythmias - seizure disorders - and other medical emergencies
• Provides oversight of the HST program to assure that it meets with all Joint Commission - American Academy of Sleep Medicine - and other regulatory bodies prescribed standards
• Assists in ordering sleep lab equipment
• Provide instruction to day and night sleep lab staff to insure quality and efficiency of care
• Score sleep studies as well as be up to date on rule changes of scoring Communicate effectively with a range of personnel within the Health System - including physicians - nurses - administration and clinic managers
• Registered with the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologist - Maintain BLS certification
• Maintain a safe work environment
• Keep up to date on changes in sleep medicine by regularly attending courses related to sleep medicine with the ability to adapt to future technological changes and continue educational development
• Performs triage - rearranges schedules according to patient priorities
• Responsible for downloading compliance data utilizing disk or wireless modems to track patient compliance and creates reports for the sleep specialist to review in clinic
• Work Schedule: FT - Nights - 6:45pm-7:15am - may include weekends
• Compressed/Flexible: Maybe authorized
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: PD901670 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service
• This position is a NAGE Bargaining Unit position
• Due to a critical staffing shortage - 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 - (Notice of Personnel Action)
• The SF-50 must identify the position title - series - grade - step - tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted)
• In some cases - more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held
• Narrative responses to the knowledge - skills and abilities (KSAs) will be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.