Medical Instrument Technician - EEG

Summary

This Medical Instrument Technician (Electroencephalography / EEG) position is located within HVHA / Neurology at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Houston Neurology Care Line (NCL) encompasses specialty clinics in Stroke Prevention, Cognitive Disorders, Epilepsy, Neuromuscular Disease and Movement Disorders, Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers (PADRECC) and Epilepsy Center of Excellence. The Neurology in-patient unit has 16-beds including four to five EEG/Video Long Term Monitoring beds for epilepsy patients. A joint Neurology/Medicine Step-down Unit includes 4 dedicated Neurology beds primarily used for acute stroke admissions. Clinical research and education plays a vital role in treating this veteran population. The veterans and families receiving treatment from the Neurology Care Line Neurophysiology Section come from an expansive geographic area. Their health care and psychosocial problems and needs are complex and require a high degree of clinical oversight, coordination and creative problem-solving. The Neurology Care Line Medical Instrument Technician (EEG) provides neurophysiology services to patients in the outpatient setting as well as the inpatient units including Intensive Care Units, operating room, isolation unit and psychiatry Work Schedule: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, Schedule may change based on the needs of the service. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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 #: 01025-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Available

Qualifications

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. 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. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: GS-8, Medical Instrument Technician: 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 knowledge of the more complex procedures, the pharma- cology related to this occupation, and knowledge of related acute disorders and diseases and their effects on organs and methods of treatment. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Ability to interpret testing data to evaluate critical information for surgeons and other medical staff during testing procedures. Knowledge of anatomy and physiology of the nervous system and the ability to understand the relationship of EEG and evoked potential testing in detecting states of disease and health. Knowledge of behavior assessment during seizure attacks in order to insure adequacy of recordings during seizure discharges. Knowledge of a variety of advanced EEG equipment and peripheral equipment such as equipment for brain mapping, video EEG telemetry systems with seizure detection computers, and spike analysis software. Knowledge of anticonvulsant medications and their effects on the EEG as well as other frequently used pharmaceuticals. Ability to adapt neurodiagnostic devices, parameters, and procedures to complex, unusual, and often critical situations. Certification. No certification or registration is required. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable for employees at this level. (d) Assignment. This represents the full performance level. Medical instrument technicians (EEG) at this level are expected to provide independent performance of a full range of procedures. The technician consistently delivers high quality studies for the most complex and non-routine procedures in difficult or demanding environments such as research, intraoperative monitoring, or intensive care monitoring. Procedures are tailored to clinical questions to be answered and may require additional monitors, electrodes, or other devices as clinically indicated. The technician interprets study results and brings to the attention of the physician or supervisor more subtle abnormalities that may require intervention. The technician will highlight portions of recordings of clinical importance for review by the clinical neurophysiologist and will accurately describe the concurrent behavior of the patient. Positive interaction with other health care staff to inform them of the indications for testing; the value, possible outcomes, and limitations of testing; and the policies of the laboratory are expected. Preferred Experience: Registered Tech and 1-2 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 GS8 Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this…

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.