Medical Instrument Technician (Echocardiography)

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties may include but are not limited to;

• Independently perform diagnostic tests provide patient education and act as a liaison and information source for the patient and family nursing staff and medical staff.
• Responsible for the delivery of professional services and the provision of high-quality patient care in the Echo Lab.
• Review performance for quality and accuracy.
• Performs cardiac ultrasound (echocardiograms) autonomously to acquire the maximum diagnostic image quality. All echocardiograms include M-mode two-dimensional and doppler examinations
• Performs portable ultrasound procedures on the patients who cannot be transported to the department.
• Maintains logs and controls.
• Manipulates high technology ultrasound equipment in the production of diagnostic images
• Receives patients and explains the procedure.
• Positions the patient in sitting recumbent prone or oblique position in the echocardiographic laboratory or by the bedside.
• Positions the transducer to the thorax or body part under examination using contact real time imaging techniques.
• Must have basic understanding of computer operations including the operation of alphanumeric keyboard input in order to select various programs to best demonstrate cardiac structures or body parts in different positions and to prepare equipment for operation and to change imaging modalities as conditions warrant on different ultrasound systems.
• Assesses and interprets cardiac structures and blood flow during doppler studies.
• Operates various items of photographic equipment to record oscilloscope images.
• Operates videotape recorder and/or digital recorder to maintain a record for physician interpretation and for future reference.
• Operates continuous wave doppler with color flow mapping.
• Trains other staff including physicians and medical students relevant to ultrasound such as appearance and functions of various systems and the physical abnormalities.
• Performs basic maintenance of ultrasound equipment on a regular basis and notifies supervisor of any equipment problems.
• Maintains adequate stock of equipment.
• Consults with cardiologist and/or physician regarding interpretation of echo testing results.
• Schedules and prioritizes patients for echocardiograms studies.
• Screens echo consults to determine if patient requires urgent evaluation.
• Maintains patient log upon completion of exam.
• Labels videotape of completed exam.
• Provides a preliminary report of the echocardiogram prior to review by cardiologist and/or physician.
• Files completed reports in appropriate locations and maintains a copy of all exams within the Cardiopulmonary Department.
• Receives information and keep abreast of new developments in the field and makes recommendations as to how improvements might be made to operate the section.
• Other tasks/duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

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. 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 all specialties identified in this standard Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable. Training which does not result in official certification does not meet this definition.)
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
• 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.

• GS-5 Experience includes:
  • 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.

• Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the heart and great vessels.
• Knowledge of cardiac arrhythmias and their relationship to hemodynamic conditions of the cardiac cycle.
• Knowledge of basic cardiac ultrasound physics and the acoustic mechanisms by which high quality cardiac images are obtained.
• 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.
• Ability to interact with patients explaining procedures and positioning the patient for the procedure.

• Ability to scan transthoracic echocardiograms in all views with colorflow and some Doppler.
• Ability to conduct cardiac testing to determine the severity and variety of cardiac problems i.e. calcular dysfunction myocardial wall kinesia effusions endocardial lesions et.
• Knowledge of the set-up for transesophageal echocardiograms.
• 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.

• 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.
• 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) transthoracic Bubble studies and contrast echocardiography (invasive) stress echocardiography and transesophageal 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.