In any patient care setting, the Medical Instrument Technician (EKG) will perform the specific duties and responsibilities outlined below as assigned. The individual may be required to deliver EKG services to patients in all areas of the hospital. The Medical Instrument Technician must be able to perform the special duties required by the assignment. Standards of performance for the area to which the individual is assigned must be maintained. 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. 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. 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-7, Medical Instrument Technician (EKG). (a) Experience. At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level, GS-6, 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. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 1. Knowledge of typical patient reactions and signs of distress including the ability to recognize, re port and treat potentially lethal arrhythmias. 2. Knowledge of common equipment settings and standardized procedures plus knowledge of common errors and corrective measures. 3. 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. 4. Ability to act as a mentor or preceptor to lower graded technicians. 5. Ability to conduct in-service training on the EKG equipment and related instrumentation. References: VA Handbook 5005/54, Part II, G27 Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be able to help move equipment, transfer and position patients, and perform delicate manipulations as needed to obtain accurate and complete studies.Work is in a clinical cardiac non-invasive laboratory on general patient floors and in intensive care unit environments as required to obtain ECG studies on a all patients. Radioisotopes may be present for nuclear studies during exercise. Nuclear medicine personnel will assist in all studies involving radioisotopes. The incumbent will wear a radiation badge. ["The major duties of the Medical Instrument Technician (EKG) position will include: Stress Test: I. Assist in performance of exercise treadmill and pharmacologic stress tests. 2. He/s he will inform patients about the protocol for exercise or pharmacologic stress testing, 3. Carefully prepare the patient's skin and apply electrodes to eliminate interference. 4. Monitor blood pressure accurately and rapidly before, during, and after exercise or pharmacologic stress, and observe the ECG forchanges in rate or rhythm that would require modifications in the test protocol or the discontinuation of the procedure. 5. The incumbent will operate computerized ECG acquisition equipment. The incumbent will monitor patients for exercise tolerance where appropriate and assist in determining when exercise must be terminated. 6. Incumbent must be prepared to take appropriate action in the event of an emergency and must be competent to initiate basic cardio-pulmonary resuscitation if needed. Holter Monitor: I. Incumbent shall prepare patients for holter monitoring. This includes patient teaching, skin preparation and application of electrodes and acquiring a standardized baseline. 2. The incumbent shall be able to scan (read) holter tapes using an automated, computerized reading station and prepare standardized arrhythmia summaries for reading by the physician. 3. The incumbent must be able to recognize significant arrhythmias and take immediate action to inform the reading physician and the physician in charge of the patient's care. Cardiac Event Monitor: I. The technician shall instruct patients in the use and application of cardiac event monitors. 2. The incumbent will instruct patients on methods of telephone transmittal and receive telephone transmittal of arrhythmia recordings from patients. 3. The incumbent must be able to recognize significant arrhythmias and take immediate action to inform the reading physician and the physician in charge of the patient's care. 4. The incumbent must be capable of recognizing malignant arrhythmias and significant abnormalities such as ischemia and infarction patterns. EKG: 1. The incumbent shall record routine and emergent 12 lead electrocardiograms on both outpatients and hospitalized patients. 2. The technician shall also make appropriate lead placements, e.g., Lewis leads to locate atrial activity, where these are appropriate, whether or not his referring physician has ordered them. The incumbent shall be able to download recorded ECGs to a computerized ECG data management system (GE, MUSE). 3. The technician shall also assist in EKG monito ring during tilt testing and pharmacological interventions and be prepared to warn the physician immediately of any untoward drug effects. Other Duties: 1. The technician shall instruct residents, fellows, and medical students in how to perform non-invasive procedures and basic interpretation of tests. 2. The technician shall maintain all equipment in good working order and make minor repairs and adjustments as needed. Any malfunction will be reported immediately to the biomedical engineering or his/her designee. 3. The technician will be able to orient new nursing personnel when there are questions about operation of equipment. KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED: 1. Knowledge of the operation, adjustment and routine servicing of a wide array of computerized ECG equipment is required. This includes the proper procedure for obtaining the routine portion of each examination. 2. Knowledge of electrocardiography interpretation is required. The incumbent must recognize significant arrhythmias on holter and event monitors, during stress tests or routine EKGs, and to take appropriate action. 3. Knowledge of the proper technique for obtaining blood pressures during exercise is essential for accurate data acquisition and patient safety. 4. Knowledge of various electrocardiography lead placements, including Lewis leads to locate atrial activity, right sided chest leads and proper lea d placement for Holter and event monitoring is required. Knowledge of the EKG patterns requiring further elaboration by special lead placement is needed. 5. Knowledge of pacemaker function to obtain proper electrocardiograms for complete analysis. 6. Clinical judgement is essential since tests may be long and fatiguing to the patient. The technician must be aware of clinical changes and must be prepared to discontinue or modify a test when it is appropriate. 7. The technician must understand the underlying theory and basic interpretation of the tests he/she performs. The incumbent shall instruct residents, fellows. and medical students in testing procedures and basic interpretation. 8. The technician must be fully trained in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not eligible. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 91248-A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required."]
The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,298 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
