Summary

The incumbent performs as a polysomnography technologist. They maintain state of the art quality in the principles - practices and procedures associated with Sleep Disorders Medicine. Performance of a variety of routine and complex sleep studies performed on VA patients at the sleep lab at the Washington DC VA Medical Center.

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:

• Citizenship
• Citizenship of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3g - this part.) 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
• For certain functional areas at the higher levels or supervisory assignments - specific certifications appropriate to the specialty are indicated in this standard under "Titles and Certification/Registrations"
• Physical Requirements
• Requires standing - bending stooping - sitting - pulling and pushing patients must be able to perform gross and fine coordinated hand movements English Language Proficiency
• Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2 - section D - paragraph 5a
• GRADE DETERMINATIONS Medical Instrument Technician - Polysomnography - GS-8 a
• 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 knowledge of the more complex procedures as well as knowledge of the uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: b
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities 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
• NOTE: Applicants must demonstrate above requirements in resume and supporting documentation
• NOTE: You must submit the required supporting documentation to receive consideration
• Failure to provide the required documents will result in an ineligible rating and your application will be excluded from consideration
• (c) 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
• 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
• Best Qualified Applications: Best qualified applicants will meet the following criteria in addition to the minimum qualifications for this position
• The position requires strong experience in conducting and scoring all types of sleep studies including but not limited to diagnostic polysomnography - cpap/bipap/asv/inspire titrations - mslt/mwt
• The position requires strong experience in CPAP set-ups - education - compliance downloads - troubleshooting machine issues - mask fittings and a strong ability to work with patients to improve cpap adherence
• There must be effective communication with supervisors - team members - administrative staff and patients not only verbally but in computer based programs as well
• Candidates must demonstrate the ability to work well in teams
• Preferred Experience: Experience as independent polysomography technician with experience managing patient on CPAP and trouble shooting same Ability to score sleep studies also requested Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08.

Duties

• Using state of the art equipment incumbent obtains polysomnograms on patients with life threatening sleep disorders
• Obtains multiple sleep latency tests on patients with possible narcolepsy or other disorders of excess sleepiness
• All testing performed requires on-line analysis by the technologist to obtain the necessary data for correct diagnosis and therapy for the patient
• Make decisions about therapy in the case of patients with sleep apnea who are undergoing split night studies
• Requires both obtaining studies that are representative and making decisions during the study if the patient is appropriate that night to undergo therapy - and determining that the therapy is optimal
• Assists in the education of students (medical students - polysomnography students) and residents and fellows
• Based on experience and knowledge the incumbent provides oxygen therapy - and or nasal CPAP and or nasal BiPAP and or nasal auto-pap therapy - determining the proper levels to be administered
• Able to determine the appropriate settings of BiPAP ST as well as Servopap
• Recognize various cardiac arrythmias and independently decides when to call for professional intervention
• Recognize and describe seizures and other behavior during the sleep study that may require intervention
• Able to utilize sophisticated equipment to obtain studies with an extended montage to allow for seizure monitoring
• Ability to utilize the more limited equipment that allows monitoring of respiratory parameters in sleep
• Maintain the guidelines on infection control for our laboratory and interfaces with manufacturers to determine appropriate specifications and with our infectious control group and SPD to insure that we are following safe and appropriate procedures
• Disseminate this information on a regular basis to other staff via in-service presentations and informal teaching to make sure guidelines are followed
• Assist in teaching new technologists on use of equipment and newer techniques and insure that they are proficient in these techniques
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday to Friday - 08:00am - 04:30pm 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 #:25006-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized