Medical Instrument Technician - Polysomnography

Summary

The incumbent performs as a polysomnography technologist. They maintain state of theart 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.

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Duties

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• 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.

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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 # :25004-F/25005-F25006-F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Requirements

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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, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• 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.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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-6

(a) Experience. At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the duties of the position to be filled.

You must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of standard, computerized polysomnographs for recording continuous

all night physiological data including EEG, EOG, EKG, EMG and respiratory

parameters.

2. Knowledge of standard devices such as oximeters, respiratory effort devices, nasal

pressure devices, thermistors, thermocouples, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

machines, and laboratory computers including the ability to calibrate and operate the equipment and recognize and eliminate recording artifacts.

3. Knowledge of medical terminology and medical record organization to review medical

records, sleep study orders, consent forms, medical charts, etc.

4. Knowledge of polysmnographic procedural protocols (including overnight sleep studies,

MSLT, MWT, PAP, etc.).

5. Knowledge of basic anatomy and physiology and the international 10-20 electrode

placement system in order to conduct the sleep studies.

(c) Certification. No certification or registration is required at this level. Basic Cardiac Life

Support (BCLS) certification is desirable.

(d) Assignment. Polysomnography (PSG) Technicians at this level perform a full range of

standard, routine examinations including overnight sleep studies, MSLT (Multiple Sleep

Latency Test), MWT (Maintenance of Wakefulness Test), and PAP (Positive Airway Pressure

Titration).

Medical Instrument Technician - Polysomnography - GS-7

a. E xperience. 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 the individual with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to independently conduct difficult but standardized polysomnography examinations.

You must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of CPAP function and operation to select and fit appropriate PAP patient interface

devices.

2. Ability to independently titrate and document PAP level to achieve therapeutic goals.

3. Knowledge of indications, complications, and contraindications of CPAP therapy.

4. Knowledge of Bi-Level pressure titrations.

5. Ability to recognize changes seen during the PSG tracing and identify all stages of

sleep. This includes the ability to score and analyze sleep stages in clinical

polysomnography recordings.

(c) Certification. No certification or registration is required. Basic Cardiac Life Support

(BCLS) certification is desirable.

(d) Assignment. At this level the Polysomnography Technician performs a full range of

standard, but complex, polysomnography examinations with responsibility for properly and accurately calibrating all instruments prior to the beginning of the PSG tracing and selection of appropriate electrode montages and sensitivity and filter settings to elicit the best possible tracings. They independently determine the need for CPAP during all night sleep studies for sleep apnea. They may administer nerve conduction velocity tests.

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.

You must demonstrate the following 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.

(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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. There must be effective communication with supervisors, team members, administrative staff and patients not only verbally but in computer based programs as well.
4. 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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-06 to GS-08.

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).

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: 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:

Additional information

"Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their life to the fullest. The VA is committed to Whole Health and values Veteran and Employee health and wellbeing. As a VA employee, you will practice Whole Health in an environment that supports personalized and proactive care."

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

The DC Medical Center, located in sight of the Nation's Capitol, provides care to Veterans. Offering tertiary care in a Complexity Level IB hospital, allows the multidisciplinary staff to provide comprehensive primary and specialty care in medicine, surgery, neurology and psychiatry."

The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define "who we are," our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries.

The Values are I ntegrity, C ommitment, A dvocacy, R espect and E xcellence (" I CARE "). As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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