Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems)

Description:

Serves as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) specialized in information systems within a Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) department at a VA facility. Works in support of the medical equipment management program. In addition to duties at the full performance level, the BESS maintains medical servers and networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, and clinical applications software.

Requirements:

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, Experience, or Certification:
  • Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field; OR,
  • Associates or higher degree in electronics, a field of information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR,
  • Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program; OR,
  • Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR,
  • Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship; OR,
  • Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR,
  • Hold or having ever held certification as a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET), Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES), Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES), or Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM). Continuous maintenance of certification is not required throughout VHA employment.
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.§ 7403(f)

Grade Determinations : Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems), GS-12

Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (Knowledge of standards including National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Joint Commission (TJC), and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) for safe operation of medical equipment and clinical systems; Skill in using test and calibration equipment including digital multi-meters, electrical safety analyzers, defibrillator analyzers, patient simulators, manometers, tachometers, and Local Area Network (LAN) analyzers; Skill in interpreting a variety of technical data including schematic drawings and wiring diagrams; Skill in applying networking principles, such as Access Control List (ACL), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN); Ability to perform advanced testing to troubleshoot medical equipment and clinical system interfaces; Ability to maintain medical computers and software; Ability to manage projects involving medical equipment and clinical systems.).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards.
• Knowledge of advanced testing methods to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces.
• Skill in maintaining computer and server based medical equipment, databases, and software.
• Skill in managing medical equipment and clinical system projects that interface with an electronic health record or other information systems.
• Skill in applying cybersecurity standards to medical devices and clinical systems such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines.
• Ability to apply information security tools including virus protection, software updates, and operating system patches.
• Ability to establish a medical network including VLAN configuration, Internet Protocol addressing, and network security.

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-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: VA HANDBOOK 5019