Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems)

Description:

The incumbent serves as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) specialized in information systems within a Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) department at a VA facility. The incumbent works in support of the medical equipment management program. The BESS also 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 :

GS-12 Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Experience includes but not limited to:

• Managing medical equipment and clinical systems including installation, planned maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, calibrations, electrical safety inspections, patient safety, cybersecurity, and decommissioning.
• Planning, implementing, and providing technical and project oversight for medical equipment and clinical systems.
• Providing instruction and guidance to end users on proper use and care of equipment including operator-level maintenance of equipment and accessories.
• Monitoring system backups; data integrity; ensuring network connectivity between systems, servers, databases, and the electronic medical record; and maintain systems security and standards.
• Use of specialized electronic test equipment or software to analyze, evaluate, diagnose, troubleshoot, calibrate, or repair analog and digital microprocessor controlled, computerized, or networked digital systems.
• Coordinating and managing vendor services and review work performed to ensure defined specifications are met and documented.
• Ensuring compliance with all applicable standards, policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements such as National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Joint Commission (TJC), and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)

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/ .

Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.