Medical Instrument Technician (Diagnostic Ultrasound)

Summary The Medical Instrument Technician (Diagnostic Ultrasound) under general supervision operates ultrasound units to obtain diagnostic images of patients, and to provide guidance for invasive procedures to diagnose and treat disease at the VA Maryland Healthcare System, Perry Point. Duties DUTIES: Receive patients, confirm patient identification, obtain patient history, provide patient education, provide reassurance, and ensure patient comfort. Continually assess the condition and needs of patients to ensure patient safety, comfort, and privacy. Coordinate care to provide service timely to clinical needs. Review exam requests for appropriateness before performing exams. Use appropriateness criteria, the clinical history provided on the request, patient interview, chart review or contact with the ordering clinician to clarify as needed. Present unresolvable discrepancies or deficient indications to the Ultrasound Supervisor or a radiologist. Perform comprehensive diagnostic ultrasound exams in a variety of outpatient and inpatient settings. Exams include, but are not limited to abdomen and pelvis, chest, small parts, musculoskeletal, aortoiliac and venous studies. Apply knowledge of anatomy and organ systems to execute appropriate scanning protocols and to modify techniques as needed to optimally demonstrate normal anatomy and pathology. Select appropriate transducers and protocols, and optimize settings to acquire high quality diagnostic images. Recognize critical results and initiate timely provider notification. Consult with radiologists to review findings or perform additional scanning as needed. Document exams with appropriate still images, and imaging clips by protocol. Complete an exam worksheet highlighting normal and abnormal findings with appropriate measurements to facilitate efficient and precise physician interpretation. Support image-guided procedures. Facilitate timely review and scheduling of requested procedures. Coordinate nursing and other support needed from other services. Set up sterile procedure tables. Provide support to the procedure as the circulator or scrub tech. Support includes, applied knowledge of supplies and materials specific to each case, understanding of procedures and sequence of steps in the procedure to anticipate and facilitate the actions of the radiologist or other practitioner, proficient handling of supplies and specimens, and applied knowledge of sterile technique. Receive cytology specimens and prepare diagnostic smears for interpretation. Prepare specimens for transport with appropriate labels and orders. Delivers specimens to lab as needed. Support ultrasound exams and ultrasound-guided procedures from the Women's Health Clinic including, transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound, and ultrasound-guided aspiration and biopsy. Support ultrasound-guided procedures by other non-radiologist providers such as for thoracentesis, paracentesis, and percutaneous biopsy and drainage. Provide sonography students and residents with an affiliated program didactic and hands-on instruction, ensuring a positive learning experience. Provide oversight of student performance and progress and provide evaluations to program faculty. Provide instruction and support of POCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound). Assist non-radiologist users in the effective use of ultrasound including, basic principles, image optimization, scanning technique and other facets of use. Administrative functions: register exams, status track completed exams using compliant CPT coding. Ensure completed exams are properly archived both in PACS and VISTA Imaging Display. Apply infection control practices, both general medical center guidelines and those specific to ultrasound such as general transducer disinfection, high level disinfection, transducer covering for sterile procedures. Perform general maintenance on equipment such as warm-up and shutdown sequences, calibration, QC and basic troubleshooting. Maintain appropriate logs to document equipment performance history. Identify deviations from equipment specifications and initiate corrective action. Perform basic troubleshooting on sending images to PACS. Use CPRS within scope of technologist duties such as chart review, entering progress notes, patient education notes and policy orders. Assist in QA and QC data collection, and the development and updating of procedure manuals, training programs, new employee orientation materials, patient education materials and other written guidance. x Initiate and participate in PI (Performance Improvement) activities using appropriate techniques and measures of improvement. Maintain appropriate inventory of supplies and materials. Apply stocking procedures to ensure organization and integrity of stock, and removal of outdated items. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Week 1 -Tuesday, Thursday, Friday -8:00am

• 4:30pm. Week 2- Tuesday
• 8:00am
• 4:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:260480F Qualifications 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". For all specialties identified in this standard, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable. Training which does not result in official certification does not meet this definition. Grandfathering Provision. 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). Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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.

Grade Requirements.

Certification. Registration by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) or by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) is highly desirable. Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable. Grade Determinations:GS-0649-09 Medical Instrument Technician (Diagnostic Ultrasound) Experience: One year of experience of the assignments and knowledge, skills and abilities, equivalent to the GS-08 grade level. (GS-08 assignments and knowledge, skills and abilities listed below) GS-08 Experience: At this level the technician is required to perform a full range of procedures including special complicated examinations for which there are no standard instructions or procedures. They perform independent portable ultrasound examinations in the intensive care units, emergency room, surgery, and throughout the Medical Center when required. They also work independently on evenings, nights, and weekend tours of duty as scheduled and/or when on call. GS-08 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Ability to perform diagnostic ultrasound examination on multiple areas of the body, including, but not limited to, the abdomen, pelvis, transvaginal, chest, small parts, thyroid, breast, and scrotum. Ability to perform vascular