Biomedical Apprentice Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) is specialized in imaging equipment 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 imaging equipment and clinical systems.
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. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. 7407(a).
• Education, Experience, or Certification.
  1. Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field; OR
  2. Associates or higher degree in electronics, a field of information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
  3. Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program; OR
  4. Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
  5. Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship; OR
  6. Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
  7. 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).

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).
Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Imaging), GS-12. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade. (Example of GS-11 experience: Employees in this assignment serve as full performance level (FPL) BESSs responsible for managing multiple assignments, organizing, and independently prioritizing their work with minimal supervision. At this level, BESSs manage medical equipment and clinical systems including installation, planned maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, calibrations, electrical safety inspections, patient safety, cybersecurity, and decommissioning. They plan, implement, and provide technical and project oversight for medical equipment and clinical systems. BESSs develop technical requirements, draft requests for proposal (RFP) language, sole-source justifications, and statements of work (SOW). They conduct market research, product evaluations, evaluate contractor performance, and conduct pre-procurement assessments. They serve as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) or Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) to purchase medical equipment, maintenance and repair contracts, and facility projects as needed.)
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of imaging principles including techniques, technologies, radiological practices, and procedures.
• Knowledge of Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards.
• Skill in applying standards for safe operation of medical equipment and clinical systems including National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Nuclear Radiation Commission (NRC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Joint Commission (T JC), and the American College of Radiology (ACR).
• Ability to resolve complex failures on imaging equipment and clinical systems.
• Ability to perform advanced testing to troubleshoot imaging equipment and clinical system interfaces.

Assignment. For all assignments above the FPL, the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety, as described in this standard at the specific grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At the advanced level, BESSs, in addition to the duties at the FPL, manage networked imaging systems and databases and inter-connectivity with Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) related modalities and the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). They use specialized diagnostic software, quality assurance tools, and test equipment. BESSs (Imaging) assist in designing and implementing security measures and a disaster recovery plan to prevent loss of patient data from imaging systems. They leverage advanced knowledge in performing manufacturer-level maintenance on imaging systems such as radiographic, mammography, computed tomography (CT), radiation oncology, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and fluoroscopy. BESSs (Imaging) manage planning, acquisition, and installation of imaging projects. They submit required documentation to meet acquisition deadlines. BESSs (Imaging) coordinate with stakeholders to facilitate successful installation.
Preferred Experience:

• 5+ years in HTM field
• 2+ years servicing medical equipment in a house hospital setting/ healthcare environment
• Government purchase card holder GPC experience
• YourHTM familiarity

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.
Physical Requirements: Heavy Lifting (45 lbs and over); Heavy Carrying (45 lbs and over); Straight Pulling (up to 1 hour);
Pushing (1 - 2 hours); Reaching above shoulder; Both legs required; Kneeling (up to 3 hours); Depth perception; Ability to distinguish shades of colors; Hearing (aid permitted); Emotional/Mental Stability.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.Employment Type: OTHER