Summary
The Primary Purpose of the Position is to function as an EEG Technologist maintaining state of the art quality in the principles and procedures associated with Electroencephalography. The EEG technician is a member of the neurology department at the Washington DC VA Medical Center where the functions of the job are located.
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Duties
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Electroencephalograph (EEG) Technicians operate the electroencephalograph and other devices such as evoked potential equipment to record the electrical activity of the brain. Registration is offered by the American Board of Registration of EEG, CNIM & EP Technologists (ABRET) or the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Techs (AAET).
DUTIES:
- Provide independent performance of a full range of procedures.
- Delivers high quality studies for the most complex and non-routine procedures in difficult or demanding environments such as research, intraoperative monitoring, or intensive care monitoring or intensive care monitoring.
- Interprets study results and brings to the attention of the physician or supervisor more subtle abnormalities that may require intervention.
- The technician will highlight portions of recordings of clinical importance for review by the clinical neurophysiologist and will accurately describe the concurrent behavior of the patient.
- Positive interaction with other health care staff to inform them of the indications for testing; the value, possible outcomes, and limitations of testing; and the policies of the laboratory are expected.
- Obtain multiple sleep latent tests on patients with possible narcolepsy or other disorders of excess sleepiness.
- Incumbent may instruct patients in use of CPAP and Autopap and or BiPAP equipment and troubleshoot problems that patient has with this equipment.
- Assists in the education of students (medical students, polysomnography students) and residents and fellows.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm.
Compressed/Flexible:
Not Qualified.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Qualified.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Qualified.
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 #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
- 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 will 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:
- United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
- 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.
- English Language Proficiency. Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English.
- Certification. No certification or registration is required; however, it is desirable that employees at this level have BCLS (Basic Cardiac Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certifications.
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).
Grade Determinations
GS-8. 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 the duties of the positions to be filled. This would be experience which provided knowledge of the more complex procedures, the pharma-cology related to this occupation, and knowledge of related acute disorders and diseases and their effects on organs and methods of treatment.
In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
- Ability to interpret testing data to evaluate critical information for surgeons and other medical staff during testing procedures.
- Knowledge of anatomy and physiology of the nervous system and the ability to understand the relationship of EEG and evoked potential testing in detecting states of disease and health.
- Knowledge of behavior assessment during seizure attacks in order to insure adequacy of recordings during seizure discharges.
- Knowledge of a variety of advanced EEG equipment and peripheral equipment such as equipment for brain mapping, video EEG telemetry systems with seizure detection computers, and spike analysis software.
- Knowledge of anticonvulsant medications and their effects on the EEG as well as other frequently used pharmaceuticals.
- Ability to adapt neurodiagnostic devices, parameters, and procedures to complex, unusual, and often critical situations.
Preferred Experience:
- Experience performing routine EEGs on both inpatient and outpatient populations
- Experience conducting portable EEGs
- Experience performing EEGs and EEG monitoring in ICU settings
- Experience with long-term EEG monitoring
- Certification as an EEG Technician preferred
- Experience performing evoked potentials also preferred
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
This position is at the full performance level of GS-08.
Physical Requirements: Needs ability to move portable EEG equipment to different units in the hospital, ability to carry reach above shoulder, use fingers and hands walk up to 1hr standing up to 3 hours, repeated bending up to 1 hour.
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/.
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."
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
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 people 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.
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?
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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.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
