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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Medical Instrument Technician (Cardiac Catherization)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, 33412

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Medical Instrument Technician (Cardiac Catheterization) U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provided pay range: This range is provided by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range: $65,084.00/yr - $84,607.00/yr

Summary

Medical Instrument Technicians (Cardiac Catheterization) perform - under a physician's direction - diagnostic tests - both invasive and noninvasive - of the pulmonary system (lung) and the cardiovascular system (heart and circulation). They operate - monitor - and collect data from instruments used in procedures such as cardiac catheterization - angiography - valvuloplasty - angioplasty - electrophysiology studies - cardiac pacing - or cardiac pacemaker or lead wire insertion.

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

English Language Proficiency

Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2 - section D - paragraph 5a - per VA Handbook 5005 - Qualification Standards

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

Licensure or Certification: not required for this occupation, but desirable at GS-6 or above

Desired certifications include: Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) as a Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS)

GRADE REQUIREMENTS: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, the following qualifications criteria must be met to determine the appropriate grade assignment

Specialized Experience: At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level - GS-08 - directly related to the duties

Experience includes possession of knowledge required to provide all aspects of cardiac catheterization technician services

Knowledge of standard medical terminology to interpret physician orders or instructions

Cardiac catheterization technicians at this level function as full members of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Team

They scrub - circulate - operate equipment on the most complex examination and treatment procedures including endocardial biopsy, radiofrequency ablation, and intra-aortic balloon pump therapy for very critical patients

They prepare and administer cardiac medications as directed by the attending physician

They mentor and train lower graded technicians, nurses, nursing students, and cardiopulmonary technology students, and assist the supervisor/manager with quality control and performance improvement activities

Additional knowledge, skills, and abilities at the next lower grade level (GS-8) include advanced procedure knowledge and equipment operation

Advanced knowledge of equipment, medications, and supplies used in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and ability to set up, calibrate, operate, and troubleshoot

Knowledge and understanding of waveforms from the great vessels and all heart chambers, ability to recognize and distinguish normal from abnormal, forewarn the physician of impending life‑threatening situations

Knowledge of quality control and performance improvement indicators, ability to analyze and prepare quality control of test results

Examples of prerequisites: IABP/Impella experience, pacer/CD device scrub experience, etc. (see full standard for details)

Physical Requirements include occasional heavy lifting (45 lb or more), heavy carrying, moderate straight pulling, frequent patient positioning, moderate walking, occasional climbing.

Duties

The Medical Instrument Technician (MIT) - Cardiac Catheterization serves in Patient Care Services at the Thomas A. Edison VA Medical Center Core facility.

Functions include performing diagnostic tests of the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems under a physician’s direction.

Operates and monitors cardiac catheterization laboratory equipment for procedures such as left and right heart catheterizations, percutaneous coronary interventions, endocardial biopsies, radiofrequency ablation, and intra‑aortic balloon pump therapy.

Mentors and trains lower graded technicians, nursing students, and cardiopulmonary/electrophysiology technology students on laboratory procedures and assists the supervisor/manager with quality control and performance improvement activities.

Provides technical assistance to the cardiologist during all procedures occurring in the Cath lab/Electrophysiology lab.

Monitors the progression of procedures requiring independent judgment, including temporary pacemaker insertions, intra‑aortic balloon pump, and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

Assists unit manager in improving technical training for new employees, fellows, and students.

Directs patient inquiries to appropriate personnel.

Swells ability to function independently during diagnostic catheterization from patient preparation table setup – scrub – hemodynamic monitoring – circulate – sheath pulling and patient education.

Accurate monitoring and recording of intra‑vascular pressures and ECG tracings.

Operates digital radiographic computer systems and assists physician during procedure by performing scrub duties, contrast injection, and panning.

Expertise in data acquisition, storage, and retrieval, and independent operation of programs used to analyze cardiac functions.

Assists with troubleshooting equipment failures and troubleshooting the problem without electrical involvement.

Calibration of instruments and calculation of all pressures, heart rates, and recorded parameters.

Retrieval and recalculation of data as necessary.

Archive images in CD and PAC systems.

Prepares patient prior to procedures.

Seniority level Mid‑Senior level

Employment type Full‑time

Job function Engineering and Information Technology

Industries Government Administration

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