Serves as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) specializing in Information Systems within Facilities Management Service at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, in Detroit, MI, a 1B facility. The BESS (Information Systems) works in support of the medical equipment management program. In addition to duties at the full performance level, the BESS maintains medical servers and networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, and clinical applications software.
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: Candidates will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. See Chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. 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. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Biomedical Information Systems), GS-12 (1) Experience: At least one year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Examples of creditable experience include, but are not limited to: manage medical equipment and clinical systems including installation, planned maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, calibrations, electrical safety inspections, patient safety, cybersecurity, and decommissioning; plan, implement, and provide technical and project oversight for medical equipment and clinical systems; develop technical requirements, draft requests for proposal (RFP) language, sole-source justifications, and statements of work (SOW); conduct market research, product evaluations, evaluate contractor performance, and conduct pre-procurement assessments; perform incoming inspections on medical equipment and systems to determine that all safety regulations, manufacturer's specifications, contract requirements, and needs of users are met, and they initiate corrective action when necessary; and provide instruction and guidance to end users on proper use and care of equipment including operator-level maintenance of equipment and accessories. (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards. (b) Knowledge of advanced testing methods to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces. (c) Skill in maintaining computer and server based medical equipment, databases, and software. (d) Skill in managing medical equipment and clinical system projects that interface with an electronic health record or other information systems. (e) 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. (f) Ability to apply information security tools including virus protection, software updates, and operating system patches. (g) Ability to establish a medical network including VLAN configuration, Internet Protocol addressing, and network security. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current health care industry and required using knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) directly applicable to the assignment and associated within the scope of the BESS profession. Experience is only creditable if it was acquired in the health care industry and is either directly related to the position to be filled or a related field (for example, Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer, or Information Technology (IT) Specialist). Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment as a BESS. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to BESS experience at the next lower level and have been in the health care industry. Preferred Experience: Network certifications and network troubleshooting experience; knowledge of Cerner/Oracle implementation You must ensure all duties are detailed in your resume and it clearly shows how you meet the KSA's of the position. We cannot make any assumption on duties performed or level of experience based on a job title. All duties must be fully described under each job entry with the beginning and ending dates of employment (month and year and hours worked per week). If we are unable to determine your qualifications based on the application materials submitted we are unable to refer you for consideration. 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: 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.
The major duties of the Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems) includes, but is not limited to: Manages and maintains medical servers and networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, and clinical applications software. Manages projects involving medical equipment and clinical systems, to include procurement, installation, and maintenance. Manages hardware components of virtual servers, physical servers, and medical workstations. Facilitates operating system updates, upgrades, and virus protection. Identifies, troubleshoots, and completes corrective action for issues related to networked medical equipment and clinical systems. Evaluates compatibility and adaptability of medical equipment and clinical systems to integrate with the electronic health record or other clinical systems. Reviews, coordinates, and implements available software patches, updates, and system/data backups with staff and manufacturers. Coordinates, implements, and manages cybersecurity measures and disaster recovery plans. Responds to and remediates hazard alerts, recall notifications, and incidents concerning medical equipment and clinical systems. Documents all actions in the appropriate system. Complies with the facility's medical device protection program. Ensures networked medical equipment and clinical systems are inventoried in the appropriate database. Serves as a subject matter expert on assigned committees, projects, and workgroups. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:00am-3:30pm or 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: Ad hoc telework is available per approval from supervisor Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 93841-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized