Job Description

** Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist**

**Department of Veterans Affairs**

**Location**

3 vacancies in the following location:

** Relocation expenses reimbursed**

No

** Telework eligible**

No

**Duties**

** Summary**

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) provides clinical and administrative support to staff, patients, and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of medical equipment. Biomedical support requires the application of engineering and mechanical concepts and methodology to provide lifecycle management and technical support of diagnostic, therapeutic devices, monitoring, and other equipment utilized in the practice of medicine.

**Responsibilities**

+ Lifecycle management of all medical systems such as imaging, life support, dialysis, and monitoring to include physical and network support.

+ Coordinates and works effectively with other facility support departments including but not limited to Facilities Management Service (FMS), Office of Information Technology (OIT), Patient Safety, Sterile Processing Service (SPS), Logistics, Contracting, Informatics, and Environmental Management Service (EMS). Specific tasks include but are not limited to incoming inspections, regular and unscheduled maintenance, and planning for end of life replacement in conjunction with clinical services. Utilizes common test equipment including, but not limited to patient simulators, pulse generators, network analyzers, test phantoms, electrical safety analyzers, oscilloscopes, and multimeters.

+ Maintains functional knowledge of relevant safety codes and standards of regulatory bodies including, but not limited to, The Joint Commission (TJC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

+ Documents all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). This documentation is completed in accordance with regulatory body requirements, the Office of Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) Documentation of Services policies and guidelines, and other VA requirements.

+ Applies general networking principles to resolve medical system communication issues including, but not limited to, node to server failures. Adheres to VA Medical Device Cyber Security policies and procedures in pre-procurement, during system implementation, and throughout the life of the system. Loads operating system (OS) and clinical application software as needed. Executes VA policy when responding to network incident response (due to infection, loss of services due to policy changes).

+ The incumbent utilizes general knowledge of computer hardware, software, communication standards, security, storage media, etc. to maximize the usage and functionality of complex, integrated medical equipment systems and networks. The incumbent assists in utilizing and maintaining computer- and server-based medical equipment, medical record databases, and proprietary and generic software, and interfaces networked medical equipment to these systems. The incumbent assists in identifying and diagnosing issues related to Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) configuration, Internet Protocol (IP) addressing, sub-netting, Health Level-7 (HL7) messaging, Digital Imagining and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) standards, and network security to minimize downtime. The incumbent assists in determining methods and approaches to maintain complex networks of medical equipment. The incumbent proactively inspects operating systems, antivirus software, Access Control Lists (ACLs), data storage capacity, and data security status to identify and correct potential problems. **Work Schedule:** Monday to Friday,7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

**Financial Disclosure Report:** Not required **Travel Required**

Not required

** Supervisory status**

No

** Promotion Potential**

11

**Requirements**

** Conditions of Employment**

+ You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job

+ Designated and/or random drug testing may be required

+ Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959

+ You may be required to serve a probationary period

+ Subject to a background/security investigation

+ Must be proficient in written and spoken English

+ Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process ** 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**: 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.

**Experience and Education:** Associates degree in Biomedical Electronics Technology, Biomedical Equipment Technology or Biomedical Engineering Technology or in a related technical field such as Electronic Technology or Information Technology **AND** two years of experience as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer, or Information Technology Specialist. **OR,**

+ Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering Technology or in a related field such as Electronics Engineering Technology (EET) or Information Technology. **OR,**

+ Completion of a military training program in biomedical equipment and two years of experience as Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist or Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer or Information Technology Specialist. 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-5 (Entry Level)** - Applicants will need to meet the Basic Requirements listed above. None beyond basic requirements.

**GS-7 (Development Level I)**

**(1) Experience**: Applicants need to have one year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 level and demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):

**(2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).** In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

+ (a) Ability to read, interpret, and apply a great variety of technical data such as schematic drawings, wiring diagrams, table charts, mathematical expressions and formulas.

+ (b) Ability to learn equipment maintenance, operating procedures, and repair procedures from training materials and courses.

+ (c) Fundamental knowledge of electronics to include analog, digital and microprocessor theory, pneumatics, hydraulics, optics, electro-mechanics, physics, basic networking, and chemistry.

+ (d) Knowledge of the use of standard level test equipment to include, but not limited to, multi-meters, electrical safety analyzers, patient simulator, storage oscilloscopes, manometers, tachometers, etc.

+ (e) Knowledge of anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, medical equipment, and technology.

+ (f) Knowledge of basic networking, computer/server hardware/software and information technologies and computer virus protection software, available software patches and upgrades, and information security tools (i.e. Microsoft Office, Windows operating systems, McAfee, etc.). **GS-9 (Development level II)**

**(1) Experience**: Applicants need to have one year of experience equivalent to the GS-7 level and demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills

Job Tags

Similar Jobs