Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until May 15, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be February 15, 2026, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st and 15th of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

This position serves as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist (NMT) in the Nuclear Medicine Program, Diagnostic Services Patient Care Center at the James J. Peters Bronx VA Medical Center. Nuclear Medicine provides quality diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures, including scans, blood cell labeling and thyroid uptakes. All patient care provided in Nuclear Medicine is under the supervision of the Nuclear Medicine Physician and provided directly by a NMT.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist, GS-05 Assignments: Candidates at this grade level, serve as entry level NMTs and receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex patients and require daily direct [(i.e., immediate)] supervision.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist, GS-07 Assignments: Candidates at this grade level may serve as advanced entry level or developmental level NMTs. They receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex patients and require general supervision. At this grade, NMTs utilize the proper methods of receipt, use, storage, and disposal of radioactive material; perform and evaluate basic quality control on all imaging and non-imaging instrumentation and auxiliary equipment, and provide basic patient care, recognizing and responding to emergency conditions.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist, GS-09 Assignments: Candidates at this grade level serve as staff NMTs at the journey level. NMTs at this level have a full understanding of proper methods of receipt, use, storage, and disposal of radioactive material; properly and independently handle unusual circumstances; perform and evaluate daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly quality control on all imaging and non-imaging instrumentation and auxiliary equipment, provide basic patient care, and can recognize and respond to emergency conditions. It is expected that they routinely and independently perform the full scope and complexity of these responsibilities and receive guidance from higher-level or supervisory staff members for only the most complex patients.

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PD26821F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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 1 or 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.
Certification: All applicants must be certified in nuclear medicine technology by the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB) or the American Registry of Radiologic Technology (ARRT) (N). NMTCB or ARRT (N) certification eligibility requirements are normally satisfied by one of the following:

1. Completion of a NMTCB-recognized nuclear medicine technology program, OR
2. Completion of a nuclear medicine technology program accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology (JRCNMT), or other accrediting agencies as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), culminating in a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, or master's degree. Educational programs must have structured clinical training sufficient to provide clinical competency in radiation safety, instrumentation, clinical procedures, and radio-pharmacy, as deemed acceptable by the NMTCB.

• Exceptions: Non-certified applicants, who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for NMTCB or ARRT (N) certification, may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate NMT under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 (a)(1)(D). Failure to obtain certification within 1 year from the date of appointment is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. This may result in termination of employment.

Failure to Obtain Credential: In all cases, NMTs must actively pursue meeting certification requirements starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become certified within 1 year from date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0601 NMT occupation and may result in termination of employment.
Loss of Credential: Once certified, NMTs must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted certification. Loss of credential will result in removal from the GS-0601 NMT occupation and may result in termination of employment. For occupations which require an active certification at all grade levels, at the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation for which he/she qualifies if a placement opportunity exists. For occupations which require an active credential (licensure/certification/registration) in assignments above the journey level only, at the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may remain at an appropriate lower grade level in the occupation when both of the following apply: the credential is not a requirement and a placement opportunity exists.

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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

NMT, GS-05:
Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements. Certification as described in the basic requirements above is required.

NMT, GS-07:
Experience or Education: (i) Developmental Level- Certification, as described in the basic requirements above, and for the developmental level assignment, completion of 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, directly related to the position to be filled (i.e., experience that demonstrates possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to provide nuclear medicine technology services at that level) is required. OR
ii. Advanced Entry Level Placement. See VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G17.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
i. Knowledge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations [that pertain to nuclear medicine technology practices.
ii. Knowledge of the medical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and physics and how they relate to the cardiovascular, skeletal, endocrine, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems of the human body.
iii. Knowledge of radioactive package types, package surveys, and radioactive materials record management.
iv. Ability to independently use and interpret Geiger-Mueller meter.

NMT, GS-09:
Experience: Completion of 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position to be filled (i.e., experience that demonstrates possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to provide nuclear medicine technology services at that level) is required.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
i. Ability to document excessive radiation exposure in the working environment.
ii. Knowledge of medical events requiring documentation and the ability to properly document them and make recommendations to the radiation safety officer (RSO).
iii. Ability to communicate orally and in writing post iodine-131 therapy radiation safety precautions.
iv. Ability to troubleshoot gamma camera and auxiliary equipment problems.
v. Ability to analyze computer generated data for technical quality and artifacts and initiate corrective measures.

Creditable Experience. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), and other characteristics, also referred to as core competencies, associated with the scope of NMT practice.
Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is earned after passing the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB) or American Registry of Radiologic Technology (ARRT) (N) certification exams. Experience as a graduate NMT is creditable provided the candidate worked as a NMT and subsequently passed the certification examination.
Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as a NMT is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a NMT would receive 1 week of full-time credit for each 2 weeks of half-time work.

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-09. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-05 to GS-09.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration- Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees.
2. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
3. All other applicants.

Note: Veterans' Preference is not applicable to VA employees or employees of other Federal agencies.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.