Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all "US Citizens". Internal candidates are encouraged to apply using Job Announcement Number CBTD-13023234-26-BAS. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Incumbent is a responsible for providing a wide range of specialized nuclear medicine procedures. Duties may include but are not limited to :

• Act as a technical liaison for the nuclear network, assistance/consultation in problem solving real time specific procedural issues- both VA and Non-VA affiliates
• Provide directions to students and offer advice and guidance in handling unique problems.
• Ensure the monitoring of all activities within the section by the students and take appropriate action as required in order to ensure their efficient and effective operation.
• Ensure the student will receive any necessary didactic information to transit from theory to hands on performance of clinical procedures.
• Direct and participate in the management of students for the department including interview when assigned, selection, procedural mastery, overall performance appraisal, and approval for completion of internship leading to graduation.
• Assist the Chief Technologist in maintaining and updating clinical procedures but must be able to work without direct supervision.
• Order all necessary doses through the radio-pharmacy daily.
• Obtain all required annual training required by VA. Maintain current NMTCB credentials by achieving the required level of continuing education credits.
• Provides a wide range of Nuclear Medicine procedures including less common studies such as Octreotide and Infectious Imaging studies as well as bone and thyroid therapies. Performs computer acquisition and analysis of data. Selects and modifies programs to acquire patient studies. Analyzes radio-imaging and research studies.
• Performs a wide variety of functional studies of organs/systems.
• Compounds radiopharmaceuticals, preparing appropriate dosages, ensuring pharmaceutical quality of agents, ensuring that patients receive correct amounts of radioactivity, determining proper route of administration (IV or oral or inhalation), determining need for and performing specialized injection techniques and assisting physicians in administering therapeutic amounts of radioactivity.
• Prepares imaging, counting, and ancillary equipment for patient use. Calibrates imaging cameras, by means of testing flood uniformity, linearity, spatial resolution with devices such as point sources, radioactive flood field sources, bar phantoms, and SPECT phantoms. Performs daily calibration of energy settings of gamma cameras. Ascertains the accuracy of dose calibrators, well counters, and uptake units by checking the constancy of unit response with standard calibrated radionuclide sources.
• Performs all aspects of PET/CT when asked to cover for absent co-workers in that department.
• Schedules patients from inpatient, outpatient, and outside hospital referrals (inter-facility consults) with judgment as to the equipment parameters needed for each individual patient or study.
• Performs full range of routine radionuclide imaging studies by planner and tomographic (SPECT) technique. Reviews and critiques patient studies to ascertain the necessity for additional images, and reviews clinical data. Checks patients for the presence of contamination or personal articles that may interfere with a clinically accurate study.
• Provides necessary care to patients while in the service including accurate identification, explanations of procedures, conduction of cardiac stress testing, use of safety and shielding devices, takes vital signs, maintains oxygen administration, performs venipunctures and starts IVs.
• Perform CPR when necessary.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: F08427
Relocation: Authorized for highly qualified applicants who meet the criteria.
Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for highly qualified applicants who meet the criteria.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Notifications:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action).The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

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 identification 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 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.
• English Language Proficiency. Nuclear medicine technologists must be proficient in spoken and written English
• 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.

NOTE: Technologists functioning as multi-modality technologists require additional specific certifications

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met:

GS-11 Experience.At this level must have 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Must demonstrate all of the following technical KSAs:

• Ability to produce and assess high quality scans and quality control images using independent judgement to recognize abnormal or unacceptable results.
• Knowledge and skill in use of ancillary equipment with an understanding of how the results will affect the study outcome.
• Knowledge of physiologic processes as they relate to altered radiopharmaceutical uptake and/or artefactual findings.
• Ability to obtain, assess, and document pre-therapy patient preparation information and provide post-therapy patient education following proper administration of advanced therapy dose.
• Ability to develop new protocols for imaging procedures.
• Ability to analyze instances of increased radiation exposure levels and recommend measures to reduce.
• Ability to analyze consequences of improper packaging of radioactive material and take appropriate actions.

Assignments. The higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. NMTs at this level are fully functional as an advanced NMT and carry out their assigned tasks independently. NMTs at this level serve in advanced assignments and will have varying assignments, including special and complex imaging procedures, advanced therapies, clinical instruction, and quality management duties within the program. Advanced therapies may include, but are not limited to, yttrium-90, radium, and palliative bone pain therapy. Regardless of the nature of the specific assignment, the work must be of sufficient scope and complexity to meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform at this level.

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-11.

Physical Requirements: Work is performed in a health care setting. Work may involve exposure to infection and possible contagious diseases. Standard precautions and isolation techniques will be employed as indicated. The physical demands of the work may be physically intense at times as position involves walking, kneeling, bending, standing, and reaching above shoulder for a period of time. In addition, the work will require moderate lifting and/or carrying of machinery and other items as needed.

How you will be evaluated

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

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.