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
• 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
• See the grade requirements part of this standard for information regarding educational substitutions
• Licensure or Certification
• Licensure or Certification is not required for this occupation
• however, it is strongly desirable at GS-6 or above as evidence of possession of the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities
• For certain functional areas at the higher levels or supervisory assignments, specific certifications appropriate to the specialty are indicated in this standard under "Titles and Certification/Registrations"
• For all specialties identified in this standard, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable
• Training which does not result in official certification does not meet this definition
• English Language Proficiency
• Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English Grade Determinations: GS-9 Echocardiography Technicians operate diagnostic equipment to graphically record the position and motion of the heart walls or the internal structure of the heart and neighboring tissue by the echo obtained from beams of ultrasonic waves directed through the chest wall
• Registration is offered by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), as a Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) or by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) as a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS)
• (See Appendix D) Experience
• At least 1 year experience comparable to the next lower grade level, which is directly related to the duties of the position to be filled, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level
• This would be experience which demonstrates possession of the knowledge required in order to provide all aspects of echocardiography services
• Echocardiography technicians at the GS-08 level identify and record anomalies indicative of disease, injury, or other medically significant condition from ultrasound imaging and simultaneous recordings of the Doppler
• They incorporate the causes and results of a variety of symptoms and conditions into a plan of ultrasonic diagnostic examination
• They change and develop sounding techniques to accommodate such variables as limited patient mobility, variation in physical condition or dimension of the patient, presence of prosthesis or foreign objects, and ultrasonic response of different body parts
• They produce diagnostic quality images and Doppler frequency recordings using M-mode, two-dimensional, and Doppler ultrasound
• In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• 1
• Knowledge of the more complex examination and treatment procedures and techniques in order to provide training and supervision in these procedures, to evaluate and initiate performance improvement projects, and to write policies, procedures, and protocols, that pertain to Echocardiography
• 2
• Knowledge of JCAHO and other regulatory requirements
• 3
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with employees at varying grade levels
• 4
• Ability to provide, or provide for, staff development and training
• Certification
• Registration by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) as a Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS) or by the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) as a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) is highly desirable
• Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable
• Assignments
• For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Special Assignments
• Non-supervisory echocardiography technicians may have assignments that because of their nature substantially exceed the full performance level
• These assignments are expected to be relatively few in number and must represent substantial additional responsibility over the full performance level
• References: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.