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:

• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g.) Certification
• All applicants must be certified in general radiologic technology by the American Registry of Radiologic Technology, Radiography (ARRT) (R)
• Advanced ARRT certification is required for assignments that include computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), [or Mammography (M) duties performed independently, as applicable]
• Advanced certification indicates that the incumbent [can operate independently] and has demonstrated specific clinical competency in the appropriate specialty and taken and passed the designated examination
• Education
• Completion of a full-time training course of at least 24 months in duration (or the equivalent) in a post-high school diagnostic radiologic technology program, evidenced by a certificate or an associate degree, accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) or from [other accrediting agencies as recognized by the Department of Education (DOE).] [NOTE: Assignment to the clinical program director requires meeting JRCERT minimum educational standards as noted in the assignment description.] Credentialing Standards
• Public Law 97-35, the Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act of 1981, requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75, Standards for the Accreditation of Educational Programs and the Credentialing of Radiographic Personnel
• Essentially, they must have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds the standards described in that regulation and is accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and be certified as radiographers in their field
• Exception for Non-Certified, Entry Level Candidates
• Non-certified DRTs who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for ARRT (R) certification may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate DRT under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)(B)
• The appointing official may waive the requirement of certification for a period not to exceed two years for a DRT that provides care under the supervision of a certified DRT at or above the full performance level
• Loss of Credential
• An employee in this occupation who fails to obtain certification within two years, or who fails to maintain the required certification must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
• English Language Proficiency
• DRTs must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d)
• 4
• GRADE REQUIREMENTS
• Creditable Experience Knowledge of Current Radiologic Technology Practice
• To be creditable, experience must have demonstrated possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (also referred to as clinical competencies) associated with current radiologic technology practice
• This may have been evidenced by the equivalent of one year of active practice, which is paid or non- paid employment as a DRT as defined by ARRT
• Quality of Experience
• Experience is only creditable if it was earned after completion of the basic certification requirements identified in paragraph 2b above
• Experience as a graduate DRT is creditable provided the candidate functioned as a DRT and subsequently passed the certification examination
• Part-Time Experience
• Part-time experience as a DRT is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek
• For example, a DRT would receive one week of full- time credit for each two weeks of half-time work
• Specialized Assignments
• Picture archival communication system (PACS) Picture Archival Communication System (PACS) Technologist
• Technologists working in this special assignment use their knowledge of radiology workflow and processes in conjunction with a specialized technical skillset to support and troubleshoot image processing, display, and storage systems
• The PACS technologist also provides oversight and support of PACS display workstations, interfaces, secondary applications, speech recognition and other hardware that is critical to departmental efficiency and throughput
• GRADE DETERMINATIONS
• In addition to the basic requirements for appointment, the following criteria must be used when determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates: [Diagnostic Radiologic Technologist], GS-11 [ ] Experience
• At least one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled that demonstrates the clinical competencies needed to provide services as a quality control technologist, DRT team leader, supervisory radiologic technologist, [PACS technologist, clinical program director], or an assistant chief radiologic technologist
• 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
• DRTs at this grade level may be appointed to one of the following assignments: [PACS Technologist
• This position serves as a liaison for the Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), Biomedical Engineering staff and clinical users to ensure the PACS system is configured to optimize imaging including distribution capabilities
• develops methods and programs to evaluate, monitor and maintain digital imaging and voice recognition systems
• serves as team leader in planning, developing, and instructing users in the operation of PACS network elements, the integration of these with related systems, and recommends corresponding upgrades
• This position researches and or/analyzes problems, issues, or program requirements supporting the functions of a digital imaging system
• performs complex system administrator functions such as: oversight of RIS (Hospital Information System/Radiology Information System) links necessary to interface with the HIS (Hospital Information System), Application Entity (AE) titles, individual and user group creation, and access management, system filters, exam code dictionaries, DICOM configuration testing, hanging protocols, voice file exchange, and other duties associated with this position
• The incumbent ensures compliance with all national and VA information and security requirements, including archiving of images to VistA imaging
• The candidate must demonstrate all of the following technical KSAs: i
• Knowledge of contingency plans during equipment downtimes
• ii
• Ability to act as liaison for Radiology with biomedical engineering and OI&T
• iii
• Ability to develop methods and programs to evaluate, monitor, and maintain digital imaging and voice recognition systems
• iv
• Ability to lead a team of multidisciplinary members in accomplishing strategic planning and integration of PACS and network elements
• v
• Ability to perform complex system administrator functions such as: oversight of RIS (Hospital Information System/Radiology Information System) links, AE titles, individual and user group creation and access management, etc
• 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
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11