Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.)
• Education, Experience, or Certification
• (1) Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field
• OR (2) Associates or higher degree in electronics, a field of information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience
• OR (3) Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program
• OR (4) Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience
• OR (5) Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship
• OR (6) Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience
• OR (7) Hold or having ever held certification as a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET), Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES), Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES), or Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM)
• Continuous maintenance of certification is not required throughout VHA employment
• Foreign Education
• To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials
• Grandfathering Provision: 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)
• Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and assignment held including positive education and certification
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for placement at grade levels specified
• Creditable Experience
• To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current health care industry and required using knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) directly applicable to the assignment and associated within the scope of the BESS profession
• Experience is only creditable if it was acquired in the health care industry and is either directly related to the position to be filled or a related field (for example, Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer, or Information Technology (IT) Specialist)
• Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment as a BESS
• Part-Time Experience
• Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week
• For example, a BESS employed 20 hours per week, or on a half-time basis, would receive 1 full-time work week of credit for each 2 weeks of service
• Quality of Experience
• Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to BESS experience at the next lower level and have been in the health care industry
• For all assignments above the full performance level (FPL), the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and performed be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, GS-11 Experience One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.(which includes: Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, GS-09 experience of one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade
• AND Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of basic networking concepts including Access Control List (ACL), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN)
• (b) Knowledge of computer and server hardware and software functionality including virus protection, operating system patches and upgrades, and information security tools (c) Ability to interpret a variety of technical data such as schematic drawings, wiring diagrams, table charts, mathematical expressions, and formulas
• (d) Ability to use standard level test equipment including multi-meters, electrical safety analyzers, patient simulators, storage oscilloscopes, manometers, and tachometers
• (e) Ability to perform equipment maintenance and operating procedures.) Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs (a) Knowledge of standards including National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Joint Commission (TJC), and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) for safe operation of medical equipment and clinical systems
• (b) Skill in using test and calibration equipment including digital multi- meters, electrical safety analyzers, defibrillator analyzers, patient simulators, manometers, tachometers, and Local Area Network (LAN) analyzers
• (c) Skill in interpreting a variety of technical data including schematic drawings and wiring diagrams
• (d) Skill in applying networking principles, such as Access Control List (ACL), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN)
• (e) Ability to perform advanced testing to troubleshoot medical equipment and clinical system interfaces
• (f) Ability to maintain medical computers and software
• (g) Ability to manage projects involving medical equipment and clinical systems
• 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
• 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.