Summary

This position is for a dynamic Registered Polysomnographic Technologist who will function in the clinical sleep laboratory - in the Sleep Lab - within Medical Service at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center.

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
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
• English Language Proficiency: Medical Instrument Technicians must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2 - section D - paragraph 5a - this part
• 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: GS-8 (a) Experience
• At least 1 year of experience comparable to the next lower grade level which demonstrates the knowledge - skills - abilities - and other characteristics related to the duties of the positions to be filled
• This would be experience which provided a knowledge of the more complex procedures as well as knowledge of the uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (b) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities 1
• Advanced knowledge or the International Classification of Sleep Disorders and the ability to recognize uncommon and/or rare sleep disorders
• 2
• Ability to summarize and report polysomnographic data in narrative form
• 3
• Knowledge of event characteristics (e.g. - respiratory - cardiac - sleep stage - seizures - etc.) and ability to take appropriate action
• 4
• Ability to provide briefings and orientation to hospital staff including physicians
• (c) Certification
• No certification or registration is required
• Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications are also desirable for employees at this level
• (d) Assignment
• This represents the full performance level
• At this level Polysomnographic Technicians are able to interact fully with the patient and physician to diagnose sleep disorders including those that are uncommon or rare
• They are able to conduct full sleep studies including overnight studies and evaluate the relationship of events - sleep stages - and possible medical conditions which influence or result from events occurring during sleep
• They anticipate problems likely to occur during the sleep study and prepare for such situations - make changes in established procedures - or recommend alternative courses of action
• They are able to mentor lower graded technicians
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: Heavy lifting and carrying (45+ lbs)
• moderate lifting (15-44 lbs)
• light lifting (under 15 lbs)
• heavy carrying (45+ lbs)
• moderate carrying (15-44 lbs)
• light carrying (under 15 lbs)
• straight pulling
• pulling hand over hand
• pushing
• reaching above shoulder
• use of fingers
• both hands required
• walking
• standing
• crawling
• kneeling
• repeated bending
• climbing - legs only
• climbing use of legs and arms
• both legs required
• ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously - near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4 - far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other - both eyes required - Ability to distinguish shades of colors - specific visual requirement
• both eyes required
• depth perception
• ability to distinguish basic colors
• ability to distinguish shades of colors
• hearing (aid permitted)
• hearing without aid
• Transferring patients & objects may be required - protective clothing in isolation situation or operative/ invasive procedures - may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium
• Work may be performed inside around electrical energy
• slippery surfaces
• working closely with others
• working alone.

Duties

• The technologist gathers and analyzes patient information and integrates that information to identify and meet the patient specific needs (including but not limited to physical/mental/emotional/physiological status regarding the testing procedure - sleep complaints and habits - pertinent medical - family and social history - medications/allergies) and performs polysomnographic studies on patients with known or suspected sleep disorders
• This includes but is not limited to attended and unattended baseline polysomnograms (PSG) - PSG with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and BiPAP - addition of supplemental oxygen when needed - split night studies - studies with expanded EEG montage - RBD montage - multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT) - maintenance of wakefulness tests (MWT) - auto-PAP studies - and other types of sleep studies - including home sleep studies
• The technologist performs other job-related duties as requested
• Testing Preparation Procedures: The technologist prepares for patient arrival by setting up equipment to be used - gathering necessary patient information - verifying the montage to be used - preparing PSG - PAP - video and audio equipment and obtaining patient questionnaires
• The technologist greets the patient and ensures patient comfort
• Reviews existing patient information in patient record
• Examines orders and protocols for study
• Interviews the patient to assess current medications - allergies - recent caffeine or alcohol ingestion - current sleep problems and habits - and need for treatment interventions during testing (use of inhalers - insulin - etc)
• Efficient application of recording devices to the patient
• cleaning/sterilization of equipment and proper set up for monitoring of studies
• Ensures the integrity of diagnostic data collection through proper calibration and set-up
• Obtains pre-study patient questionnaires
• Explains set-up and testing procedures to patient - explains PAP treatment and fits PAP masks - provides PAP orientation/education
• Sleep Testing Procedures: The technologist follows established procedural protocols to ensure accurate and appropriate collection of data
• The technologist vigilantly monitors equipment to record breathing (airflow/respiratory effort) - respiratory inductive plethysmography - electroencephalograms (brain waves) - electrocardiograms (heart rate and rhythm) - electromyograms (muscle activity) - pulse oximetry (blood oxygenation/saturation) and other equipment to provide various treatment modalities
• The technologist documents routine observations including sleep stages and clinical events - changes in patient position - changes in procedure - patient behaviors - and significant events to facilitate scoring and interpretation of polysomnographic results
• The technologist recognizes normal and abnormal sleep - is able to quickly and accurately identify various abnormalities during sleep including but not limited to parasomnias - seizures - cardiac arrhythmias - abnormal limb/EMG activity - hypoxia - and take appropriate action per sleep lab protocols
• The technologist is proficient in efficiently setting up and monitoring patients with expanded EEG montage
• The technologist is adept at recognizing and quickly correcting artifact on the sleep recordings during collection
• Obtains post-study patient questionnaire
• Informs the physician of any study that requires immediate attention due to the acute nature of the finding on the study eg arrhythmias - severe hypoxia etc
• The technologist may perform special procedures - portable monitoring - and other patient education as necessary
• The technologist may perform multiple or concurrent studies per AASM guidelines
• The technologist ensures that reliable information is being recorded as well as making careful observations of the patient's behavior
• The technologist reviews the polysomnogram during data acquisition
• The review and scoring of data (on the fly) is an integral part of the job in order to justify the initiation of appropriate treatment modalities for the treatment of sleep disorders associated with respiration
• The technologist determines treatment efficacy (appropriate treatment pressures and appropriate - supplemental oxygen levels) required to treat these respiratory disorders
• He/she identifies normal/abnormal breathing patterns - artifacts - human sleep stages - abnormal cardiac activity and abnormal EMG activity to provide a preliminary diagnosis - in order to justify the initiation of treatment during the performance of split night polysomnograms
• The technologist must recognize recording artifact and remove this artifact when present
• The polysomnographic technologist records observational data accurately and concisely and summarizes clinical events pertinent to a patient's recording
• Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm - Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized