Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Full Job Description

The Diagnostic Imaging Service is seeking a full-time Nuclear Medicine Technologist for the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston South Carolina.

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.

NMTs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, of this part. 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.

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).

All persons employed in VHA as a NMT on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees in an occupation that requires a certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the journey (full performance) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.

(2) Such employees in an occupation that requires a certification only at higher grade levels must meet the certification requirement before they can be promoted to the higher-grade levels.

(3) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.

(4) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or certification that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

(5) If an employee who was in the NMT occupation listed in 38 U.S.C.

§ 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status, and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determination GS-11 Experience.

For assignments above the journey level, the candidate must have 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following 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.

For all assignments above the journey level, 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: FORMER VA HANDBOOK REFERENCE: PART II APPENDIX G19. 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: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion. It may require long periods of standing, walking and sitting.

It may involve frequent bending, twisting, lifting; positioning patients; and carrying, pushing, or pulling moderately heavy objects. Major Duties:

This Advanced Nuclear Medicine Technologist position is assigned to Radiology/Nuclear Medicine Service within the Ralph H. Johnson VA HealthCare System.

The Nuclear Medicine (NM) technologist at this level performs specialized diagnostic and therapeutic studies for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of various disorders.

Incumbent can carry out assigned task independently, with guidance for only the most complex studies.

Typical duties may include, but are not limited to: Operate Nuclear Medicine equipment such as SPECT, SPECT/CT, thyroid uptake system, well counters, GM survey meters, and dose calibrators for various patient procedures.

Prepare, assay, and administer radiopharmaceutical doses by injection, inhalation or ingestion, based on pre-defined protocols.

Performs venipuncture with proper intravenous catheter selection for radiopharmaceutical administration.

Recognizes signs and symptoms of side effects/reactions and ability to initiate appropriate response. Familiar with use of dose ordering, managing, and tracking software (such as BioDose).

Demonstrates knowledge of human anatomy and physiology as well as medical terminology. Analyze images for quality. Obtain additional images when necessary.

Performs computer work and ensures completion of required forms/written directives/tasks associated with patient exams, credit of patient visits including use of appropriate CPT codes, and quality improvement activities of the section.

Registers and cases patient requests in a timely manner.

Saves/records images, as necessary, performs pertinent post-processing and prepares processed media for interpretation by radiologist/nuclear medicine physician.

Assures images are properly identified with patient demographics, annotations, and verifies archiving on PACS.

Reviews incoming routine, urgent or emergent requests and coordinates scheduling or re-arranging of priorities accordingly.

Receives and identifies patients using at least two patient identifiers, assists with preparing patients for exams and explaining procedures, assists with movement of patients to and from exam table, positions the patient, sets up and adjusts all imaging equipment including appropriate selection of protocol/technical factors.

Maintains patient safety. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, with rotating on call Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: FS 56662 EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized