Summary The Health Technician in Cardiology section under Medical Service provides cross-coverage, clinical, administrative and procedural assistance that aids all Cardiology Providers (General Cardiologists, lnterventional and Electrophysiology Cardiologists, Cardiology Subspecialty Nurse Practitioners, Cardiology Fellows) in the Cardiology Procedure areas and Outpatient Cardiology Clinics. Health Technicians ensure quality and consistency of coverage in all Cardiology areas and programs. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to the following: Aids the General Cardiologist, Invasive Cardiologist, lnterventional Cardiologist, Electrophysiology Cardiologist, Cardiology Fellow and Subspecialty Nurse Practitioners in clinic by assisting and aiding during visits and procedures, doing initial assessment and triage on walk-in urgent patients, entering data in patient chart, preparing patients for procedures, entering orders within their scope of practice Opens and sets up and prepares clinic rooms, maintains and operates monitoring equipment for procedure follow up visits. Performs daily Quality Assurance Checks on all equipment, including: Calibrating glucose monitoring equipment to yield accurate blood sugar results for patient symptoms, verifying the Crash Cart Defibrillator battery compliance and expiration dates on all supplies in preparation of any emergency, performing initial operator preventive maintenance and care on other equipment (interrogation devices, EKG machines, ultrasound machines, vital sign machines, monitoring equipment. Orders and monitors supply par levels by using independent judgement that provides timely and quality care. Exhibits strong multitasking skills to include handling multiple telephone calls while triaging and assisting the providers with ongoing clinic patient needs and appointments. Coordinating patient's appointments, subspecialty procedures, tracking no-shows, calling patients with reminders, sending follow- up notification and reminder letters. Prepares patient lists and records for the following clinic day is the first contact for patients who call with scheduling or questions triages simple clinical symptoms or questions over the phone for patients calling for General Cardiologist, Invasive Cardiologist, lnterventional Cardiologist, Electrophysiology Cardiologist, Cardiology Fellow and Subspecialty Nurse Practitioners, using independent judgement and knowing when to ask for help from them as needed. Obtains and reconciles patient medication lists prior to the visit or over the phone when patients have questions, assists and works with Clinical Pharmacist as needed triages walk-in patients and uses sound independent judgement when to ask for help from the clinical provider. Performs vital signs and obtains basic medical history in the process of patient triage and notifies provider of critical indicator or findings are documented. Receives and interprets physician's procedures requests. Independently operates and performs electrocardiogram procedures (EKG). Obtains and documents patient vitals, triage process and conversations in the electronic record obtains and follows up on requests for medications and diagnostic tests ordered by the nurse practitioner or the physician. Checks patient out using appropriate ICD and CPT coding Coordinates pacer and defibrillator clinics with device manufacturing representatives, ensures proper grouping of patients with the same device type and/or manufacturer. Coordinates patient visits with other services, arranges concurrent or sequential patient care visits requests procedural results and medical records from non-VA healthcare systems, enters the results to electronic medical record (CPRS) Analyzes workflow in clinic to determine potential problem areas; designs and implements innovative actions to improve coordination and efficiency between various care providers and supportive entities; evaluates the success of new flow process Coordinates with other services to ensure consults are placed correctly and are completed in a reasonable amount of time as specified by VHA mandates. Ensures all clinic times and appointment grids are correct, considers the physician and nurse practitioner availability, overbooks urgent patients using clinical judgement. Coordinates with clinic locations and nurse managers to ensure that rooms are available for student, resident and fellow physicians who rotate through Cardiology Services as part of their training. Acts as a liaison via Secure Messaging, CPRS or My Healthy Vet between the patients and providers (physicians and nurse practitioners) to ensure patients' needs and questions are addressed in a timely manner, answers patient questions according to clinical judgment able to access other remote sources of protected health information and data in third party locations, inclusive but not limited to Holter Data and Event monitors, and able to identify critical test results and notify the physician and nurse practitioner or resident or fellow. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: Not Authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Cardiology)/PD025160 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. or a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assist and aid during visits and procedures, doing initial assessment and triage on walk-in urgent patients, enters data in patient chart, prepares patients for procedures, enters orders within their scope of practice; Opens, sets up and prepares clinic rooms, maintains and operates monitoring equipment for procedure follow up visits; Performs daily Quality Assurance Checks on all equipment, including: Calibrating glucose monitoring equipment to yield accurate blood sugar results for patient symptoms, verifying the Crash Cart Defibrillator battery compliance and expiration dates on all supplies in preparation of any emergency, performing initial operator preventive maintenance and care on other equipment (interrogation devices, EKG machines, ultrasound machines, vital sign machines, monitoring equipment); Orders and monitors supply par levels by using independent judgement; Handles multiple telephone calls while triaging and assisting the providers with ongoing clinic patient needs and appointments; Coordinating patient's appointments, subspecialty procedures, tracking no-shows, calling patients with reminders, sending follow- up notification and reminder letters; Performs vital signs and obtains basic medical history in the process of patient triage and notifies provider of critical indicator or findings are documented; Receives and interprets physician's procedures requests, and independently operates and performs electrocardiogram procedures (EKG); Obtains and documents patient vitals, triage process and conversations in the electronic record obtains and follows up on requests for medications and diagnostic tests ordered by the nurse practitioner or the physician; Collects, records, manages and stores research data; Obtains, processes and ships laboratory specimens; Communicates effectively with patients, their families and all care providers; Operates office equipment such as computers, fax machines, photocopiers, voice mail messaging systems and computer scanning equipment to complete department tasks. OR, Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have One Full Year of Graduate education, with course work directly related to the position. A transcript must be submitted with your application. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Communications Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion. It may involve walking, frequent bending, reaching and stretching to set up and take apart equipment; lifting and positioning patients; and carrying, pushing, or pulling moderately heavy objects. Duties may require above average dexterity. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.