Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist

Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist

This position is located at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia. The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) provides clinical and administrative support to staff, patients, and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of medical equipment. Biomedical support requires the application of engineering and mechanical concepts.

Responsibilities include:

• Assisting in lifecycle management of any and all medical systems such as imaging, lab analyzers, life support, dialysis, and monitoring to include physical and network support.
• Completing both routine and moderately complex assignments involved in the installation, maintenance, modification, troubleshooting, repair and calibration of these therapeutic, diagnostic, and life support medical devices and systems of differing complexities.
• Coordinating and working effectively with other facility support departments including but not limited to Facilities Management Service (FMS), Office of Information Technology (OIT), Sterile Processing Service (SPS), and Environmental Management Service (EMS).
• Specific tasks include but are not limited to incoming inspections, regular and unscheduled maintenance, and planning for end of life replacement in conjunction with clinical services.
• Utilizing common test equipment including, but not limited to, electrical safety analyzers, oscilloscopes, patient simulators, pulse generators, network analyzers, and multimeters.
• Performing testing and troubleshooting of medical devices and systems involving their interfaces and connections to information systems either directly or through the facility's hardwired and wireless networks.
• Learning and adhering to Medical Device Isolation Architecture (MDIA) Guidelines in both pre-procurement and during system implementation.
• May load operating system (OS) and clinical application software as needed under guidance of more experienced BESS.
• Executing VA guidelines when assisting in responding to network incidents (due to infection, loss of services or regional and local policy changes).
• Maintaining functional knowledge of relevant safety codes and standards of regulatory bodies including but not limited to The Joint Commission (TJC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).
• Documenting all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
• As assigned, may work closely with designated Contracting Officer Representative (COR) to gain knowledge of government contract procedures and documentation requirements such as development of statements of work, sole source justifications, other applicable documentation (6550, Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), etc.) and overseeing vendor work.
• Investigating, remediating and documenting recalls and safety alerts within established timeframes.
• Identifying hazards during routine job performance and taking action to ensure they are addressed and corrected.
• Developing and maintaining knowledge of the state of the art in medical technology, including scientific advances, basic network protocols and medical device security, and vendor changes.
• Focusing on professional development in all areas of medical technology lifecycle management including technical skills.
• Knowledge and training is obtained from formal (conference, classes) or informal (magazines, articles, peer training) means.
• As this is a developmental level 2 position, the employee will spend time working with more experienced BESS and/or Biomedical Engineer to learn and develop technical and administrative skills.
• Providing training and education as appropriate to medical technology end users and clinical staff.
• Providing mentoring and technical training to peers and lower graded development BESS.
• May assist with management of installation or upgrade projects for medical devices and systems.
• Additional duties are performed as assigned by supervisor related to maintenance, remediation, and tracking of medical systems (action items, special projects, etc.) to meet mission critical requirements.
• May be asked to assist in other administrative duties as well.
• Serves as an advocate for Biomedical/Clinical Engineering department in all interactions with others.

Work Schedule: Monday -Friday 7:00 am - 3:30 pm

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements:

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, Experience, or Certification.

Grade Determinations:

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

References: VA Handbook 5005 Appendix G49 Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist QUALIFICATION STANDARD, dated February 7, 2022

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-5 to GS-11.