Supervisory Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. This vacancy announcement is open to current permanent Durham VAHCS employee.

Functions
Supervisory Nuclear Medicine Technologist will:
a. Prepare, assay, and administer radiopharmaceutical doses by injection, inhalation or ingestion as prescribed.
b. Be proficient in introducing intravenous catheters in patients for administration of radiopharmaceuticals and/ or medications.
c. Be knowledgeable regarding possible side effects of radiopharmaceuticals and other medications, such as lasix and captopril, to be administered. Take immediate action to remedy any noted effects.
d. Receive patients, explain procedure, answer questions relating to the procedure, position patient for all necessary views and tend to their comfort for the duration of the procedure.
e. Obtain pertinent clinical data from the patient, electronic chart, requisition, and interviewing the patient and/or family.
f. Move wheelchairs and litter patients safely using ergonomic methods of patient transfer.
g. Operate nuclear medicine equipment such as gamma cameras, well counters, GM survey meters, thyroid uptake system, and dose calibrators for various
patient procedures as needed.
h. Understand and be able to perform exposure rate calculations.
i.Perform a full range of nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging, non-imaging, invitro
and therapeutic procedures, including highly specialized computer
assisted studies such as gated cardiac, tomographic and quantitative
j. Keep up to date with new imaging agents, procedures and methods. Write imaging protocols for use in department.
k. Analyze procedure images for quality. Obtain additional images when necessary.
l. Be knowledgeable in three-dimensional anatomy.
m. Correctly administer radioactive pharmaceuticals to patients. Utilizes necessary quality management methods of patient identification such as using two unique identifiers and using active rather than passive identification.
n. Perform radio-nuclide therapy in collaboration with the Nuclear Medicine Physician. Receive and assay prescribed therapeutic doses. Fill out appropriate forms and administer dose with the nuclear medicine physician. Instruct patient, family and nursing staff in radiation safety precautions. Perform radiation surveys, post appropriate caution signs, and distribute personnel monitoring devices as required. Monitor and properly store any radioactive waste for disposal.
o. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of personnel requiring film badges. Read and understand the film badge exposure report. Determine exposure patterns and recommend actions to reduce exposure levels to the public, radiation workers and self.
p. Prepare studies for nuclear medicine physician's interpretation by insuring completeness of all forms involved in the procedure. Record appropriate data and related information on the proper patient worksheet and images.
q. Schedule patient procedures, taking into consideration camera availability, scan length, patient condition, the need for multiple nuclear medicine studies, other clinic appointments of the patient, contraindications for the test and urgency of the request. Inform patient of all pertinent preparations for his/her scan, i.e. NPO, follow certain diet, bowel prep, etc.
r. Perform required technical procedures for safe receipt, handling, transport, usage and disposal of radioactive materials, assuring compliance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), National Health Physics Program (NHPP), Department of Transportation (DOT) and license conditions. Recognize potential radiation contamination by visual and mechanical methods. Take necessary actions to minimize contamination and exposure including contacting the Radio pharmacy and radiation safety officer if needed.
s. Understand, utilize and practice the concepts of ALARA principle; maintaining radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable. Analyze dosimetry reports and institute or recommend additional radiation safety precautions as necessary to reduce exposure levels.


Work Schedule: 0700-1730 T-F
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Virtual: No

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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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:
The basic requirements for employment as a NMT are prescribed in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(14). To qualify for appointment as a NMT, all applicants must possess the following:]

Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g., 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.
NOTE: Technologists functioning as multi-modality technologists require additional specific certifications.]

Loss of Credential. [Once certified, NMTs must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted certification. Loss of credential will result in removal from the GS-0601 NMT occupation and may result in termination of employment.] For occupations which require an active certification at all grade levels, at the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation for which he/she qualifies if a placement opportunity exists. For occupations which require an active credential (licensure/certification/registration) in assignments above the journey level only, at the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may remain at an appropriate lower grade level in the occupation when both of the following apply: the credential is not a requirement and a placement opportunity exists.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS.
a. [Nuclear Medicine Technologist. All individuals assigned to this occupation must have an approved title or parenthetical title, as described below:
Supervisory Nuclear Medicine Technologist

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

[Supervisory Nuclear Medicine Technologist, GS-12]

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 and must fully meet the KSAs at that level.
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. Individuals in this assignment assume full administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the nuclear medicine program and technologists above the journey level at a medical center or independent outpatient clinic. They also have supervisory responsibility over a program.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. The candidate must demonstrate all the following technical KSAs and demonstrate the potential to acquire the assignment specific KSAs as designated by an asterisk (*):]
i. *Ability to assign and evaluate work of subordinate staff as well as resolve problems that may interfere with the delivery of nuclear medicine services by staff members.
ii. Skill in providing complex nuclear medicine patient procedures.
iii. *Ability to develop and initiate new protocols which apply to current research findings.
iv. *Skill in providing administrative reports both orally and in writing [with higher level authorities (i.e., NHPP, TJC, NRC, Inspector General, executive leadership)].
v. *Ability to interview candidates for positions in the section; recommend appointments, advancements, or, when appropriate, disciplinary actions; evaluate performance; and identify continuing education and training needs.

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-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12 to .

Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019[, Employee Occupational Health Service.]

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

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Professional Certification
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Other (1)
• Professional Certification
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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