Diagnostic Radiologic Technologist

<p>The DRT(R) technologist operates general radiography and fluoroscopy equipment to acquire diagnostic radiographs of patients and support fluoroscopic exams and procedures to enable the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Exam requests are screened for appropriateness and reviewed with a radiologist as needed.</p><h3>Major Duties</h3><p>Major Duties: Receive patients, confirm patient identification, obtain patient history, provide patient education, provide reassurance, and ensure patient comfort. Perform fall risk assessment and mobilize appropriate assistive lifting and transfer devices as needed. Apply strategies to reduce risk of falls - remove obstacles and tripping hazards. Continually assess the condition and needs of patients to ensure patient safety, comfort, privacy, and dignity. Coordinate care to provide service timely to the clinical need. Review exam requests for appropriateness before performing exams. Use appropriateness criteria, the clinical history provided on the request, patient interview, chart review or contact with the ordering clinician to clarify as needed. Apply radiation safety practices, including the concepts of time, distance and shielding, and the ALARA principle of keeping radiation exposure to As Low as Reasonably Achievable. Perform general maintenance operations on equipment such as warm-up and shutdown sequences, calibration, QC and basic troubleshooting. Maintain logs to document equipment performance history and malfunctions. Identify deviations from equipment specifications and initiate service or other corrective action. Provide assistance to service engineers, OI&T staff, and service support with basic troubleshooting on imaging devices, computer systems and PACS to help resolve issues. Demonstrate knowledge of PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems), including fundamental knowledge of network interfaces, routing of images to electronic archives, quality control, and basic troubleshooting. Ensure completed exams are properly archived both in PACS and VISTA Imaging. Demonstrate knowledge of life support equipment, including QC of crash cart, set-up of oxygen and suction apparatus. Demonstrate ability to adhere to Daily Assignments following established SOP's, checklists, protocols, and policies to effectively complete daily assignments. Download images onto CD/DVD or other approved storage devices according to established protocols and policies. Upload outside images to PACS according to established protocols and policies. Apply working knowledge of CPT coding compliance, using appropriate exam codes, and coding resources. Perform general radiography exams. Operate Direct Radiography (DR) equipment including portable and fixed radiography units. Optimize technical factors such as exposure, patient positioning, centering, collimation, grids, filters, protocol selection and other relevant factors to achieve high quality, diagnostic radiographs with the lowest radiation achievable dose, and the minimum number of retakes. Demonstrate knowledge of direct radiography (DR) systems including optimal positioning of DR plates, specific exposure requirements, system applications and digital post-processing techniques to optimize image quality and annotate images. Use CPRS within scope of technologist competencies such as, chart review, entering progress notes, entering patient education notes, and entering policy orders. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Intermittent Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.</p><h3>Requirements</h3>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.<h3>Education</h3>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/.