Supervisory Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist

Veterans Health Administration•Indianapolis, IN

11h•Onsite

About The Position

The Supervisory Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) works in support of the Biomedical Engineering Department by providing leadership, guidance and supervision among assigned employees. Additionally, the Supervisory 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.

Requirements

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
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.
Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field; OR Associates or higher degree in electronics, a field of information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program; OR Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship; OR Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Hold or having ever held certification as a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET), Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES), Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES), or Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM).
One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
Skill in managing workflow by directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.
Skill in developing policies to oversee medical equipment and clinical systems.
Skill in managing interpersonal relationships between employees, team leaders, and managers.
Skill in applying standards for safe operation of medical equipment and clinical systems including National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Joint Commission (TJC), and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).
Ability to supervise subordinate staff (for example, plan, organize, delegate, direct, control, and review activities and performance).
Ability to provide guidance on multiple types of medical equipment and clinical systems.
Ability to analyze data to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity.

Nice To Haves

Experience supervising VA staff/Medical Imaging Repair experience.

Responsibilities

Lifecycle management of medical systems such as imaging, life support, dialysis, and monitoring to include physical and network support.
Completes routine and complex assignments involved in the installation, maintenance, modification, troubleshooting, repair and calibration of complex therapeutic, diagnostic and life support medical devices and systems.
Coordinates and works effectively with other facility support departments including Facilities Management Service (FMS), Office of Information Technology (OIT), Sterile Processing Service (SPS), and Environmental Management Service (EMS).
Specific tasks include incoming inspections, regular and unscheduled maintenance, and planning for end of life replacement in conjunction with clinical services.
Utilizes common test equipment including, electrical safety analyzers, oscilloscopes, patient simulators, pulse generators, network analyzers, and multimeters.
Performs advanced 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.
Adheres to Medical Device Isolation Architecture (MDIA) Guidelines in both pre-procurement and during system implementation.
Loads operating system (OS) and clinical application software as needed.
Executes VA guidelines when responding to network incident response (due to infection, loss of services or regional and local policy changes).
Develops policy for the Biomedical Engineering department and local facility.
Translates management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled biomedical work operations.
Maintains functional knowledge of relevant safety codes and standards of regulatory bodies including 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).
Documents all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). This documentation is completed in accordance with regulatory body requirements, Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) Documentation of Services guidelines and other organizational requirements.
Implements the Biomedical Section training program, in-house cross training, and vendor training, ensuring technicians are kept abreast of the changing technology as effectively as possible within the available resources.
Functions as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and keeps appropriate certification levels.
Uses knowledge of government contract procedures and documentation requirements to develop statements of work, sole source justifications, other applicable documentation (6550, Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), etc.) and to oversee vendor work.
Collaborates with Logistics and Contracting to procure parts and services; functions as a purchase card holder, as required.
Investigates, remediates and documents recalls and safety alerts within established timeframes.
Participates in local safety improvement processes such as Root Cause Analysis (RCA), safety work groups, and Environment of Care Rounds.
Identifies hazards during routine job performance and takes action to ensure they are addressed and corrected.
Maintains knowledge of the state of the art in medical technology, including scientific advances, network protocols, and vendor changes.
Focuses 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.
Provides training and education as appropriate to medical technology end users and clinical staff.
Provides mentoring and technical training to peers and development graded BESS.
May be tasked with leading and managing installation or upgrade projects for medical devices and systems. This includes but is not limited to pre-implementation planning and coordination with end users, vendors, and other onsite support staff (OIT, Informatics, SPS, etc.)
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, including participating in hiring panels.
Represents Biomedical/Clinical Engineering department on committees and in meetings as delegated by supervisor