Medical Instrument Technician (Polysomnography) Fee Basis

Summary

The Medical Instrument Technician (Polysomnography) position is located at The Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Healthcare System (GLAVAHS).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: US
• Citizenship required
• Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Licensure or Certification
• Licensure or Certification is not required for this occupation
• however - it is strongly desirable with the possession of the essential knowledge - skills - and abilities
• Registration by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) is highly desirable
• For all specialties identified in this standard - Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications are desirable
• Training which doesn't result in official certification does not meet this definition
• English Proficiency: Proficient in English (written and spoken) is required for patient care positions Preferred Certification: Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT) - Sleep Disorders Specialty (SDS) - Registered Sleep Technologists (RST) - or Basic Life Support (BLS) certifications are also highly preferable for employees at this level
• Required 1 year Experience: Knowledge of CPAP function and operation to select and fit appropriate PAP patient interface devices
• Ability to independently titrate and document PAP level to achieve therapeutic goals
• Knowledge of indications - complications - and contraindications of CPAP therapy
• Knowledge of Bi-Level pressure titrations
• Ability to recognize changes seen during the PSG tracing and identify all stages of sleep
• This includes the ability to score and analyze sleep stages in clinical polysomnography recordings
• Physical Requirements: See VHA Handbook 5019

Duties

• The duties include but are not limited to: Polysomnography (PSG) Scorer reviews and interprets the raw data from a sleep study (polysomnogram) in 30-second increments called \"epochs\"
• Apply American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) guidelines to classify sleep stages - detect abnormal breathing events - and identify other sleep-related abnormalities
• Ability to summarize and report polysomnographic data in narrative form
• Core Responsibilities of a PSG Scorer: Data Analysis: Reviewing approximately 1 -000 pages (epochs) of data per study
• Quality Control: Troubleshooting artifacts (non-sleep activity) to determine if they are actual events or just movement
• Report Generation: Compiling the scored data into a comprehensive report for a sleep physician to create a diagnosis and treatment plan
• Adherence to Guidelines: Using AASM guidelines - such as defining apnea as a 50% or more decrease in airflow for at least 10 seconds with a 3% or 4% oxygen drop
• Scoring consists of two passes through the data to define specific metrics: Sleep Stages: Each 30-second epoch is classified as Wake - NREM Stage N1 - N2 - N3 (deep sleep) - or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep by evaluating brain activity (EEG) - eye movements (EOG) - and chin muscle tone (EMG)
• Respiratory Events: The scorer identifies and tallies abnormal breathing - including: Apnea: A complete or near-complete cessation of airflow lasting at least 10 seconds
• Hypopnea: A partial reduction in airflow followed by an arousal or a drop in oxygen levels
• Arousals: Sudden shifts in brain wave activity indicating brief interruptions in sleep
• Leg Movements: Identification of periodic leg movements (PLMD) - which may cause sleep fragmentation
• Heart Rhythm: Analysis of electrocardiogram (EKG) for cardiac rhythm abnormalities
• Oxygen Saturation: The level of oxygen in the blood - identifying times of desaturation (drops)

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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