Health Physicist - Associate Radiation Safety Officer (ARSO)

The person in this position serves as the Associate Radiation Safety Officer (of record on NRC license) and a senior health physicist (ionizing machine produced radiation safety officer of record), overseeing a comprehensive radiation safety program in support of hundreds of individuals using radioactive materials, individuals exposed to radiation, and/or individuals using radiation sources for medical and research.

Major duties

THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: Ensures overall compliance of the health care system Medical and Research Radiation Safety Program to include ionizing/non-ionizing radiation produced by materials and machine Plans and schedules ongoing radiation safety program elements on a routine basis Justifies the purchase of new equipment Improves work methods and procedures used to produce work products Oversees/conducts the acquisition and interpretation of technical data, estimates, statistics, suggestions, and other information useful to the health care system Manages the day-to-day operations of a health care system's Radioactive Waste Disposal Program Interprets federal, state and local requirements to instruct Health Physicists, Medical Physicists, Researchers, physicians, and facility personnel on radiation safety issues Provides clinical radiation safety support to Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Oncology, etc. Serves as health care system's machine producing radiation subject matter expert Serves as contracting officer representative for the medical physics contract Ensures all radiation safety equipment is functional and calibrated Performs administrative duties in support of the Radiation Safety Program Performs other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: 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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: The following are basic requirements for appointment as a Health Physicist - Associate Radiation Safety Officer (ARSO) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which all applicants must met. Basic Education: Bachelor's or higher degree in natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application will not be reviewed.) OR Basic Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of education and experience - courses as shown in 'Basic Education' above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics, plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics comparable to that described in Basic Education. (TRANSCRIPT AND CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: If you do not submit the required documentation and transcript, your application will not be reviewed.) Minimum Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, one of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position. Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (i.e., GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying specialized experience includes utilizing instrumentation for radiation safety monitoring and radio analysis; familiarization with the various sources of radiation utilized in a healthcare facility; conducting radiation safety audits of research labs and clinics and preparing detailed reports on findings; coordinating radioactive waste storage and disposal; and monitoring radiation safety receipt inspection of shipments of radioactive materials. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.) OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position (Health Physicist - Associate Radiation Safety Officer). NOTE: One year of full-time graduate education is the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application will not be reviewed.) OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above to meet the total requirements for this position. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (i.e., 9 semester hours graduate education) may be combined with experience. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application will not be reviewed.) AND SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SPF): This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability, or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirement for a position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: As defined in 10 CFR 35.2 the Associate Radiation Safety Officer (ARSO) must possess at minimum the same qualification required of the facility RSO to be listed on the NRC license (10 CFR Part 35.50, 35.59). You must possess one of the following options to be qualified for this position. (SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED: If you do not submit a copy of certificate, license, or completion of training, your application may not be reviewed.) Certification by a Specialty Board (§ 35.50(a)): (1) The individual must be certified by a specialty board recognized by the Commission or an Agreement State; (2) The certification process involves specific educational and experience criteria, including holding degrees in specific disciplines, years of professional experience in health physics, and passing an examination. OR Structured Educational Program (§ 35.50(b)): (1) Complete 200 hours of classroom and laboratory training in areas such as radiation physics, protection, biology, dosimetry, etc.; (2) One year of full-time radiation safety experience under specific supervision; (3) Obtain a written attestation from a preceptor RSO or Associate RSO regarding the completion of the above requirements and the individual's ability to fulfill the RSO-related duties. OR Medical Physicist, Authorized User, etc. (§ 35.50(c)): (1) Medical physicists certified by a recognized specialty board; (2) Authorized users, authorized medical physicists, or authorized nuclear pharmacists with experience in radiation safety. OR Training in Radiation Safety, Regulatory Issues, and Emergency Procedures (§ 35.50(d)): Training in radiation safety, regulatory issues, and emergency procedures for the types of use the licensee seeks approval for. This training can be supervised by qualified individuals such as RSOs, Associate RSOs, authorized medical physicists, etc. Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion, such as long periods of walking and standing during audits of clinical programs such as nuclear medicine and standing while giving presentations to groups of people. Bending and squatting is necessary when surveying floors and surfaces in use areas to assess radioactive contamination by collecting wipe samples and scanning with radiation survey meters. Time is also spent in formal and informal meetings with many different groups. Much of the work is administrative in nature and requires sitting in an office and utilizing computers. In addition, periods of driving in traffic are required to visit outlying clinics and Community Based Outpatient Clinics. Lifting up to 50 pounds in weight is occasionally needed, such as when handling containers of radioactive waste. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

IMPORTANT: Due to the Basic Education requirement, a transcript must be submitted with your application. 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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Required Documents" below for details. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 probationary, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.