Health Physicist (Radiation Oncology) Job in West Palm Beach - 96263607 - ZAXGHO.GV0ARW

Job Title:
HEALTH PHYSICIST (RADIATION ONCOLOGY)

Department:
Department Of Veterans Affairs

Agency:
Veterans Health Administration

Job Announcement Number:
VG-11-BDW-433335

SALARY RANGE:
$86,575.00 - $112,546.00 /year

OPEN PERIOD:
Wednesday, February 02, 2011 to Friday, December 30, 2011
SERIES & GRADE:GS-1306-13

POSITION INFORMATION:
Full Time Career/Career Conditional

PROMOTION POTENTIAL:
13

DUTY LOCATIONS:
1 vacancy - West Palm Beach, FL

WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:
United States Citizens

JOB SUMMARY:VacancyID: VG433335 (Include on all documents).

To fulfill President Lincoln's promise – "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" – by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to veterans?

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Every job at the VA impacts the Veterans that we serve.  You can be part of that team, helping to make sure that our Veterans receive the top-quality care they deserve. 

VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities.  For more information on the Department of Veterans Affairs, go to http://www.vacareers.va.gov/.  

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required.

Additional Duty Location Info:
1 vacancy - West Palm Beach, FL

This vacancy will be opened until filled:

The initial cutoff will be three week from the opening date which is 2-23-11 and every three weeks unitl filled.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 10:00am-6:30pm

Location: VA Medical Center, West Palm Beach, FL

Incumbent works in the Radiation Oncology Service to provide professional knowledge and competence in the field of Radiation Oncology Physics. One purpose is to provide a safe environment for patients to receive radiation treatments and the staff a safe working area.

• Providing protection from unwarranted exposure to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, from Lasers and electrical devices.
• Obtains measurement on treatment units,loads the datacollected into, the treatment
• planning computer. 

***RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE IS AUTHORIZED***

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

Basic Qualifications

Possess a bachelor's degree in one or more of the following fields: natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus, or a combination of education and experience- courses as shown in 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 above.  Please provide a copy of your unofficial transcripts.

OR

Possess a combination of education- course as shown above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as 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 above.  Please provide a copy of your unofficial transcripts.

AND

GS-13 Qualifications

Possess one-year or more of specialized experience as the Health Physics. Have experience in radiation physics, nuclear physics, and radiation therapy techniques; responsibility to provide complete coverage for treatment planning of patients, in areas of calibration of therapeutic equipment, dosimetry of x-ray machines, dosimetry of brachytherapy, and radiation protection aspects and knowledge of diagnostic, therapeutic and research using radioactive materials and laser devices in a major medical center with clinical, teaching and research missions. This experience must have been equivalent to the next lower grade level.

A Quality Ranking Factor* has been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. The quality ranking factor for this position is:  Prefer applicants with a certification by the American Board of Radiology in Radiographic Physics. 

*Quality Ranking Factors are skills, knowledge, abilities, or other worker characteristics which could be expected to result in superior performance on the job. Quality ranking factors will not be used for screening, but may be used as ranking criteria. Applicants with higher proficiency levels may rank above those with lower proficiency levels on a quality ranking factor.

You will be rated on the following Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other characteristics (KSAOs) as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

Knowledge of the duties associated with the radiation principles, concepts, and methodologies to constantly improve radiation treatment techniques.

Knowledge of maintaining a high level of knowledge of Radiation Safety for Patients, Visitors and Staff.

Knowledge of the newest and most sophisticated Radiation Oncology technology (Linear Accelerator, radiation room shielding requirements, construction, and the collection of data for input into the treatment planning computer system).

Knowledge of various treatment planning Techniques, complex Dose computations for 2-D and 3- D treatments.

Ability to communicate orally and in writing.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications .

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.  WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.  If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications.  Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.  All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.

*** 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. ***

Veteran's Preference:

When applying for Federal jobs, eligible veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of DD-214(s) showing all dates of service as well as character of service (honorable, general, etc.). Additionally, veterans with service-connected disability of 10% or more must also submit a copy of their official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying their service-connected disability and/or their receipt of compensation for service-connected disability.

Veterans with service-connected disability of less than 10%, non service-connected disability, and Purple Heart recipients, as-well-as those claiming derived preference for a spouse, widow or widower, or natural mother, should refer to and submit a completed SF15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," and required documentation with your application materials. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vetsinfo.asp.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

Applicants will be ranked based on four quality groups, as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

After the vacancy announcement closes, reviewed applications are evaluated against the questionnaire responses and placed in the appropriate quality group.  Qualified veterans will be afforded preference by being placed at the top of the appropriate quality group.  Qualifying veterans with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be placed at the top of the best qualified group.  The best qualified group is the first to be referred to the hiring facility for further consideration and possible interview.  The remaining groups may be referred based on the number of applicants available.

BENEFITS:

Working for the Department of Veterans Affairs offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. In addition to traditional "dollars and cents" benefits, we offer a range of benefits to help balance work and life.  For more information please visit us at http://www4.va.gov/jobs/job_benefits/benefits.asp.

OTHER INFORMATION:

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at . 

VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete application (See "Required Documents" section below).  The complete Application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Friday, December 30, 2011.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button at the bottom of this screen to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account.  Be sure to upload the required documents before you submit your application.  Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process.  Mailed/emailed applications will not be accepted.

Note: To change or update your application, simply reapply through My USAJOBS, before the closing date.  To check the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Login.aspx), select Application Status and click on the more information link under the application status for this position.

If you cannot apply online:

1. Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire: View Occupational Questionnaire.
2. Print this 1203FX form to provide your response to the occupational questionnaire: http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/OPM1203fx.pdf .
3. Fax the completed 1203FX form along with all supporting documents to (478)757-3144.  Your 1203FX form must be placed on top of all materials being faxed and will serve as a cover page for your fax transmission.
4. Keep a copy of your fax receipt in case verification is needed.

To fax supporting documents you are unable to upload:

1. Complete this cover page http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf using the following Vacancy ID: VG433335.  You must use this fax cover sheet in order for your documents to be matched with your online application.
2. Fax your documents to (478)757-3144.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

The following documents are required:

• Resume or Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612)
• Responses to the Occupational Questionnaire
• Veterans Preference documentation such as DD-214 or equivalent, SF-15, and VA Letter, as appropriate
• Unofficial college transcript if education is used to qualify (an official college transcript will be required before being hired.)
• Use this checklist to make sure you've submitted everything. You will not be contacted for additional information.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

VHA Nationwide DEU
Phone: (501)257-4134
Fax: (478)757-3144
Email: CAVHS.DEU@VA.GOV Agency Information:
VHA DEU Atlanta
PLEASE DO NOT MAIL APPLICATIONS
APPLY ONLINE OR FAX ONLY
Thank You, AR 00000
USA
Fax: (478)757-3144

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

After the vacancy announcement closes and a referral certificate is issued, an electronic notification letter - or e-mail - will be sent to applicants who provide an e-mail address.  Otherwise, you will receive a notification letter via the U.S. Postal Service within 2 to 4 weeks.