Echo Technologist III

  • Houston
  • Chi
Overview
Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center:
Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center is an internationally recognized leader in research and clinical excellence that has given rise to breakthroughs in cardiovascular care neuroscience oncology transplantation and more. Our team's efforts have led to the creation of many research programs and initiatives to develop advanced treatments found nowhere else in the world. In our commitment to advancing standards in an ever-evolving healthcare environment our new McNair Campus is designed around the human experience-modeled on evidence-based practices for the safety of patients visitors staff and physicians. The 27.5-acre campus represents the future of healthcare through a transformative alliance focused on leading-edge patient care research and education. Our strong alliance with Texas Heart® Institute and Baylor College of Medicine allows us to bring our patients a powerful network of care unlike any other. Our collaboration is focused on increasing access to care through a growing network of leading specialists and revolutionizing healthcare to save lives and improve the health of the communities we serve.
Position Summary:
Draft Echo Reporting: receives comprehensive exam files from sonographers and performs Echocardiography draft echo interpretation (pre-read) prior to final overread by the responsible attending medical staff. This work includes analysis of cardiac structure and function with appropriate measurements (2D, 3D, M-mode, and color and spectral Doppler) for hemodynamic calculations appropriate for exam indication and expected or unexpected findings. Advanced clinical knowledge and experience are required for data synthesis and knowing when to communicate critical findings to the echo medical staff members in a timely manner. Advanced Cardiac sonographer (ACS) certification established special competencies for complex and congenital cases, beyond many Level I or II sonographers. Provides instructional feedback and education to sonographers performing the exams with regards to imaging quality, timeliness and recognition and communication of critical results. Knowledge and instructional resource for cardiology fellows and sonographers learning for draft echo analysis and reporting.
Responsibilities
Position Responsibilities:
1 Ensures that all exams performed and analyzed in the lab have final over reads on a daily basis a timely manner consistent with lab policy
2 Evaluates the worklist on a daily basis for detection of any unread exams and assists the lab with practices to minimize reporting delays.
3 Assists sonographers in assigning exams to the correct medical staff.
4 Assist sonographer staff and leadership with improving lab efficiency and minimize exam performance delays.
5 Assists with triage of urgent and stat exams, working with medical staff and cardiology fellows.
6 PACS Super user- able to solve most common issues affecting analysis and reporting equipment, including exam downloads - can handle most frequent user questions and contacts IT support for system problem solving.
7 Educational support:
  • Assists interpreting physician as needed in case study evaluations and analysis, database retrieval and preparation for educational presentations
  • Available resource to assist junior sonographers and trainees regarding complex cases (e.g., complex valve, congenital heart)
8 Attends Lab education programs (noon conferences) and presents case based learning or assists other sonographers in developing case based learning modules for intramural and extramural (Houston Echo Society) presentations / professional development.
9 Attends the department's Quarterly QI meeting.
  • Works with medical staff to archive echo and present recent Echo and other imaging modality (cardiac cath, CCT or CMR) case correlations (2-4 per quarter)
  • Works with medical director to assign and collect peer review cases
  • MD Peer-to-Peer - for report completeness and interpretation
  • Sonographer Peer-to-Peer for protocol imaging and measurement quality and completeness.
10 Can easily access and provide the Lab's various protocols (TTE, TEE, Stress echo) policies and procedures and roster of medical, technical and nursing staff names and contacts.
11 Posts the lab's monthly Medical Staff daily reader Calendar (reading and scheduling room)
12 Posts the Lab's weekly Sonographer staffing schedule (reading and scheduling room)
13 Communicates directly with the lab Manager, supervisor and medical director regarding' issue of professional conduct within the lab.
Qualifications
Minimum Requirements:
Education and Licensure:
  • At least 7 years of Echocardiography scanning experience as Echo II.
  • Validation of Echo III competencies by the Medical or the Assistant Medical Director.
  • Knowledge of PACS operations and troubleshooting.
  • Associate degree from an accredited institution.
  • Registered by American Diagnostic Registry for Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) as RDCS OR RVT or Registered by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) as RVS or RCS Advanced Cardiac Sonographer ACS Registry
  • BLS-CPR within 14 days of hire or transfer into position

Minimum Experience:
  • At least 1 year of reading and interpretation experience with an accumulation of at least 1000 read echocardiography studies.