This position is located within the Audiology and Speech Pathology Service at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and Clinics. The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Audiology service. The health technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology. Primary responsibility is for patient care, supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures, patient charting and patient education.
Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English Experience and Education: (1) Experience. Six months of experience comparable to the next lower level which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities related to the duties of the position to be filled. OR (2) Education. Successful completion of two academic years above high school leading to an associate degree or a bachelor's degree with at least 12 semester hours in courses related to the position. OR (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. An example of a combination of experience/education is three months of experience comparable to the next lower level which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities related to the duties of the position to be filled and one year above high school with a minimum of 6 semester hours related to the health care industry. Foreign Education : To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. Grade Determinations: Heath Technician (Audiology), GS-07 position Experience. Completion of one year of progressive experience and/or experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Ability to mentor and train new HTAs. (b) Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials. (c) Ability to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The HTA at this level works under supervision and direction of a licensed audiologist. Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to: completing adjustments to hearing aid settings as outlined in the audiologist's plan of care, preparing patients for advanced diagnostic procedures such as evoked potentials and collaborating with audiology team to develop training programs for patients and staff. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7 . Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Functions: Primary responsibility is for patient care, supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures, patient charting and patient education, which do not require a full professional audiology education or knowledge and skills represented by audiology licensure. Support functions include both direct patient care and administrative duties. In addition, the incumbent must be able to mentor and train new health technicians (Audiology). Direct patient care duties may include, but not limited to the following: Greeting and escorting patients; Triaging patients to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed; Patient set up for procedures (e.g., vestibular, neurodiagnostic procedures); Patient instruction and counseling on hearing loss or hearing aids either on an individual basis or in a group setting; Conducting hearing pass/fail screenings without interpretation; Non-diagnostic otoscopy; Cerumen management; Taking earmold impressions; Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair; Providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers; Performing listening checks on hearing aids; Electroacoustic analysis of devices; Pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology; Programming previously stored settings into hearing aids; Activating remote controls. The incumbent at this level is required to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology including but not limited to completing adjustments to hearing aid settings as outlined in the Audiologist treatment plan of care collaborating with Audiology Team to develop training programs for patients and staff. Ensuring timely and accurate documentation of all interactions in the medical records and that all encounters are correctly documented using electronic medical record and computerized tracking and ordering functions via ROES. Administrative duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Managing office supplies; Tracking loaner stock hearing aid inventory; Electronic ordering, verifying orders upon arrival to ensure components are present and working correctly; Packaging and mailing hearing aids and accessories; Processing ROES transactions (e.g. certifying and issuing hearing aids, entering orders and repairs); Responding to routine inquiries from patients, including determining nature of hearing aid inquiry and responding to administrative questions; Assisting patients, visitors, and others requesting information; Management of infection control, patient safety, and clinical supplies for the audiology clinic; Maintenance of clean, disinfected instrumentation, equipment, and work surfaces in the audiology clinic, Reprocessing reusable medical equipment based on facility policy according to Medical Center infection control procedures and reusable medical equipment policies. Work Schedule: 7:30pm-4pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized to a highly qualified candidate. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 61149-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized