This position is located in the Audiology Service at the Durham Veteran's Affairs Health Care System at the Greenville Veteran's Affairs Health Care Center in Greenville, NC. The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient are areas involved with the Audiology service. The health technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology. The incumbent is a staff health technician (Audiology) under the supervision of a GS-12 audiologist or above.
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. BASIC REQUIREMENTS a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). b. 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. f. 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. g. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. h. English Language Proficiency. HTA candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403 (f). Grade Determinations: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-7 grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. GS-7 Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level of a GS-6 For GS-6 Some duties include, but are not limited to: Employees at this grade level serve as a full performance level HTA. The HTA at this level works independently under the direction of a licensed audiologist. Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to: completing visual and auditory checks of hearing aids and hearing assistive technology; repairing or returning hearing aids to the factory; restoring hearing aid or hearing assistive technology settings after repair or replacement; and ordering, registering, certifying, issuing and tracking prosthetic devices. The health technician assists in setting up and delivering face to face and telehealth visits by preparing the equipment for patient evaluation and other audiology procedures. The health technician provides clinical procedures consistent with the documented and co-signed plan of care which may include non-diagnostic otoscopy, cerumen management, foreign body removal and ear mold impressions and without interpretation, immittance screening and hearing screening. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/trademark/registration/certification. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) They may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) If an HTA, HTSLP or HTASLP who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee will lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. (3) HTAs, HTSLPs or HTASLPs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (4) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. 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, Employee Occupational Health Service.
The duties are included but are not limited to: 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 Supports functions include both direct patient care and administrative duties Mentor and train new health technicians (Audiology) Greeting and escorting patients Triaging patients to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed Patient set up for procedures Patient instruction and counseling on hearing loss or hearing aids either on an individual basis or in a group setting 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 Pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology Activating remote controls 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 Scheduling appointments Packaging and mailing hearing aids Processing ROES transactions ( e.g. certifying and issuing hearing aids, entering and ordering repairs) Responding to routine inquiries from patients, including determining nature of hearing aid inquiry and responding to administrative questions Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not Available Functional Statement #: 000000