This position is located in the Audiology & Speech Pathology Service of the Durham VA Health Care System. The duties and responsibilities are carried out throughout the Durham VA Health Care System/Garner VA Clinic. This includes all clinically-related areas within the service, and other clinical sites of care within the commuting area of primary duty station or as approved by the Service Chief.
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: 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. Education. (1) Doctor of Audiology (AUD) from an audiology program recognized by the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) or Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). HR office staff and management officials may verify a program's accreditation from ACAE at acaeaccred.org and CAA at caa.asha.org. OR (2) Other doctoral degree in hearing science or a directly related field from an institution accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. NOTE: Effective January 1, 2007, the CAA in Audiology and 3 Speech- Language Pathology of ASHA accredits only doctoral degree or AUD programs in audiology Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology at the doctoral level in a United States state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. (1) The Under Secretary of Health, or designee, may appoint a candidate without a license who will be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. In such instances, HR office staff can only appoint these candidates in exceptional circumstances where their credentials demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area. (2) All audiologists who perform compensation and pension examinations perform direct patient care duties and must possess a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology and must meet the experience requirements under Section 2. D. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. Loss of Credential. Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff must immediately relieve employees who fail to maintain the required 4 licensure of the duties and responsibilities associated with this occupation which may also result in separation from employment. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. f. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. g. English Language Proficiency. Audiologist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for appointments at grade levels specified. GS-13 Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional audiologist, with at least one year comparable to the next lower grade level. For GS-12 Some duties include, but are not limited to: This is the full performance level for staff audiologists. At this level, audiologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of audiologic services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. Audiologists serve as consultants to other health care professionals and are recognized subject matter experts (SME) on matters related to hearing, tinnitus, and balance disorders. The supervisor may assign staff audiologists to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, hearing health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, compensation, and pension. Audiologists diagnose audiologic disorders, conduct audiologic, or neuro-audiologic assessments; treat auditory disorders through various modalities; and provide adjunctive interventions for the treatment of medical disorders. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the KSAs required at the full performance level, the following KSAs are required: (a) Advanced knowledge in a focused area of contemporary audiology practice to provide oversight of a specialty program. (b) Skill to evaluate the specialty program to ensure deadlines and goals are met. (c) Skill to coordinate initiatives and build consensus among interdisciplinary team members. (d) Ability to monitor and report on work progress in the specialty program to adjust workload and processes. (e) Ability to serve as the SME and provide education relating to the specialty program 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). Preferred Experience: KSA GS-13 Audiologist 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-13.
The duties include but, are not limited to: The Audiologist (Clinical Specialist-Vestibular) provides leadership and directs oversight in the design, development, implementation, planning and management of the specialty program Advanced Vestibular Assessment and Rehabilitation) Serves as a coach or facilitator for an interdisciplinary team and is responsible for training all support staff and trainees as it relates to the specialty program This individual serves as the SME in matters regarding the specialty program Exercises independent clinical judgment and adapts clinical procedures and techniques to accommodate age-specific and unique patient conditions, needs, and expectations Plans, coordinates, and implements a full range of patient-focused treatment services designed to optimize function Evaluates patients to determine nature, type, and severity of hearing and balance disorders using a full range of diagnostic tests and techniques, past, family, and social history, record review, and consultation with family and other health care practitioners Provides hearing aid evaluations, assessments, selection, fitting, orientation, training, and follow-up services. Conducts verification measurements to determine function of hearing Performs special auditory and vestibular tests Monitors and reports on work progress in the specialty program to adjust workload and processes Is involved with effort in the administrative responsibilities of the Vestibular Lab, the direct clinical care of Veterans reporting balance complaints, the training of students in managing patients with balance disorders Administers the full range of vestibular tests including posturography, rotary chair, videonystagmography, AEPs, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, video head impulse testing. BPPV evaluation and treatment. Maintains leadership of the Vestibular and Electrophysiology Laboratory, which includes oversight, evaluation, and delivery of care for those Veterans experiencing balance complaints, and makes adjustments of policy and procedures as needed Assists in developing and drafting service level SOPs related to management of vestibular disorders Maintains and monitors for currency all vestibular educational materials, such as program brochures, manuals, and PowerPoint presentations, and updates materials as needed Remains current with new developments in vestibular disorders and will maintain professional competency by reading professional journals and engaging in continuing education and professional learning experiences and by communicating with other professionals in the profession and related professions Serves as a consultant to other facility personnel involving the most difficult and complex cases involving vestibular disorders and is recognized as a subject matter expert on matters relating to balance disorders Determines success of interventions based on outcome measures and determines need for modifications to strategies as needed. Collects, monitors, and analyzes outcome measures Reports on program progress and outcomes to the Service Chief or Supervisor Provides instruction to colleagues, other medical professionals and academic affiliates via Grand Rounds, in-service trainings, or presentations Is responsible for ensuring the proper maintenance and calibration of the specialized vestibular and auditory evoked potential equipment Work Schedule: 7a-3:30pm Mon-Fri Compressed/Flexible: Compressed/Flexible Tours Available Telework: Not eligible for Telework Functional Statement #: 000000