The Health Tech (Telehealth Clinical) serves as part of the Primary Care Service Line at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. The incumbent supports the provision of patient care using telehealth technologies which increase a Veteran's access to care and support a Veteran's self-management. This includes developing and delivering virtual and digital technologies which help Veterans communicate with their health care teams and coordinate, track and manage their health care.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. After a determination is made that it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens, non-citizen personnel may be appointed on a temporary basis under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 b. Experience and Education. (1) Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. OR (2) Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; or (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces. c. Certification. None d. Grandfathering Provision. All Health Technicians (Telehealth Clinical) employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held. 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: Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees 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. If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. f. English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. GRADE DETERMINATIONS In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-7 (Advanced) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. (a) Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze, evaluate and resolve problems. (b) Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement. (c) Ability to function effectively between competing priorities. (d) Knowledge of proper maintenance and troubleshooting of telehealth equipment. (e) Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a health technician in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work. (f) Ability to assist in Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) development, outcome management and strategic planning. (g) Ability to perform successful knowledge transfer regarding the use of telehealth technologies. 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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy ismGS-7. Physical Requirements: Light lifting, light carrying, pushing, use of fingers, both hands, standing, and hearing without aid required.
This position functions above the full performance level for the Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) position and serves in an advanced role. The incumbent performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to-day operation of telehealth services at the assigned location and between the assigned location and remote sites of care as well as participating in the programmatic development and advanced support of the facility-wide telehealth program. The incumbent is expected to be able to exercise independent judgement and will often provide guidance to less experienced staff members and will require minimal direct supervision. Major duties include, but are not limited to the following: Coordinating, installing, maintaining and managing the inventory of telehealth technologies including hardware and software with assistance of Biomed and IT Providing established standardized competency based training, guidance and information on the use of advanced telehealth technologies to patients, staff, and providers Providing established standardized competency based training for telehealth technology, facilitating interactive simulations for clinical staff participating in telehealth programs Participating in performance improvement activities aimed at improving the efficiency of the patient telehealth processes Developing reporting procedures, sampling techniques and measurements at various points in the telehealth processes to identify/analyze inherent weaknesses in work and procedures Coordinating clinic set up and monitoring of workload capture and issues for assigned patient and provider clinics including telehealth resource based scheduling Supporting designated complex telehealth programs that require advanced technical skillsets'. Preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment Serving as a telepresenter, within scope of practice, during clinical video telehealth (CVT) and VA Video Connect (VVC) encounters including tasks such as establishing and maintaining video conferencing connections, making introductions between patient site and provider site, following instructions of a clinician to facilitate an effective clinical encounter Serving as an imager and manager of clinical data for store and forward telehealth (SFT) clinical encounters including tasks such as capturing images, collecting data and transmitting them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines Taking measures to ensure patient care is delivered safely by following appropriate procedures for the cleaning of clinical equipment and the care environment while following all patient safety guidelines, protocols, and procedures Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized 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 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 #: 00000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized