Primary responsibility is for patient care, coordinating clinic set up, supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures, patient charting and patient education/aural rehabilitation 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 new Audiology health technicians. 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: Citizenship. Must a be a citizen of the United States. Experience and Education. 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 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 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. Certification. Not required for GS-7 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: They may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance 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. If an HTA 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. Temporary appointments may not be extended. The HTA may not be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. If additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard is obtained it must be maintained as a condition of employment in the occupation. 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. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. ? 7403 (f). GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Health Technician (Audiology) (HTA) GS-07 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: Ability to mentor and train new HTAs. Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/143 PART II APPENDIX G70 May 13, 2021 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ["Direct patient care duties may include, but not limited to the following: Greeting and escorting patients, providing patient/family member instruction/counseling on hearing loss, hearing aids, performing non-diagnostic otoscopy, performing hearing aid troubleshooting/electroacoustic analysis and repair, pairing cell phones, and pairing/activating/charging hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology, demonstrating proper use/care of Pocketalkers, and other assistive devices, restoring/programming previously stored settings into hearing aids/accessories. Triaging patient to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed. The additional focused area accounts for 25% of their duties. This advanced position functions above the full performance level and therefore requires the performance of higher-level duties which must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The focused area includes possessing the knowledge, skills, and abilities to mentor and train new HTAs, conduct hearing (pass/fail) screenings without interpretation (AMTAS/Store and Forward Telehealth), a prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist such as evoked potentials/Vestibular patient room set up, and assist the Audiologist in individual and group aural rehabilitation sessions either F2F or VVC. Administrative duties may include, but not limited to, the following: The incumbent is responsible for 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. Managing/transporting clinical and office supplies, tracking loaner stock inventory, verifying/receiving orders to ensure components are present and working correctly, scheduling appointments, packaging and mailing ASP accessories, processing ROES transactions (e.g. certifying hearing aids, entering orders and repairs), responding to routine inquiries from patients (e.g. determining nature of inquiry, administrative questions), assisting patients/visitors requesting information, managing infection control/patient safety, maintaining clean/disinfected instrumentation/equipment/work surfaces, and measuring quality assurance (as assigned). The HTA completes documentation for each episode of care and notes procedures as appropriate in the patient record in preparation for co-signature by the audiologist or SLP. The incumbent should participate in performance improvement activities aimed at improving the efficiency of the ASPS specifically attending hearing aid manufacturer training. The incumbent is responsible for 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 Work Schedule: Monday - Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,298 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
