This position is in the Audiology and Speech Pathology Service at Tennessee Valley Medical Center. The duties and responsibilities are carried out throughout the medical center including all clinical and patient care areas involved with the service. Incumbent is a supervisory Speech-language pathologist.

Duties

Incumbent is responsible for the supervision, administrative management, and direction of the speech-language pathology program in a unified audiology and speech-language pathology service. Incumbent has responsibility for general or technical supervision of key clinical or training programs and overall technical and administrative oversight of speech-language pathologists and assigned health technicians within the clinic. EDUCATION Provides orientation/training of medical staff. Assists in orientation and training of new staff. Assists in the training and supervision of students, trainees, and fellows, providing feedback on progress toward established educational goals. Keeps current with theory and practice through continuing education programs, journals, textbooks, and other literature, and in-service programs. Provides patient and family education including informed consent. ADMINISTRATIVE Develops, organizes, directs, manages, supervises, controls, and implements policies and procedures for Speech Pathology Section of the Audiology and Speech Pathology Service. Plans, assesses, and evaluates programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivery within the section or service and the overall delivery of health care. Makes decisions that affect staff and other resources associated with the section and are made with wide latitude of control and independent judgment. Exercises supervisory responsibilities such as planning and scheduling work; assigning work to employees; accepting, amending or rejecting completed work; assuring that production and accuracy requirements are met; appraising performance and recommending performance standards and ratings; assigning delineated clinical privileges; approving leave; and effecting disciplinary measures. Shows potential to set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions. Analyzes and uses data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the section. Skillfully executes interpersonal communications and fosters positive working relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers. Utilizes, evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines in a professional area, and to guide the section staff in applying these tools. Analyzes organizational and operational problems and develops and implements solutions that result in efficient section operation. The incumbent is responsible for reviewing all speech pathology clinic data and ensuring that clinical practices are in align with this data to maximize clinical effectiveness and efficiency. Has skill in problem solving and conflict resolution. Has skill in the application and analysis of scientific and clinical literature. Prepares productivity and service reports, monitors productivity, and provides performance and productivity reports to the audiology and speech pathology service chief at defined intervals. CLINICAL Uses knowledge and skills acquired through education and experience to evaluate patients presenting with complex problems, develop coherent treatment strategies, and to perform functions associated with contemporary speech pathology scope of practice. Exercises independent clinical judgment and adapts clinical procedures and techniques to accommodate age- specific and unique patient conditions, needs, and expectation. Consults with physicians and other health care practitioners related to diagnostic evaluation and treatment. Evaluates patients to determine nature, type, and severity of 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 evaluations, assessments, training, and follow up programs appropriate to the scope of practice. Evaluates functional status before and after intervention and verifies appropriate use of any issued technology and or amplification items. Plans, coordinates, and implements a full range of patient - focused treatment programs designed to optimize function. Documents in the medical record: evaluation, diagnosis and clinical opinion, treatment plans, outcomes of treatment, changes and functional status, and patient or family education. Attends interdisciplinary team meetings; participates with other health care practitioners to address the global needs of the patient and advises on diagnosis and treatment. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 70288-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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. 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). Education and Experience. (1) A master's degree, or its equivalent, in speech-language pathology, communication disorders or a directly related field from an accredited college or university and one year of creditable experience (see paragraph 2.g.).or (2) A doctoral degree in speech-language pathology, communication disorders and sciences or a related field, from an accredited college or university. Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestricted license in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia. Loss of Credential. Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff, must immediately relieve employees of the duties and responsibilities associated with the occupation who fail to maintain the required certification, both current and in good standing, which may result in separation from employment. An SLP who has, or has ever had, their SLP license revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16 of this part. Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series that are also performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure. 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) SLPs may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level or changed to a lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.(2) If SLPs who are retained under this provision leave the occupation, they 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) SLPs initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment.(4) SLPs 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. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. English Language Proficiency. SLP candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Grade Determinations: Supervisory Speech-Language Pathologist, GS-13. Experience. In addition to the basic requirements at the GS-12 level, completion of one year of professional experience comparable to the next lower level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience requirements, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill to translate contemporary and evidence-based speech pathology practice knowledge into clinical procedures. Skill in effective conflict resolution. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems to develop and implement solutions. Ability to provide clinical and administrative oversight and ensure that section activities are aligned with management goals and objectives. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Speech pathology section chiefs/supervisors at this level manage a speech-language pathology section within a larger service. Section chiefs/supervisors maintain oversight of the section's diagnostic and rehabilitative speech pathology services. In addition, they implement policies and procedures consistent with management goals, objectives and the medical center mission. Section chiefs/supervisors set priorities and assign responsibilities to accomplish speech-language pathology section goals, ensuring proper coordination between care delivered by the section and the overall health care delivery within the facility. Section chiefs /supervisors maintain oversight for continuous performance improvement within the section. They perform supervisory duties, including initiating personnel actions, conducting performance management; planning, scheduling and assigning work; managing leave; assessing competency; appraising performance; and recommending clinical privileges or scope of practice. References: VA Handbook 5005/153 Part II Appendix G30 - September 22,2022 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements:Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Tennessee Valley HCS - Nashville 1310 24th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212 US
• Name: Abigail Haley
• Email: [email protected]