Incumbent is a Staff Health Technician (Audiology) under the supervision of a GS-12 Staff Audiologist or above in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMRS) Service at the Hampton VA Medical Center. The duties and responsibilities are to be carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Audiology service. The Health Technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology.

Duties

Primary responsibility is for 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. Support functions include both direct patient care and administrative duties. Direct patient care duties may include, but not limited to the following: Greeting and escorting patients; Patient instruction and counseling on hearing loss or hearing aids either on an individual basis or in a group setting; Conducting hearing pass/fail screenings without interpretation; 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; Electroacoustic analysis of devices; Pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology; Programming previously stored settings into hearing aids; Activating remote controls. 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. Administrative duties may include, but not 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 and accessories; Processing ROES transactions (e.g. certifying and issuing hearing aids, entering orders and repairs); Responding to routine inquiries from patients, including determining nature of hearing aid inquiry and responding to administrative questions; Assisting patients, visitors, and others requesting information; Management of infection control, patient safety, and clinical supplies for the audiology clinic; Maintenance of clean, disinfected instrumentation, equipment, and work surfaces in the audiology clinic, Reprocessing reusable medical equipment based on facility policy according to Medical Center infection control procedures and reusable medical equipment policies. Work Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible:Yes - 4/10s, 7:00am-5:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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. 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. GRADE DETERMINATION: GS-04 Experience: Qualifying experience at this level is work which includes duties such as: assisting the audiologist with patient assessment and treatment. The health technician must adhere to the audiology clinic policy and standard operating procedures for infection control and cleaning, sterilization and disposition of reusable medical equipment (RME). The health technician maintains a comprehensive supply and equipment tracking system to include monitoring stock of RME and consumable items; ensuring proper inventory levels to complete the daily tasks; prioritizing the acquisition of all supplies and equipment with regard to date of expiration; maintaining proper levels of mailing/shipping supplies; preparing mailing and shipping requests for items including but not limited to hearing aid and hearing assistive technology repairs, ear mold orders and return for credit items; and maintaining loaner hearing aid inventory. OR Education: Successfully completed 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. 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. GS-05 Experience: Qualifying experience at this level is work which includes duties such as: answering and screening calls from patients regarding audiology needs; assisting the audiologist with patient assessment and treatment; assisting with walk-in appointments; processing incoming devices from patients with concerns related to their hearing aids or hearing assistive technology; and preparing and charging (if required) hearing aids and assistive devices for delivery. The health technician must adhere to the audiology clinic policy and standard operating procedures for infection control and cleaning, sterilization and disposition of RME. The health technician maintains a comprehensive supply and equipment tracking system to include: monitoring stock of RME and consumable items; ensuring proper inventory levels to complete the daily tasks; prioritizing the acquisition of all supplies and equipment with regard to date of expiration; maintaining proper levels of mailing/shipping supplies; preparing mailing and shipping requests for items including but not limited to: hearing aid and hearing assistive technology repairs, ear mold orders and return for credit items; and maintaining loaner hearing aid inventory. OR Education: Successful completion of four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with at least 24 semester hours in courses related to the position or a bachelor's degree in a major field of study appropriate to the functions of the occupation. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, Abilities. In addition to meeting the experience or educational requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs:(a) Knowledge of anatomy of the head and neck.(b) Ability to communicate clearly orally and in writing.(c) Knowledge of basic hearing assistive technologies.(d) Knowledge of basic infection control procedures and guidelines.(e) Ability to maintain stock and supply level inventories.(f) Skill in using basic computer software such as email, spreadsheet and word processing. GS-06 Experience: Qualifying experience at this level is work which includes duties such as: 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. The health technician educates patients, family and staff on topics including but not limited to hearing aid and hearing assistive technology care, maintenance, use and operation, hearing conservation and realistic expectations for hearing aid use. The health technician completes documentation for each episode of care and codes procedures as appropriate in the patient record in preparation for co-signature by the audiologist. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:(a) Knowledge of normal and abnormal ear anatomy.(b) Knowledge of hearing physiology and function to educate patients and families.(c) Knowledge of hearing aids, hearing assistive technology, hearing aid manufacturers and manufacturer software.(d) Ability to solve problems or make decisions regarding hearing aid, hearing assistive technology and patient care, consistent with the documented and co-signed plan of care under the supervision of an audiologist.(e) Ability to prepare patients for testing procedures.(f) Ability to document and code patient procedures. References: VA Handbook 5005/143, PART II, APPENDIX G70, HEALTH TECHNICIAN (AUDIOLOGY),GS-0640 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-04 to GS-06. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, however, on occasion may have light physical exertion such as standing, walking, bending, reaching, stretching, lifting. There may be occasional pushing of heavy objects, such as patients in wheelchairs or Geri-chairs. The work may have prolonged periods of sitting and/or driving.

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 Hampton VA Medical Center 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton, VA 23667 US
• Name: Colleen Clark
• Phone: (919) 354-9262
• Email: [email protected]