The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) 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 synchronously and asynchronously with their health care teams and coordinate, track and manage their health care.

Duties

Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties: The Lead Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) provides an array of complex and specialized duties related to leadership, staff education, technology management, as well as project and program management for all dimensions of virtual care and telehealth initiatives. In addition to lead duties, the incumbent maintains responsibility 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 is responsible to regularly provide oversight and guidance to other staff members and will require minimal direct supervision. This lead 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 higher-level duties associated with this lead-level position may include, but are not limited to: - leading a team of telehealth staff by providing guidance and technical direction relating to the telehealth program; - working with the supervisor to develop assignments for team members in order to meet routine and unusual deadlines and priorities; - distributing and balancing workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specialization and required rotations; - serving as the work leader, monitors the status and progress of team members' work and makes day-to-day adjustments in accordance with established priorities; - giving on-the-job training to new employees (local and at the CBOC sites). Instructing employees in specific tasks and job techniques, making available written instructions and reference materials for use by team members in the accomplishment of tasks or projects; - monitoring and reporting on the status and progress of work to ensure that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met; - providing information to the supervisor concerning promotions, reassignment, recognition of outstanding performance, and personnel needs; - reporting to the supervisor on training needs of employees and conduct or performance issues; - resolving simple, informal complaints of employees and referring others, such as formal grievances and appeals, to the supervisor or an appropriate management official; - using a needs assessment, service agreements and other tools, collaborating with stakeholders to develop new programs and processes to ensure telehealth programs are meeting the strategic plans of the healthcare system; - identifying and recommending ways of eliminating, combining, simplifying procedures and processes of the telehealth program. Supporting efforts to effect necessary change; - independently reviewing quality and performance data (e.g. patient satisfaction surveys, image quality, performance metrics, clinic wait times) for Telehealth programs effectiveness and satisfaction and developing process improvements as required; - coordinating with vendors, Biomed and IT to upgrade and or replace Telehealth technologies to minimize impact on patient care; - developing and coordinating a wide variety of standard operating procedures with full and complete technical advice to ensure telehealth operations are timely, efficient, and appropriate; - providing standardized developed competency based training for telehealth technology, facilitating interactive simulations for clinical staff participating in telehealth programs; - maintaining national certification and serving as a Telehealth Preceptor to independently plan and carry out standardized developed training in accordance with established telehealth program policies and directives. Conducting reviews to ensure technologies and systems are functioning prior to training and that trainees have completed prerequisites. Evaluating skills and competencies for initial certification and on-going performance evaluation. Providing remedial training as needed and reports to supervisor regarding ongoing performance. Maintain knowledge of current standard practices; - gathering, compiling and analyzing data and statistics to develop integrated reports designed to assess impact, demand and utilization of Telehealth services for submission to facility and Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) leadership; Work Schedule: M-F 7:30am -4P Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position. Telework Eligibility: Ad-hoc Travel Required: Yes, 25% Driving Required: Yes Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: 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, without regard to the citizenship requirements of 38 U.S.C. 7402 or any other law prohibiting the employment of or payment of compensation to a person who is not a citizen of the United States. Candidates must meet all other requirements for the grade and position concerned. 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. Certification. None 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. See chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Lead Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-8 (1) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. (a) Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work. (b) Skill in leadership and interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team leaders, providers, and managers. (c) Ability to communicate effectively in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels. (d) Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement. (e) Skill in the assessment and resolution of complex workload capture issues using multiple data sources. (f) Ability to develop and compose complex written instructions. (g) Knowledge of analytical and evaluative processes to independently resolve complex issues. (3) Assignment. The Lead Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) provides an array of complex and specialized duties related to leadership, staff education, technology management, as well as project and program management related duties for all dimensions of virtual care and telehealth initiatives. Duties include: serves as an official team lead for telehealth staff; monitors and reports on the status of work to ensure that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met; works with the supervisor to develop assignments for team members and distributes workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflows and specialized requirements, and provides information to the supervisor regarding all conduct and performance related achievements or concerns. The Lead Telehealth Clinical Technician is responsible for independently reviewing performance metrics to ensure telehealth operations are timely, effective and efficient. This includes the assessment and analysis of the impact, demand and utilization of telehealth services, the coordination of establishing telehealth clinics according to the Decision Support System and VHA guidelines, the monitoring of workload credit for interfacility workload credit and specialized encounters; responsible for the development or revision of diverse and complex standard operating procedures, and assisting stakeholders to develop new telehealth programs based on patient needs; serves in an official capacity as a telehealth preceptor and provides standardized training related to patient care, telehealth technology and quality assurance. This includes the facilitation of interactive simulations and referential documents, the assessment of competency of all clinical staff participating in telehealth programs and maintaining compliance with national VA standards established by the Office of Connected Care regarding training and operations. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Preferred Experience: 1 Year Telehealth experience at a GS 7 References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/96 PART II APPENDIX G50 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS 08. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

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 Durham VA Medical Center 508 Fulton Street Durham, NC 27705 US
• Name: Gary Byles
• Phone: 919-286-0411 X4949
• Email: [email protected]