The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has adopted the Nutrition and Food Service (NFS) Modernization Initiative which is a new model of organizing and consolidating essential Nutrition and Food Service functions and services to the Medical Center. This streamlined and focused approach moves VHA forward in its continuum of providing comprehensive, compassionate, and coordinated care to Veterans.

Duties

Customer Service (50%) The incumbent will practice excellent customer service skills in all forms of communication, either via telephone, e-mail or in-person. The incumbent must also practice proper business telephone etiquette while answering the phone. Incumbent will welcome callers courteously and identify themselves/ the service/ the organization. Communicates effectively via telephone and in-person and uses strong listening and speaking skills. Properly operates telephone equipment in order to transfer or place calls on hold. The incumbent will consider both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication. The Incumbent will maintain the vital connection between Nutrition Communication Center (NCC) Associates, Registered Dietitian, higher graded dietetic technicians, food service staff, Nursing, patients and guests. NCC Associate will take whatever action necessary, within their authority, to maximize patient satisfaction with meal service. Triages calls from inpatient units or outpatient clinics and procedure areas relating to patient meal trays or nourishments at the lowest level and will refer issues that cannot be resolved to Food Service Supervisor or other as determined by local policy. The incumbent will retrieve computerized information/printouts to assist with tray and/or nourishment assembly such as standing orders, nourishment labels, tabulated recipe lists, and other simple information to assist in meal delivery. Organizes work to complete assignments. Has thorough knowledge of basic and routine modified diets and is able to provide basic-level education and information on local facility therapeutic diets to patients, guests, and nursing staff. Makes referrals to dietetic technician and/or dietitian as needed for more thorough diet education. May complete quality monitors to ensure food items and menu selections for regular and therapeutic diets are prepared and served appropriately (i.e. accuracy, timeliness, appearance, and temperature, dysphagia food testing). Administrative (40%) NCC Associate is responsible for the independent and accurate transfer of information received via COTS Dietetics software. Diet activity and patient information must be interpreted correctly to ensure meals trays contain food items adhering to patient requests and preferences, and current therapeutic diet order. The NCC Associate may adjust diet patterns and menu selections to assure the correct meal tickets are generated, as per local facility policy and procedures. NCC Associate transfers patient menu preferences accordingly and keeps NCC stocked with all supplies needed and files menus. Exceptional ability in utilizing a computer to enter and retrieve basic information and utilizes COTS Dietetics Software programs to retrieve diet orders, recipes, and menu and inventory data. Incumbent handles routine telephone inquiries from nursing units/nursing personnel regarding patient meal orders and may maintain a log of telephonic client inquiries/concerns received directly from the client or unit personnel based on local policy. Support (10%) Prints lists, reports, labels, and tray tickets following the established local facility procedures. CCA runs nourishment labels, reports, prints back-up copies of reports and labels for contingency plans, and checks telephone messages. NCC Associate may be required to adjust menu selections, nourishments as needed for diet changes and NPO orders, as determined by local policies and procedures. Incumbent will use a computer terminal to record, retrieve and print recipes, menus, and inventory reports; to disseminate this information to various work units in the kitchen. Identifies errors in diet information transmitted from inpatient units to Nutrition and Food Services and takes any necessary corrective actions. Prints and assembles tray ticket packets in accordance with local facility policies and procedures and verifies correctness of the information and adherence to prescribed diet NCC Associate may discuss with diet technician and/or dietitian any adjustments of tray tickets, standing orders or supplemental feedings. Verifies physician orders for unusual diets, conflicting modifications, and nutritional supplements with the appropriate RD, informatics RD, or FSSM. NCC Associate completes performance improvement activities as assigned by supervisor and conducts menu review with NFS personnel prior to meal service. Work Schedule: Sunday - Saturday; 6:00 am - 2:30 pm and 10:30 am - 7:00 pm, with rotating weekends and days off. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)/PD99855S Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/05/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS04. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: patient preparation, health status monitoring, communication with providers and patients, inventory control, scheduling, infection control, computer & telephone work, data collection, and performing other related duties as assigned. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Note: If you select this option, a copy of your transcripts is required. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Your resume must indicate clearly the nature of your duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsComputer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Quality AssuranceTeamworkTechnical Competence Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular physical effort using all moveable parts of a body to complete all forms of active movement in numerous plans of space. These movements include but are not limited to; standing, walking, bending, sitting, lifting, carrying, kneeling, pushing, pulling, twisting, use of fingers, and reaching. Moving of items, medical equipment, people, and/ or any combination of both on a daily basis is required. Near and far vision is required. Incumbent will maintain patient and personal safety at all times utilizing proper body mechanics or the appropriate type and amount of physical or mechanical assistance. Work is approximately:- 10% sedentary- exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount frequently.- 90% medium- exerting 20-50 pounds of force occasionally, for example, pushing a wheelchair, and /or 10-25 pounds frequently, for example, lifting a limb while repositioning a patient. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. ****All required documentation must be uploaded before the announcement closes, to support eligibility.**** Failure to submit documentation will constitute the application being categorized as incomplete and therefore ineligible for referral.

Education

A legible 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.

****All required documentation must be uploaded before the announcement closes, to support eligibility.****

Failure to submit documentation will constitute the application being categorized as incomplete and therefore ineligible for referral.

Contacts

• Address Wilmington VA Medical Center 1601 Kirkwood Highway Wilmington, DE 19805 US
• Name: Katrina Paul
• Phone: (412) 822-3584
• Email: [email protected]