The incumbent will serve as the Health Technician for Audiology and Speech Pathology Service located at the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in Augusta, GA. The Audiology Health Technician position is designed to provide assistance to the audiologists and speech pathologists in meeting the clinical needs of the patient population served in the Audiology and Speech Pathology at both Augusta campuses.

Duties

Duties: Incumbent assists with the audiology cerumen management program. Independently assesses the patient's medical, anatomical, and surgical contraindications for any type of cerumen management (i,e., irrigation, suction, or instrument removal) and selects the type of removal appropriate for the patient. Determines the need for and applies cerumenolytics; recognizes complications that are associated with cerumen removal procedures and initiates referrals to hospital staff physicians when complications or contraindications are evident Responsible for routine repairs of all hearing aids delivered or mailed to the Audiology clinic. Meets with Veterans on a one-to-one basis to solve hearing aid problems. Provides primary level troubleshooting and repair for Veterans who are experiencing hearing aid problems. Responsible for the safety, maintenance, and infection control of various tools, supplies, and equipment in the audiology work area, and for the scheduling of mandated equipment calibrations and emergency repairs. Management of stock and custom hearing aids, batteries, assistive listening devices and earmold orders of on- and off-contract devices are the responsibility of this staff member. Salary range for this position: GS-04 $33,693 - $43,801 GS-05 $37,696 - $49,009 GS-06 $42,022 - $54,625 Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement#: 52351F/52353F/52353F 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: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. Health Technician (Audiology) candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by38 U.S.C. § 7403 (f). Experience and/or Education. Experience. Six (6) 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. Grade Determinations: Grade Requirements GS-4 (Entry Level)- Applicant must meet the basic requirements for employment. This is an entry level developmental position where duties may include, but not limited to, the following: Greeting and escorting patients; hearing aid troubleshooting and repair; providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers; performing listening checks on hearing aids; electroacoustic analysis of devices, managing office supplies; tracking loaner stock hearing aid inventory; electronic ordering; verifying orders upon arrival to ensure components are present and working correctly; packing 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. Grade Requirements GS-5: Experience. Candidate must have one (1) full year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-4) level which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities related to the duties of the position to be filled. Duties include assisting the audiologist with patient assessment and treatment; adhering to audiology and speech language pathology clinic policy and standard operating procedures for infection control and cleaning; sterilization and disposition of RME and radiation safety; maintaining 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 and shipping supplies; preparing mailing/shipping requests for items including but not limited to: hearing aid and hearing assistive technology repairs, ear mold orders and returning 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. In addition, candidates must also demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (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. Grade Requirements GS-06: Completion of one (1) year of progressive experience and/or experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) directly related to the position being filled such as: 1) Greeting and escorting patients, providing patient instruction and counseling on hearing loss or hearing aids either on an individual basis or in a group setting, pairing of hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology, and activating controls; 2) 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; 3) Managing office supplies, tracking loaner stock hearing aid inventory, electronic ordering, verifying orders upon arrival, ensuring components are present and in working correctly; and 4) Scheduling appointments, assisting patients, visitors, and others requesting information. In addition to the experience above, the applicant 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.May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). 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: (1) They may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) 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.(2) If an HTA, HTSLP or HTASLP 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. (3) HTAs, HTSLPs or HTASLPs 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. (4) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. The full performance level for this qualification standard 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.

Education

QUALIFICATIONS CONTINUED:

Physical Requirements: The duties of this position require periods of sitting, standing, and walking. Working with patients in the clinic and on the wards requires regular sitting, bending, and standing. Patient transport occasionally requires the pushing of wheelchairs. Work in front of a CRT of one-to-four hours per day is required. Some stressful situations may occur when communicating with patients and their families; the incumbent must possess the skills to work with a wide range of physically challenged Veterans and their significant others who may be medically, physically, psychiatrically, or emotionally impaired and displaying a non-compliant attitude. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

References: VA Handbook 5005/143 Part II Appendix G70 Health Technician (Audiology), Health Technician (Speech-Language Pathology) and Health Technician (Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology Qualification Standard.

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/lsit/ous/usnel/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center One Freedom Way Augusta, GA 30901 US
• Name: Leslie Hawkins
• Phone: 210-439-6422
• Email: [email protected]