This position is located in the Nutrition and Food Service of the VA Medical Center in Lexington, KY.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-05. At the GS-03 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-05. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. The Health Technician (Dietetics) - NFC Ambassador provides administrative and customer service support for the VA hospital food service program. Duties require exceptional customer service, computer skills, proper phone etiquette, proficiency in special food service and therapeutic diet procedures, a broad knowledge of routine modified diets, combinations of diet modifications. Major duties and responsibilities will include: Handling patient meal service orders in person or by answering patient calls using phone system; Entering meal orders into a Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) Dietetics Software system; Interacting with Veterans, dietitians, nursing staff, and other medical center employees; Providing excellent customer service, acting professional and courteous at all times; Collaborating with Dietitians regarding Food/Drug Interactions, notifying clinical staff of potential issues with meal service and delivery; Receiving patient meal orders and preferences, meal and nourishment requests from nursing, clinical staff, and other members of the interdisciplinary team; Following local-facility policies and standard procedures for patient feeding, including but not limited to missed patient meals, late tray requests, patient meal ordering, and adherence to prescribed therapeutic diet; Taking whatever action necessary, within authority, to maximize patient satisfaction with meal service; Printing, preparing, and reviewing meal tickets according to local facility procedures; Completing select and non-select menus as required; Triaging 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; Retrieving 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; Providing education and information on local facility therapeutic diets to patients, guests, and nursing staff; Completing 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); Assisting patients in selection of the proper foods according to their individual diet; Performing clerical and administrative duties in support of the service; Performing related duties as required. Work Schedule: 6:30am-3:00pm or 7:00am-3:30pm Monday-Friday and rotating weekends and holidays as scheduled. The Tour of duty is dependent on the needs of the service. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: 6 months of general experience that that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position. General experience includes: 6 months of general experience that that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position. Examples of general experience include: experience in food service in a hospital environment; assisting with food selections; possessing good writing skills; and communicating effectively. This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. ~OR~ EDUCATION: One year of education above the high school level with major study in subjects related to the position (medical, health, etc.). This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school. Transcripts required, and experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. ~OR~ COMBINATION: An equivalent combination of general experience and post-high school education as described that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. Transcripts required, and experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Computer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Food ServicePatient Care IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires walking, standing, bending, lifting and carrying of light items, such as food trays, instruction materials, books, and manuals. NCC Associate functions require long periods of sitting and moving about in an office environment, including repetitive motion activities of the hands and fingers for extensive keyboard and computer mouse use, and office tasks such as answering and holding a telephone phone, and writing. The work may require walking indoors, outdoors or to and from other areas of the medical center. It may be necessary to lift and/or push equipment. The employee is subject to periods continuous standing, sitting, walking and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. Frequently lifts or moves objects weighing up to 20 pounds and pushing loaded carts of trays and/or nourishments. Work is performed in a hospital and involves some exposure to contagious diseases. The employee must observe ergonomics pertaining to working in an office setting with electrical and stationary equipment. Employee must be alert to wet floors, gas, steam, electrical equipment, and general safety precautions including correct lifting techniques in all potential work areas. Discomfort may exist due to changes in temperature and/or humidity. Standard precautions may necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in situations of potential exposure. 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/.

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 Lexington VA Health Care System 2250 Leestown Road Lexington, KY 40511 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]