This position is located at the Audiology and Speech Pathology Department at the Washington DC VA Medical Center with possible travel to community-based outpatient clinics, as needed. The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas within the service. The health technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology. The incumbent is a staff health technician (Audiology) under the supervision of a GS-12 audiologist or above.

Duties

Functions: 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. In addition, the incumbent must be able to mentor and train new Health Technicians (Audiology). Direct patient care duties may include, but not limited to the following: - Customer service within and outside clinic areas; - Triaging patients to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed; - Patient set up for procedures (e.g., vestibular, neurodiagnostic procedures); - 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 following CAOCH certification; - Non-diagnostic otoscopy; - Cerumen management; -Taking earmold impressions; - Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair (including listening checks and electroacoustic analysis of device) - Hearing aid education for patients and caregivers; - Pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology; - Programming previously stored settings into hearing aids; - Activating remote controls; -Ordering supplies; -Participating in continuing education; -Answering message. The incumbent at this level is required to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to develop and implement the technician role for a program focused in areas of cerumen management and programming hearing aids 25% of the time, including pairing hearing aids with Bluetooth technology. 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 include, but may not be limited to the following: - Provide assistance to Medical Support Assistants and may serve in role in their absence - 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); - Triaging and responding to routine inquiries from patients, including clinical or administrative questions. - Management of infection control, patient safety, and clinical supplies for the audiology clinic; - Maintenance of clinic sanitation to include cleaning, 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: Monday - Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Compressed/Flexible:Not required Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Not available Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not available PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). Experience and Education: 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 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. Certification: Certification by the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) as a Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist (COHC) is required for the HTA, GS-08 assignment only. Loss of Credential: An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain the required certification identified for the HTA, GS-08 position must be removed from the assignment, which may also result in termination of employment. Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency: TA, HTSLP or HTASLP candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403 (f). GRADE DETERMINATIONS: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Health Technician (Audiology), GS-06 Experience: Completion of one year of progressive experience and/or experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled. 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. Health Technician (Audiology), GS-07 Experience :Completion of one year of progressive experience and/or experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Ability to mentor and train new HTAs. (b) Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials. (c) Ability to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology. Assignment: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The HTA at this level works under supervision and direction of a licensed audiologist. Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to: completing adjustments to hearing aid settings as outlined in the audiologist's plan of care, preparing patients for advanced diagnostic procedures such as evoked potentials and collaborating with audiology team to develop training programs for patients and staff. Qualifications: See VA Handbook 5005-Part II, Appendix G70.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.


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.


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 Washington VA Medical Center 50 Irving Street, Northwest Washington, DC 20422 US
• Name: Karen Simmons
• Phone: 202-297-8951
• Email: [email protected]