This position is located in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS), Tucson, Arizona. The duties and responsibilities of this position are carried out throughout SAVAHCS including all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the service.

Duties

Major duties include: Performs independent diagnostic assessment and evaluation of cases that are referred for Speech Pathology Services. Conducts interviews with the patients and appropriate family members and/or friends, Selects, administers and interprets the diagnostic test necessary to detect and evaluate any type of speech, language, voice and/or swallowing disorders. Utilizes all diagnostic and evaluative procedures common to speech pathology. Stays abreast of all new developments in speech pathology by reading professional journals and by communicating with other professionals in their field. Assesses patient condition from close observation and consultation with other members of the patient treatment team. Develops plans for a course of therapy to resolve or minimize speech-related communication conditions that present serious problems to social contacts, educational development or employment opportunities. Administers tests of voice and speech including modal level and variation of vocal pitch and loudness; variability of the rate of vocal utterance; frequency and complexity of speech disfluency; consistency and adaptation of disfluency in sustained or repeated speaking and aural reading. Performs phonetic analysis of speech designed to identify and evaluate patterns of misarticulation, such as distortions and omissions of sounds, as well as phonemic substitutions, including patterns of variation and speech sound articulation. Establishes and maintains an effective therapy relationship with the patient, family and caregivers. Adjusts treatment plan to patient response and indicators of progress. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:30am-4:00pm. Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Speech-Language Pathologists candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Licensure: Possess a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice physical therapy in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia. Note: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for speech-language pathologist (SLP) licensure may be appointed to a temporary position as a graduate SLP under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 (c)(2). Individuals appointed as graduate SLPs may not be promoted to the GS-12 level without being fully licensed. In all cases, graduate SLP must actively pursue obtaining the required licensure from the date of their appointment. The Human Resource office staff will provide the unlicensed SLP written requirement to obtain licensure, the date by which the license must be acquired and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. The written notice must be provided prior to the entrance on duty date. Failure to obtain the required credentials by the prescribed date may result in termination of employment Education and Experience: Must be a graduate from an accredited college or university. "Accredited" means a college or university recognized by a regional accreditation organization and a speech-language pathology academic program recognized by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. You must meet one of the following requirements: A master's degree, or its equivalent, in speech-language pathology, communication disorders or a directly related field from an accredited college or university and one year of experience as a professional speech-language pathologist engaged in the practice of speech-language pathology as defined by the appropriate licensing board; OR A doctoral degree in speech-language pathology, communication disorders and sciences or a related field, from an accredited college or university. Preferred Experience/Qualifications: Inpatient and outpatient experience preferred. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements above, candidates must meet the following grade requirements. GS-11 Experience: None beyond the basic requirements listed above. Candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of principles and techniques in assessing and treating disorders of speech, language, cognitive-communication and swallowing. Knowledge of instrumentation and technologies for assessing and treating communication and swallowing disorders. Ability to adapt clinical procedures and techniques to accommodate unique patient. Assignment: Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) at this entry developmental grade level assess and treat patients with routine speech, language, voice, cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders following the principles of evidence-based practice and perform clinical procedures with respect to age-specific, unique patient conditions and needs. When assessing and treating patients with complex or rare speech, language, voice, cognitive communication and swallowing disorders, SLPs may require consultation with an SLP at the full performance or higher level. GS-12 Experience: Successful completion of one year of professional experience comparable to the next lower level at the GS-11 AND demonstrate all the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities below: Skill in applying principles and techniques of diagnosis and treatment associated with contemporary speech-language pathology following evidence-based practice for adult patients exhibiting the full range of speech to the full range of patient populations. Skill in administering and interpreting instrumental swallowing evaluations. Ability to assess the effectiveness of clinical outcomes and adapt clinical procedures and techniques to accommodate unique patient conditions. Assignment. This is the full performance level. At this level, SLPs independently provide evidence-based assessment and treatment interventions to individuals with a wide range of speech, language, voice, cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders. Staff SLPs select, administer and interpret standardized and non-standardized assessment measures. They integrate assessment findings into a patient-centered treatment plan of care and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions by collecting and documenting treatment outcomes. SLPs may be assigned to work in a specific clinical area such as traumatic brain injury, head and neck cancer, movement disorders or spinal cord injury. They may provide clinical training experiences for trainees and students and participate in research activities. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G30 - Speech-Language Pathologist Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-12. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, involving standing/sitting for prolonged periods of time, lifting/carrying of medical/clinical supplies weighing up to 15 lbs., and bending/stooping.

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 Tucson VA Medical Center 3601 South Sixth Avenue Tucson, AZ 85723 US
• Name: Cherie Mennel
• Phone: 520-792-1450 X6213
• Email: [email protected]