This position is in the Audiology& Speech Language Pathology Section(ASPS)of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Services (PM&RS)of the Veterans Administration Montana Health Care System (VA MT HCS)serving Montana's Veteran population.

Duties

The incumbent is a Staff Speech-Language Pathologist who plans, conducts, and coordinates all aspects of diagnostic assessments and evaluations and therapeutic and rehabilitative services for individuals with speech, language, voice, fluency, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. Duties will be conducted primarily in the inpatient setting. The duties, include but are not limited to: The Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) 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. The incumbent is responsible for the adequacy of assessment and for the reporting of the findings to other professionals with whom he/she may cooperate in formulating diagnostic and clinical judgments; assesses patient condition from close observation and consultation with other members of the inter disciplinary health care team; and utilizes all diagnostic and evaluative procedures and techniques consistent with contemporary speech-language pathology practice. Incumbent is responsible for planning, conducting, coordinating, and monitoring the effectiveness and clinical outcomes of patient-centered treatment and rehabilitative services to maximize and restore to the greatest extent possible physical and social functioning. The incumbent is responsible for the administration of a full range of tests for speech, language, voice, fluency, and cognition including: assessment of 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 to identify and differentiate disorders of speech including dysarthria and apraxia or other disorders affecting prosodic features of speech; and identification of phonetic and semantic factors related to speech variation; assessment of disordered language and cognition resulting from progressive or non-progressive neurogenic etiologies, progressive dementing disorders, traumatic brain injury, or other etiology as it relates to functional communication; assessment of vocal parameters through instrumented and non-instrumented procedures; and assessment of frequency and complexity of speech dysfluency in both structured and unstructured speaking situations. Incumbent manages complex and difficult patients with multiple physical, sensory, motor, cognitive, or other issues that complicate communication or swallowing status, and involve multiple clinical management options, difficult decision making, and high risk of complications, morbidity, or mortality. The incumbent assesses individuals for suspected and known swallowing disorders through medical history, patient interview, clinical observation/evaluation, and/or instrumented or other non-instrumented evaluation such as video-fluoroscopic evaluation of swallowing or fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing or other available technology. Incumbent develops an effective and comprehensive plan of care for swallowing disorders both independently and in collaboration with other health care practitioners; establishes and maintains an effective therapy relationship with the patient, family, and caregivers; and adjusts treatment plan to patient response and indicators of progress. Incumbent serves as a consultant to other facility personnel involving the most difficult and complex cases and is a recognized subject matter expert on matters related to speech, language, voice, fluency, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. The incumbent will remain current with new developments in speech-language pathology and will maintain professional competency by reading professional journals and engaging in continuing education activities and professional learning experiences, and by communicating with other professionals in the profession and related professions. Work Schedule: Varying shifts occurring between Monday-Saturday 7:00am to 6:00pm, negotiable with selected candidate. Will include some work during weekend to meet dysphagia directives and patient needs. May include weekends and holidays to meet operational needs of the service. Compressed/Flexible:Negotiable. Telework: Adhoc telework may be available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 58574-0 and 58575-O. 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: 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 must be proficient in spoken & written English Education: A master's degree or its equivalent in speech-language pathology, communication disorders, or a directly related field from an accredited college or university. "Accredited" means a college or university recognized by a regional accreditation organization & a speech-language pathology academic program recognized by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-­Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Licensure: For those grades that require licensure (GS-12 & above), the incumbent must hold a full, current, & unrestricted license in a State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. The SLP must maintain full, current, & unrestricted licensure/registration. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for SLP licensure may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate SLP under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 (a) (1) (D). Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. This may result in termination of employment. Individuals appointed as graduate SLPs may not be promoted to the GS-12 level without being fully licensed. The requirement for licensure may be waived by the Under Secretary for Health or designee in VHA Central Office for individuals engaged in research or academic assignments involving no direct patient care duties, in accordance with current activities. A SLP who has, or ever has had his/her speech-language pathology license revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed on a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16 of this part. Grandfathering Provision: All SLPs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date (8/24/2010) of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series & grade held, including positive education & licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. 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: Such employees may be reassigned, promoted (up to & 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. Employees 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. 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. If an SLP who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status & must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: in addition to the basic requirements, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-11 S-LP Education & Experience. Completion of 1 year of professional experience as an SLP equivalent to the next lower-level GS-9 OR 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a doctoral degree, or doctoral degree in speech-language pathology, communication disorders, or a directly related field. AND Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the knowledge, skills & abilities (KSAs) identified for the assignment. Knowledge of principles & techniques used in speech pathology Knowledge of principles & techniques in diagnosis & treatment of dysphagia Knowledge of, & ability to develop & implement, comprehensive treatment plans Ability to evaluate & interpret data Ability to communicate information effectively to patients & significant others Ability to communicate effectively, verbally & in writing Ability to function as a constructive member of a team Assignments. Staff Speech Language Pathologist. Staff SLPs at this grade level provide assessment & treatment intervention. If unlicensed, the individual must function under the supervision of a licensed SLP. GS-12 S-LP Licensure. The incumbent must hold a full, current, & unrestricted license in a State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. AND Education & Experience. Completion of 1 year of professional experience comparable to the next lower level GS-11 AND Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to develop coherent treatment strategies Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures sufficient to perform clinical services independently Ability to conduct assessments, provide treatment interventions, & provide consultation to other health care professionals Ability to perform functions associated with contemporary speech-language pathology practice Knowledge of instrumentation used in speech-language pathology Knowledge of principles & techniques used in alternative & augmentative communication (AAC) systems, diagnosis & treatment of dysphagia, & cognitive-communication disorders Knowledge of principles & techniques used in voice disorders including a laryngeal & trach/ventilator-dependent patients Assignments. Staff Speech language pathologists at this grade level are considered to be at the full performance level & must demonstrate professional knowledge of, & skill in applying, a wide range of theories, principles, & methodologies of the practice of speech-language pathology to a wide range of populations. Individuals may perform ancillary assignments, including program management duties on an occasional basis, where the complexity & amount of work is not substantial (less than 25% of the time). References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/39 PART II APPENDIX G30 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: This position requires frequent bending and lifting, and the ability to assist patients with a variety of therapeutic activities. Incumbent must be able to lift 50 pounds to the chest height and maintain good body mechanics.

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 Fort Harrison VA Medical Center 3687 Veterans Drive Fort Harrison, MT 59636 US
• Name: Sokhan York
• Phone: 801-584-1284 X3119
• Email: [email protected]