The Health Technician for Audiology position is designed to provide assistance to the audiologists in meeting the clinical needs of the veteran population served in the Audiology Clinic at the El Paso VA Health Care System. The incumbent serves as a team member of the Audiology & Speech Pathology Department and supports the function of the clinical programs within the department.

Duties

The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with Audiology services. Works under the supervision and direction of a licensed audiologist, performing duties such as 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 the audiology team to develop training programs for patients and staff. Will be required to travel to the Community Based Outpatient Clinics associated within the EPVAHCS, to provide direct patient care by operating a government supplied vehicle for this travel. 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: Greeting and escorting patients; 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; Non-diagnostic otoscopy; Cerumen management; Ear irrigations; Taking earmold impressions; Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair; Providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers; Performing listening checks on hearing aids; Electroacoustic analysis of devices; Pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology; Programming previously stored settings into hearing aids; Activating remote controls; Assisting in setting up and delivering face to face and telehealth visits by preparing the equipment for patient evaluation and other audiology procedures. The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with Audiology services. Works under the supervision and direction of a licensed audiologist, performing duties such as 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 the audiology team to develop training programs for patients and staff. Will be required to travel to the Community Based Outpatient Clinics associated within the EPVAHCS, to provide direct patient care by operating a government supplied vehicle for this travel. 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: Greeting and escorting patients; 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; Non-diagnostic otoscopy; Cerumen management; Ear irrigations; Taking earmold impressions; Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair; Providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers; Performing listening checks on hearing aids; Electroacoustic analysis of devices; Pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology; Programming previously stored settings into hearing aids; Activating remote controls; Assisting in setting up and delivering face to face and telehealth visits by preparing the equipment for patient evaluation and other audiology procedures. The health technician will also ensure 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. Duties are continued in the Education section of this announcement. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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: Must be proficient in written and spoken English Experience and Education. (1) 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 (2) 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 (3) 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 indus 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). Grade Determinations: HTA, 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. Reference GS-6 Assignment: Employees at this grade level serve as a full performance level HTSLP. The HTSLP at this level works independently under the direction of a licensed SLP. Assignments associated with this position include but are not limited to triaging inpatient and outpatient consults in collaboration with the SLP and checking the integrity of instrumentation such as speech science equipment and voice measurement equipment in the clinic. The health technician assists in setting up and delivering face to face and telehealth visits by preparing the equipment for patient evaluation and preparing evaluation rooms for speech-language pathology procedures. The health technician generates therapeutic stimuli and home programs for routine treatments in collaboration with the SLP; monitors facility compliance with established policies; and verifies radiology orders for swallow procedures. The health technician tracks the progress of prosthetic orders and communicates with the SLP and patient regarding the order status. The health technician completes documentation in the patient record for each episode of care and codes procedures as appropriate in preparation for co-signature by the SLP. 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 Preferred Experience: 1 year working in an Audiology & Speech Pathology clinical setting Knowledge of basic medical terminology Knowledge with VISTA, CPRS, and ROES Knowledge of hearing aid care References: VA Handbook 5005/143 PART II APPENDIX G70 HEALTH TECHNICIAN (AUDIOLOGY), HEALTH TECHNICIAN (SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY) AND HEALTH TECHNCIAN (AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY) QUALIFICATION STANDARD dated May 13, 2021 This position is above the full performance level (GS-6) for this occupation. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-6. Physical Requirements: There are no specific physical requirements for this position. Standing, lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying may be needed to perform some functions of this position.

Education

Education may only be used to meet the basic requirements for this position

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

If your school has changed names or is no longer in existence, please provide this information with your application.

Administrative duties include, but may not be limited to the following: 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); Responding to routine inquiries from patients, including determining nature of hearing aid inquiry and responding to administrative questions; Assisting patients, visitors, and others requesting information; Management of infection control, patient safety, and clinical supplies for the audiology' clinic; Maintenance of clean, 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.

The position has a high degree of visibility throughout the Health Care System and with the general public as a result of direct patient care contact with the veteran population. Professionalism, proficiency, and high positive image on behalf of the Veterans Health Administration are critical. The incumbent must be highly motivated in seeking ways to expedite patient care, in eliminating or modifying problematic clinical processes, and in independently handling and reporting concerns in a way that contributes to the accomplishment of the Veteran's Health Administration mission. The work requires a high degree of skill in working with tools and materials, a thorough grasp of medical center, prosthetic, eligibility and service-level policies and procedures, a thorough knowledge of prosthetic materials.

Contacts

• Address El Paso VA Clinic 5001 North Piedras Street El Paso, TX 79930 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]