This position is located in the Dental Service Section of the VA NJHCS, providing cross coverage between at East Orange, Lyons, Toms River and Brick, and is under the direct supervision of the Staff Dentist during patient treatment. It primarily involves chairside assistance duties in all phase of restorative dentistry, as well as in the special areas of Prosthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Endodontics, Periodontics and Gerodontics.

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. Experience and Education Experience. Six months experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work, or provides familiarity with the work. OR, Education. Successful completion of a 1-year dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Certification. Public Law 97-35 requires that persons who administer radiologic procedures meet the credentialing standards in 42 CFR Part 75. Essentially, they must have successfully completed an educational program that meets or exceeds the standards described in that regulation, and is accredited by an organization recognized by the Department of Education, and be certified as radiographers in their field. Provisions for Certification of Radiologic Competence Successful completion of the Dental Radiation Health and Safety Examination administered by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc.; OR, Successful completion of the Principles and Practice of Dental Radiology and Radiographic Safety courses and examinations developed by the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Dentistry. OR, Successful completion of a radiation health and safety program or examination approved by a state board of dentistry or the Department of Defense (DoD). Other Desired Certifications Certification in basic life support methods is highly desirable. Certification by the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB). The American Dental Association (ADA) recognizes DANB as the national certification for Dental Assistants. DANB certification is not required, but highly desirable for the appointment of Dental Assistants up to and including the full performance level, and is required for all positions above the full performance level. 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: Creditable Experience - Knowledge of Current Professional Dental Assistant Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs)\, and other characteristics (also referred to as "core competencies") associated with current professional dental assisting practice. Evidence of such experience includes graduation from a certified dental assisting training program, experience in private practice, VHA, Department of Defense (DoD), or other federal, state, community or charitable health care agency. In addition to the basic requirements, applicants must also meet the grade requirements for this position. Dental Assistant, GS-3 Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. Assignment. Employees at this level serve in dental assistant career development positions. It is expected that they receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex patient issues, and require daily close supervision. Dental Assistant, GS-4 Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, 1 year of experience at the next lower level, OR 2 years of education above high school that included completion of a dental assistant program accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Basic knowledge of infection control and safe instrument handling. Basic knowledge of dental procedures and medical emergencies. Ability to perform basic radiographic image capture and processing/retrieval. Basic knowledge of maintenance, care and storage of dental equipment. Basic knowledge of patient privacy requirements. Assignment. Employees at this level serve as developmental staff dental assistants. It is expected that they receive guidance from more experienced staff members for more complex patient issues and require daily and direct contact at the site of work from the assigned supervisor. Dental Assistant, GS-5 Experience or Education. In addition to the requirements listed at GS-4 above, applicants must demonstrate at least 1 year of experience equivalent to at the next lower grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level. OR, Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study that included or was supplemented by completion of a dental assistant program by CODA. In addition to meeting paragraph (1) or (2) above, the applicant must demonstrate the following KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Knowledge of anatomy and ability to evaluate diagnostic quality. Broad knowledge of common medical emergencies and vital signs measurement. Basic knowledge of instruments, materials and standardized dental procedures. Ability to learn and utilize software programs used within VHA. Basic communication skills to provide patient instructions according to established protocol. Assignment. Employees at this level serve as staff dental assistants for routine dental procedures. Direct supervision is given for any complex patient procedures from more experienced dental assistants or the treating dentist. Dental Assistant, GS-6 (Full Performance Level) Experience. At least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that demonstrates the core competencies described at that level. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following technical KSAs: Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Ability to identify normal oral anatomy. Advanced knowledge of instruments, materials, and standardized dental procedures used in all phases of restorative, surgical, endodontic and periodontal care and procedures. Ability to monitor and perform basic interpretation of vital signs. Ability to independently provide procedure-specific patient education and appropriate referral of patient concerns to treating dentist. Ability to capture standard and special dental images of good diagnostic quality in traditional or digital formats. Ability to perform maintenance on dental equipment used for routine and specialty dentistry. Ability to enter and retrieve data utilizing electronic dental records. 8. Ability to perform dental assistant-appropriate laboratory procedures Assignment. Employee serves at the full performance level with the ability to perform full range of duties with some independence in assigned specialties, with indirect supervision from the lead dental assistant, dental assistant supervisor or treating dentist. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/46 PART II APPENDIX G36 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-3 to GS-6. Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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

Contacts

• Address VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: Asaph Blodgett
• Email: [email protected]