The purpose of the Audiology health technician is to manage technical and administrative aspects of hearing aid delivery, hearing aid maintenance and repairs, and other general duties. The health technician is to provide direct and indirect patient care under the supervision of the Audiology staff. The health technician is to manage independent contacts with patients, family members, significant others, medical staff, colleagues and vendors to expedite patient care.

Duties

The Audiology Health Technician provides support in six functional areas. They are: 1) walk-in clinic, 2) hearing aid repairs, 3) hearing aid and earmold certification and tracking, 4) data, equipment and supply management, 5) earmold impressions, and 6) audiologist support. The duties include but are not limited to the following: Supports Audiology professionals in procedures in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing problems using standard face-to-face and telehealth applications. Operates and maintains medical and telehealth equipment for diagnostic and treatment procedures. Perform patient care procedures and provides follow-up hearing aid consultation for patients recently fit with hearing aids. Receive and direct patients, answer routine inquiries and make referrals. Determine nature of inquiry and independently respond to all administrative questions. Assist patients, visitors, and others requesting information, guidance or referral for special assistance. Responsible for making impressions of the ear for earmolds, custom hearing aids, and hearing aid repairs due to poor fit or changes in patient status (i.e. loss/gain of weight) including those on surgically altered or difficult to fit ears. Perform administrative tasks such as filing and completing clinical documentations. Manage office supplies and hearing aid inventory, electronic ordering, and verify orders upon arrival. Routinely check orders to ensure that all components are present and in working order. Check malfunctioning hearing aids to determine if problems can be corrected or if they must be returned for repairs. Performs independent troubleshooting on malfunctioning hearing instruments to determine if problems can be corrected or if the instrument must be sent in for repair. Monitors and maintains inventories and orders supplies for ear mold fabrication, hearing aid repairs, hearing aid fittings, diagnostic procedures, and cerumen management purposes. Preferred Experience: Working with hearing impaired and hearing aids. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/12/2024. This announcement is open to current permanent federal employees. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: 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. 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. English Language Proficiency. HTA, 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 DETERMINATION Health Technician (Audiology), GS-07: Experience. Completion of one year of progressive experience and/or experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-06) directly related to the position being filled. Knowledge, skills and abilities at the GS-06 grade level are: Knowledge of normal and abnormal ear anatomy. Knowledge of hearing physiology and function to educate patients and families. Knowledge of hearing aids, hearing assistive technology, hearing aid manufacturers and manufacturer software. 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. Ability to prepare patients for testing procedures. Ability to document and code patient procedures. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs at the GS-7 grade level: Ability to mentor and train new HTAs. Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials. 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. Physical Requirements: It is VA policy to ensure that all selected applicants and employed personnel are physically, mentally and emotionally fit to perform the duties of the position to which assigned. A pre-placement physical examination is required for all full-time, part-time and intermittent employees identified by VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The pre-placement physical examination shall be completed prior to appointment to determine the physical and mental fitness for candidates for appointment in VA. The examination will be concerned with the mental and physical ability of the applicant to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment and will include requisite laboratory and other screening as required by Federal regulatory agencies. The work is primarily sedentary, but may require some walking, bending, stooping, standing, stretching and carrying objects. References: VA Handbook 5005/143 May 13, 2021 Part II, Appendix G70, Health Technician (Audiology) Qualification Standard, GS-0640 The full performance level of this vacancy is G-07. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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 Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1601 Southwest Archer Road Gainesville, FL 32608 US
• Name: Rachyl Plasterer
• Phone: (717) 821-5687
• Email: [email protected]