This position is located at the VA Salt Lake City and it's supporting Community Based Outpatient locations. It is organizationally aligned under Surgical Service, Eye Clinic. The incumbent is responsible for providing optical services and a knowledge of opticianry services essential to the direction and operation of the VA Eye Care Clinic, Surgical Service, VA Salt Lake City. The primary reason for this position is to provide eyeglasses for our Veterans.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Independently provides direct patient care services related to patient education, selection, ordering, verification, troubleshooting, adjustment and repair of ophthalmic lenses and eyewear. Completes measurements of interpupillary distances, optical centers and multifocal or progressive addition lens segment heights will be accurately obtained and documented. Serves as the front-line staff member for patients with concerns regarding eyewear and will triage patient concerns by manual or automated lensometry verification, troubleshooting all optical issues and verify with that eyeglass fabrication is completed as prescribed. Documents all patient care activities properly and clearly in the electronic medical record in a timely manner. Formulates and implements plans to ensure the Optical is stocked, supplies are ordered and received in timely manner and staffing is aligned with needs of the Optical Clinic. Clean/Disinfect equipment and sample frames, use proper hand hygiene between patient encounters and maintain optical space, including frame displays and optical fitting area. Maintains all TMS and ABO or equivalent requirements, as needed; trains other staff as needed. The incumbent will also have the skills to obtain corrected and uncorrected Snellen visual acuity at distance and near and properly document in the medical record and to perform autorefraction when indicated. The incumbent will respond to patient's telephone, electronic and in-person inquiries in a timely manner The incumbent will be expected to obtain a customer's previous record or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist, obtaining release of information forms as needed Incumbent is responsible for resolving patient complaints/disputes and acts as a service-level patient advocate. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician - Optician/PD14317A

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/23/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Preferred experience - Previous or current Optician experience. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: skill in medical and optical terminology; knowledge of patient demographic trends in order to assist with the best eyewear for the individual patient; comprehensive knowledge of VA mission, organization and work processes in order to efficiently and correctly process glasses orders; knowledge of instruments used in specialization for troubleshooting, adjusting and repairing eyewear and lenses; knowledge and understanding of eye anatomy; skill to recognize and properly use equipment, material and supplies for the purpose of understanding and carrying out assigned instructions; knowledge in adapting instruments to perform a full range of optical fitting that may require many steps and various approaches based on findings from previous steps; ability to work as a team member when performing proper fitting procedures that require accurate observation and adjustments to establish appropriate outcomes. There is no educational substitution for the GS-6 level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Oral CommunicationSelf-ManagementTechnology Application Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position include the ability to stand and walk freely to assist patients and the ability to lift 10-15 pounds as needed on an infrequent basis. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address VA SALT LAKE CITY HCS 500 Foothill Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84148 US
• Name: Jessica Wieties
• Phone: 479-443-4301
• Email: [email protected]