This position is located in surgical service at Hines VA located in Hines, IL.

Duties

Ophthalmology Service Program Coordinator performs difficult technical & operational duties with considerable latitude for the exercise of independent judgment in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) or in facilities of lesser complexity where large ophthalmology services are found. The higher-level duties consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity & range of variety as described in this standard and be performed by the incumbent including providing clinical health technician service. This position involves coordinating and supervising employees in multiple locations, managing higher order program support such as data analytics, equipment procurement, time and leave, and various HR responsibilities for Health Technician staff. This position reports to the Section Chief of Ophthalmology. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNED DUTIES: The Program Coordinator is generally found in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) facilities, or in facilities of lesser complexity levels where large surgery and ophthalmology services are found. Has full responsibility for managing the day-to-day activities of the eye clinic and supervises all phases of a facility specialty program as it relates to Health Technicians and work flow. These duties include but are not limited to promoting health education for patients and staff; patient care coordination; referral and consults, oversight of surgery scheduling and coordination; preceptor and mentorship of personnel; quality improvement activities; assisting with patient advocate complaints, congressionals and white house complaints; participation in and coordination of approved research projects, and will work up patients and help with eye imaging and physician support. Responsible to help support the overall technical and administrative oversight for operations within their program area to include coordination with multidisciplinary team members, as well as liaison with other sections that support ophthalmology care, such as Nursing Service, Telephone Care, Sterile Processing Service Pharmacy, Infection Control, health technology management (HTM), OI&T and EMR interfaces. SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: The GS-11 Program Coordinator will respond to the needs of the eye clinic as guided and determined by the Section Chief of Ophthalmology and other Clinical administrative leadership. The program coordinator plans and carries out examinations in line with training and accepted best practices, and helps makes recommendations about clinical situations, procedures or changes to procedures including, EMR Infrastructure changes diagnostic modalities and equipment with Section Chief of Ophthalmology.. The coordinator resolves differences that arise with patients and promotes customer service, coordinates work with others as necessary and interprets policy. The program coordinator has full responsibility for managing the day to day activities of the clinic and may supervise all phases of a facility specialty program. The program coordinator will report to the Section Chief of Ophthalmology. The program coordinator will use HRO principles to create systems to help improve the safety and quality of care of our Veterans. They will participate in yellow, green, and black belt projects as determined by the Section Chief of Ophthalmology and will work on department improvement projects. This position also involves some data analytics and review of workload productivity of the technicians, and maintaining personnel files of all the Health Technicians and providing performance reviews in conjunction with input from the GS10 and the Section Chief of Ophthalmology. This position involves 75% clinical work including managing health technician schedules and assigning work, being efficient at all ophthalmology imaging equipment, and assisting with minor procedures and injections in the clinic. Work Schedule: TBD Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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: Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 38 U.S.C. 7407(d). Experience and Education: Experience: One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician. OR Education: Two years above high school with a minimum of six semester hours directly related to a health care field or associate's degree in a health care related degree. (Transcripts Required) OR Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below: Six months of experience in the health care field; and one year above high school; or Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or ophthalmology technicians given by the U.S. Armed Forces; or Six months of experience in the health care field and completion of an independent study course in Ophthalmic Medical Assisting. (Transcripts Required) Certification: All applicants must be certified as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). The COA certification is JCAHPO's entry-level certification examination for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology). Grade Determinations: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-10 grade level. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position. Specialized experience includes: promoting health education for patients and staff; patient care coordination; referral and consults, oversight of surgery scheduling and coordination; preceptor and mentorship of personnel; quality improvement activities; patient advocate; polytrauma liaison for all ophthalmology issues, and participation in and coordination of approved research projects. Responsible for the overall technical and administrative oversight for operations within their program area to include coordination with multidisciplinary team members, as well as liaison with other sections that support ophthalmology care, such as Nursing Service, Telephone Care, Sterile Processing Service, Pharmacy, and Infection Control. Assigning and evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving problems which may interfere with patient examination or treatment; providing Health Technician (Ophthalmology) services in more complex and non-standard cases; evaluating new products and equipment and making recommendations concerning developments which would improve operations; participating as an instructor in the facility's clinical training program; making final decisions on selections based on recommendations from subordinate supervisors or leads. Preferred Experience: qualified candidates must be have COA certification however COT or COMT is preferred. 5 years or more supervisory experience in preferred, Competency in Excel, Word, and some experience with data analytics is preferred. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties, which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed; competency assessments; performance evaluations; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions; 2. Ability to analyze clinically appropriate data and make recommendations to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity within service; 3. Advanced understanding of interdisciplinary issues and VA organizational structure to serve as liaison between eye care and other programs that would affect coordination of care, healthcare access, program evaluation, assessment and planning for future needs; and 4. Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team leaders, providers and managers. References: VA Handbook 5005 /98, Part II, Appendix G52 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

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 Edward Hines Junior Hospital 5000 South 5th Avenue Hines, IL 60141 US
• Name: Kiphanie Moore
• Phone: 414-712-8177
• Email: [email protected]