The Health Technician (Pedorthist) works within the Prosthetics Service Line at Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Minneapolis MN. The work represents independent assessment of patients with all levels of disease and disability, formulation of a treatment plan, implementation of the treatment plan, follow up of the treatment to validate outcomes and refine the treatment plan to improve patient compliance and satisfaction.

Duties

Major duties may include: Communicates and interacts with physicians, allied health professionals, patients and caregivers in various interdisciplinary clinical settings as a subject matter expert to develop the pedorthic treatment plan. Provides complex patient analyses in accordance with established procedures for patients with unusual conditions, multiple complex conditions and interrelated conditions. Assesses patients for indications/contraindications of pedorthic interventions. Discusses the assessment with the physician/requesting provider for the purpose of developing the overall treatment plan with considerable influence in the development of the plan. Analyzes the potential use of new and emerging technologies in designing unique or innovative pedorthic devices to accommodate or treat a wide range of complex medical conditions which include unusual problems or complications. Takes scans and measurements for advanced devices, prepares and modifies casts for advanced devices, repairs and fabricates advanced devices and provides patient/caregiver education for advanced devices. Recognizes physical abnormalities, deviations and complicating conditions with potentially life-threatening implications. Privileges (Individual Scope of Practice) other credentialed clinicians to provide pedorthic care based on ABC privileging requirements. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Telework: Not eligible for telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). b. Credential. Candidates must be board certified in pedorthics by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC). or Credentialed in pedorthics by the Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) or Exception for Non-Credentialed Health Aid (Pedorthist). (a) Non-credentialed individuals who have successfully completed a Board for Certification in Pedorthics (BCP), Commission on Accreditation of Pedorthic Education (CAPE), National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or American Board for Certification of Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) approved pedorthic certificate program (see Pedorthist Programs) and otherwise meet ABC's eligibility requirements for certification (see Pedorthist Candidate Guide) may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate Health Aid (Pedorthist) under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). (b) Non-credentialed individuals shall only provide care under the clinical oversight of a credentialed pedorthist, orthotist, or orthotist/prosthetist at or above the full performance level. (c) Non-credentialed individuals may only be appointed at the entry level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained. (d) Temporary appointments of non-credentialed Health Aid (Pedorthist) may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment. c. Failure to Obtain Certification. In all cases, Health Aid (Pedorthist) must actively pursue meeting requirements for certification starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the Health Aid (Pedorthist) with the written requirements for certification, including the time by which the certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline. Failure to obtain certification during this time period may result in termination of employment. d. Loss of Credential. Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff must immediately relieve employees, who fail to maintain the required certification, of the duties and responsibilities associated with this occupation, which may also result in separation from employment. e. Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series, under a permanent, appropriate and legal placement, performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and credentialing/certification, where applicable. The following provisions apply to employees who do not meet all the qualification requirements: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or be newly placed in a supervisory or managerial positions. Employees in an occupation that requires a credentialing only at higher grade levels must meet the credentialing requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtains credentialing/certification that meets all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. f. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. English Language Proficiency. Health Technician (Pedorthist) candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-4 to GS-7.

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 Minneapolis VA Medical Center One Veterans Drive Minneapolis, MN 55417 US
• Name: Timothy Michael
• Phone: 612-467-5503
• Email: [email protected]