The Audiology and Speech Service within the Charles George VA Medical Center has three (3) vacancies . The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Audiology & Speech Service. The incumbent is a staff health technician (Audiology) under the supervision of a GS-12 audiologist or above. . CAOHC certification as a COHC is required for this assignment.

Duties

Duties: Direct patient care duties may include, but are not limited to the following: Greeting and escorting patients; Triaging patients to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed; Patient set up for procedures (e.g., vestibular, neurodiagnostic procedures); Patient instruction and counseling on hearing loss, hearing protection, or hearing aids either on an individual basis or in a group setting; Conducting hearing puretone air-conduction testing without interpretation for the purpose of hearing conservation and for established patients in regular VA clinic; Tympanometry administration without interpretation, Non-diagnostic otoscopy; Limited Cerumen management; Taking earmold impressions; Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair; Providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers; Performing listening checks on hearing aids; Electroacoustic analysis of devices; Pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology; Programming previously stored settings into hearing aids; Activating remote controls; and training of employees and patients on personal hearing protection devices. The incumbent must ensure timely and accurate documentation of all interactions in the medical records and that all encounters are correctly documented using electronic medical record and computerized tracking and ordering functions via ROES. Administrative duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Managing office supplies; Tracking loaner stock hearing aid inventory; Electronic ordering, verifying orders upon arrival to ensure components are present and working correctly; Scheduling appointments; Packaging and mailing hearing aids and accessories; Processing ROES transactions (e.g. certifying and issuing hearing aids, entering orders and repairs); Management of hearing protection device inventory; Responding to routine inquiries from patients, including determining nature of hearing aid inquiry and responding to administrative questions; Assisting patients, visitors, and others requesting information; Management of infection control, patient safety, and clinical supplies for the audiology clinic; Maintenance of clean, disinfected instrumentation, equipment, and work surfaces in the audiology clinic; and Reprocessing reusable medical equipment based on facility policy according to Medical Center infection control procedures and reusable medical equipment policies; Coordinating annual equipment calibration with Service leadership and BioMed. The incumbent at this level is required to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to develop and implement the technician role for a program focused in area of hearing conversation 25% of the time. In addition, the incumbent at this level is required to spend at least 25% of the time performing duties for the Service's hearing aid program including the hearing aid repair clinics (same day and scheduled). Health technicians with specialized training and certification from the Council on Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) may, under the direct supervision of a licensed audiologist or physician, perform the following duties: (a) Biologic checks and calibration of audiometric instrumentation. (b) Ability to conduct employee hearing conservation education and training. (c) Knowledge of the hearing conservation program requirements to manage records and files. (d) Ability to perform otoscopic screening and pure-tone air conduction threshold testing for the purpose of hearing conservation. (e) Provide Basic counseling of employees concerning test results and criteria for employee referral to hearing conservation program (f) Otoscopy, pure tone air conduction testing, and tympanometry without interpretation for established patients in regular VA clinic (g) Ability to provide employee hearing conservation education, training and audiologic technical support. ( (h) Ability to identify a threshold shift and make appropriate referrals for further testing when indicated. (i) Training of employees on personal hearing protection devices Work Schedule: 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Telework: not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. 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. 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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. 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. 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:GS-8 (1) Experience: Completion of one year of progressive experience and/or experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled. (2) Certification: CAOHC certification as a COHC is required for this assignment. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) Ability to conduct employee hearing conservation education and training. Knowledge of the hearing conservation program requirements to manage records and files. Ability to perform pure tone air conduction testing. Ability to provide audiologic technical support to the employee hearing conservation program. Ability to identify a threshold shift and make appropriate referrals for further testing when indicated. (4) 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 health technician works under the 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 team to develop training programs for patients and staff. The health technician may perform pure tone air conduction threshold testing for established patients and employees, without interpretation. The health technician may provide employee hearing conservation education and training, basic counselling of employees concerning test results and criteria for employee referral. This health technician collaborates with the Hearing Conservation Program Manager and manages records associated with the hearing conservation program. References: Handbook 5005/143 Part II Appendix G70 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8 Physical Requirements: The Incumbent must have dexterity & agility to handle fragile hearing aids and microscopic instruments. The work is at times sedentary; and ambulation between various examination/treatment rooms is also required. The work requires some physical exertion such as lifting and assisting wheelchair patients. The work area is pleasant but at times noisy due to the volume of waiting patients and need to speak with those who are hard of hearing. Occasionally, it Is necessary to deal with disruptive patients. Risk normally associated with an Audiology Clinic/hospital/direct patient care are present. The primary working environment is the Audiology Clinic. Within that environment, the technician will be working with patients who have serious and communicable diseases such as AIDS, TB, Hepatitis C, and herpetic lesions. The position will require extreme care and special knowledge about the seriousness and transmission of these and other diseases. During these encounters the employee must take safety precautions, personal protective equipment, such as gloving and masking, in dealing with these patients.

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 Charles George VA Medical Center 1100 Tunnel Road Asheville, NC 28805 US
• Name: Elise Csajko
• Phone: 631-774-4216
• Email: [email protected]