The Veterans Health Administration supports the provision of patient care using telehealth technologies which increase a Veteran's access to care and support a Veteran's self-management. This includes developing and delivering virtual and digital technologies which help Veterans communicate synchronously and asynchronously with their health care teams and coordinate, track, and manage their health care.

Duties

This is not an entry-level position. The successful applicant will have Telehealth experience as described in the posting and will be able to apply their knowledge and skills when they step into this position. Telehealth technologies may include Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT), Store and Forward Telehealth (SFT), Video Conferencing, VA Video Connect (VVC), VA Mobile, My HealtheVet (MHV), Remote Patient Monitoring-Home Telehealth (RPM-HT), and other telehealth applications. These technologies are used to deliver care to Veterans located at various institutional and non-institutional settings, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs), Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), State Veteran Homes, Vet Centers, homeless shelters, Indian Health Services (IHS) clinics, Department of Defense (DOD) facilities, and other affiliated organizations as well as directly to Veterans in their home. The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical Technician - TCT) - Advanced, provides high level support, training, and advanced management of telehealth operations and is typically stationed at a clinical care delivery site (VA Medical Center, CBOC, VA Outreach Clinic, etc.) with duties that may require travel to other VA locations and facilities. This position functions above the full performance level for the TCT position and serves in an advanced role. The activities of the TCT are governed in accordance with relevant VHA, VISN, and facility regulations, standards, and guidance including telehealth operations manuals, guidelines, and specialty supplements. These activities shall be consistent with national, VISN, and facility level policies and procedures and support national, VISN, and facility strategic goals. Roles and responsibilities include: Deliver established telehealth competency-based training for clinicians and telehealth staff members. Support clinical telehealth encounters for both the patient and provider locations by serving as the telepresenter within scope of practice. Function as an imager and support clinical data for telehealth store and forward applications. Manage real time clinical telehealth events. Provide established patient education. Provide technical and administrative support of telehealth operations. Evaluate telehealth operations and support performance improvement efforts. Provide technical support to end-users. Schedule simple and complex intra-facility and inter-facility telehealth appointments. Install, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot technology, and perform a variety of program support duties as assigned. May be certified and function as a preceptor for Clinical Video and/or Store and Forward Telehealth Operations. Responsible for day-to-day operation of telehealth services at the assigned location and between the assigned location and remote sites of care as well as participating in the programmatic development and advanced support of the facility-wide telehealth program. Exercise independent judgement and provide guidance to less experienced staff members with minimal direct supervision. Coordinate, install, maintain, and manage the inventory of telehealth technologies including hardware and software with assistance of Biomed and IT. Provide established standardized competency-based training for telehealth technology, facilitating interactive simulations for clinical staff participating in telehealth programs. Participate in performance improvement activities aimed at improving the efficiency of the patient telehealth processes. Develop reporting procedures, sampling techniques, and measurements at various points in the telehealth processes to identify/analyze inherent weaknesses in work and procedures. Coordinate clinic set up and monitor workload capture and issues for assigned patient and provider clinics, including telehealth resource-based scheduling. Support designated complex telehealth programs that require advanced technical skillsets. Prepare the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment. Support the Veteran in completing patient satisfaction surveys. Ensure assigned telehealth technologies are secured, ready for use, and accounted for by preparing and tracking maintenance work orders, information systems, inventory records, and communicating with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary. Work Schedule: M-F, 7:30am to 4:00pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. After a determination is made that it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens, non-citizen personnel may be appointed on a temporary basis under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405, without regard to the citizenship requirements of 38 U.S.C. 7402 or any other law prohibiting the employment of or payment of compensation to a person who is not a citizen of the United States. Candidates must meet all other requirements for the grade and position concerned. Experience and Education. (1) Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. OR (2) Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field. OR (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces. Certification. None English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. GRADE DETERMINATIONS In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-7 (Advanced) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (The next lower grade level is skilled in policies, procedures, and the use of telehealth technologies for the facilitation of telehealth clinical encounters). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. (a) Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze, evaluate and resolve problems. (b) Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement. (c) Ability to function effectively between competing priorities. (d) Knowledge of proper maintenance and troubleshooting of telehealth equipment. (e) Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a health technician in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work. (f) Ability to assist in Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) development, outcome management and strategic planning. (g) Ability to perform successful knowledge transfer regarding the use of telehealth technologies. Note:Clearly describe how you meet these KSAs in your resume; we cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. Physical Requirements: The work requires light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds); use of fingers; the ability to use telehealth cameras and basic medical equipment (corrective lenses permitted); and hearing (aid may be permitted). Must be able to work closely with others and work alone.

Education

IMPORTANT: If basing your qualifications on education, you must submit a copy of all relevant transcripts with your application. An unofficial copy of college transcripts showing completion of the degree or program is required and must include the name of the school, your name, date conferred or completed, and degree or certificate type. Your transcript will be reviewed for relevant coursework; therefore, the copy you submit must be legible.

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 Anchorage VA Medical Center 1201 North Muldoon Road Anchorage, AK 99504 US
• Name: Joe Julkowski
• Phone: 509-434-7382
• Email: [email protected]