OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

Duties

This position is located at the Appleton Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) ; and is organizationally aligned to the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI. The incumbent shall independently provide direct patient care services in ophthalmic dispensing involving education, selection, verification, adjustment and repair of ophthalmic lenses and eyewear. The incumbent adheres to all Joint Commission and hospital regulations, policies, and procedures. This position independently provides direct patient care services related to patient education, selection, ordering, verification, troubleshooting, adjustment and repair of ophthalmic lenses and eyewear. When ordering eyeglasses, this employee will educate the patient on the lens materials, lens designs, frames, tints and coatings that have been prescribed and will assist patient in the selection and ordering of proper fitting standard eyewear frames with understanding of frame selection to include the following: size, materials, relationship between frames, lenses and face.Major Duties include but are not limited to: Takes measurements of interpupillary distances, optical centers, and multifocal or progressive addition lens segment heights will be accurately obtained and documented. Adjust eyeglasses for comfortable fit and proper alignment of optical centers and segment heights for optimal visual performance and will instruct/educate patients on how to wear and care for eyeglasses. The incumbent will have the skills to repair broken or defective eyeglasses. Acts 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. Consistently communicates and treats Veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner and handles conflict and Veteran concerns constructively and appropriately. Documents patient care activities properly and clearly in the patient's electronic record in a timely manner. Tracks eyeglass orders weekly for verification of receipt of consult and obtain tracking information as needed to assist the Veteran. Notifies Veteran's when eyeglasses are ready for pickup Following appropriate infection control guidelines, cleans and disinfects equipment and sample frames, uses proper hand hygiene between patient encounters, and maintains optical space, including frame displays and fitting area. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, normal business hours Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Optician)/PD235380 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/17/2024. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-6 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Ability to triage patient concerns by taking a history, performing lensometry, troubleshooting all optical issues and verification that eyeglass fabrication is completed as prescribed; Provide patient education concerning frame selection, lens options, and care of eyeglasses; Properly adjust eyeglasses for comfort and optical alignment for optimal visual performance and will instruct/educate patients on how to wear and care for eyeglasses; Take measurements, fit, and complete orders for optical lenses and frames; Repair of broken or defective eyeglasses; Maintain inventory for an eye clinic, and order supplies when necessary. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-6level. EDUCATION: Have you successfully completed one-half year of graduate education (9 semester hours or equivalent), in course matter with a major that included courses directly related to the work of the Health Technician (Optometry) position? This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (Transcripts Required). OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-6 level. Combination: Do you have a combination of successfully completed graduate level education AND specialized experience which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level? To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-6. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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: Physical requirements include an ongoing mix of sitting, standing, walking, bending, and carrying light weight items. Many of the position's major duties require a high degree of manual dexterity and accuracy. Occasional heavy lifting may be required. In some instances, interactions with patients, caregivers, and staff can become intense and the employee may be placed in a position of stress. 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

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 Clement J Zablocki Veterans Administration Medical Center 5000 West National Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53295 US
• Name: David Konopka
• Phone: 414-384-2000
• Email: [email protected]