The VA Cheyenne Health Care System, Audiology Service, is currently recruiting for (1) GS-0640 Health Technician-Audiology to work at the Sidney, Nebraska, VA Clinic within the Veterans Health Care System facility.

Duties

The duties for the Health Technician-Audiology duties include, but are not limited to the following: This position is located in the Audiology Service at the Sidney VA Clinic in Sidney, NE with recurring travel to outlying outpatient or mobile clinics. The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Audiology service. The health technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology. The incumbent is a staff health technician(Audiology) under the supervision of a GS-12 audiologist or above. Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) certification as a Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist(COHC) is required for this assignment. Supporting clinical Tele Audiology encounters by the serving as the tele presenter. Function as an imager and data manager. providing patient education, technical and administrative support of operations. Greeting and escorting patients. Triaging patients to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed. Setting up patient procedures such as but not limited to (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. Conducts hearing Puretone air-conduction testing without interpretation for the purpose of hearing conservation and for established patients in regular VA Clinic. Non-diagnostic otoscopy. Cerumen management. Taking earmold impressions. Hearing aid trouble shooting 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. Training employees and patients on personal hearing protection devices. Serving as an audiology tele presenter and establishing and maintaining video conferencing connections, capturing images, collecting data and transmitting them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA guidelines. Following instructions of a clinician to facilitate an effective clinical encounter. Timely and accurately document all interactions in the medical records and all encounters are correctly documented using electronic medical record and computerized tracking and ordering functions via ROES. Managing office supplies. Tracing loaner and stock hearing aid inventory. Electronic Ordering. Verifying orders upon arrival and making sure they are working properly. Packaging and mailing hearing aid accessories. Processing ROES transactions. Responding to routine inquires from patients, including determining nature of hearing aid inquiry and responding to administrative questions. 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. Reprocessing reusable medical equipment based on facility policy according to Medical Center Infection control procedures and reusable medical equipment policies. Configuring, installing, troubleshooting, cleaning and performing minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology. Ensures 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. Maintaining knowledge of a skill in applying an extensive body of rules, procedures, and operations in telehealth-related technologies and a variety of computer hardware and software used for telecommunications, data entry and retrieval, record maintenance, document and report generation. Maintaining regular contact with more experienced staff members and the Facility Telehealth Coordinator and Tele Audiology Program Manager to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues. Ensuring information and resources are maintained for local and remote telehealth providers so they can effectively execute contingency and emergency plans. 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 areas of hearing conversation 25% of the time. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc availability only by supervisors discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 442-57968-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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 Basic Requirements: US Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). English Language Proficiency: Health Technicians-Audiology appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken & written English. 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. Grandfathering Provision. All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series 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 held including positive education and licensure/trademark/registration/certification. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: They 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 placed in supervisory or managerial positions. If an HTA, HTSLP or HTASLP who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee will lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. HTAs, HTSLPs or HTASLPs 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 initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. 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. Grade Determinations: Grade determination requirements GS-8 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. Certification- Certification by the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) as a Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist (COHC) is required for a GS-08 assignment Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a)Ability to conduct employee hearing conservation education and training. (b)Knowledge of the hearing conservation program requirements to manage records and files. (c)Ability to perform pure tone air conduction testing. (d)Ability to provide audiologic technical support to the employeehearing conservation program. (e)Ability to identify a threshold shift and make appropriate referrals for further testing when indicated. References: VA Handbook 5005/3, Part II, Appendix G70. Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of sitting, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items. Must be able to push a patient in a wheelchair and assist in transferring from wheelchair to exam chair.

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 Cheyenne VA Health Care System 2360 East Pershing Boulevard Cheyenne, WY 82001 US
• Name: VISN 19 HR Contact Center
• Phone: 719-227-4600
• Email: [email protected]