Health Technician (Audiology)
What you'd do
This position is located in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, Audiology section of the North Florida/South Georgia VA Healthcare System in Jacksonville, FL. 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 staff health technician (Audiology) will be under the supervision of a GS-12 audiologist or above.
Major duties
**Position is located at the Jacksonville 1 VA Clinic** Primary responsibility is for patient care, supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures, patient charting and patient education, which do not require a full professional audiology education or knowledge and skills represented by audiology licensure. Support functions include both direct patient care and administrative duties. In addition, the incumbent must be able to mentor and train new health technicians (Audiology). Direct patient care duties may include, but 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 or hearing aids either on an individual basis or in a group setting; Conducting hearing pass/fail screenings without interpretation; Non-diagnostic otoscopy; 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. The Health Technician (Audiology) at this level is required to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology. The incumbent should perform non diagnostic hearing screenings, cerumen management, ear mold impressions, hearing aid repair, programming previously stored settings into the hearing aids should account for 25% of their duties. Ensuring 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); Responding to routine inquiries and answer phone calls to the Audiology hearing aid clinic 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, Reprocessing reusable medical equipment based on facility policy according to Medical Center infection control procedures and reusable medical equipment policies. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: 8am - 4:30pm, Monday through Friday Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 55469F
What you need to qualify
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: 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). 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. Certification. None 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. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Health Technician (Audiology), GS-06 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to mentor and train new HTAs Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials. Ability to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology. 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 HTA at this level works under supervision and 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 audiology team to develop training programs for patients and staff. Preferred Experience: 1+ years with hearing aids, hearing aid repairs and modifications, earmold impressions, hearing aid troubleshooting, pairing hearing aids and accessories via Bluetooth technology, and other roles for a program in a focused area of audiology. 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-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-7. Physical Requirements: Light lifting, under 15 pounds; Light carrying, under 15 pounds; Walking (6 hours); Standing (6 hours); Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; both eyes required; depth perception; Hearing (aid permitted); Use of fingers; Both hands required.
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