Health Technician (Audiology)

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. The Phoenix VA HCS is seeking a dynamic Health Technician to join our Audiology team at the Northwest VA Clinic in Surprise, AZ. Health Technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology. The primary responsibilities of the position are patient care, supporting diagnostic, treatment procedures, patient charting, and patient education.

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education or Experience: Experience: Six months of creditable experience comparable to the next lower level (GS-07) which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities related to the duties of the position. [Please make sure that your experience is evident in your resume. Please make sure your resume contains hours worked per week for each work experience entry, or your resume will be considered incomplete, and you will be considered "ineligible" for the position.] 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. (Transcripts must be submitted.) OR, Combination: Equivalent combinations of experience and education as described above. [Please make sure that your experience is evident in your resume. Please make sure your resume contains hours worked per week for each work experience entry, or your resume will be considered incomplete, and you will be considered "ineligible" for the position.] Certification: Certification by the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) as a Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist (COHC) is required for the Health Technician (Audiology) GS-08 position ONLY. Grade Determinations: GS-08 Health Technician (Audiology) (Above Full Performance Level) 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. CAOHC certification as a COHC is required for this assignment. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following 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. 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds); light carrying (under 15 pounds); walking (2 hours); standing (2 hours); repeated bending (2 hours); near vision corrected to 13" to 16"; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other; and hearing (aid permitted).