Health Technician (Hearing Instrument Specialist)

Come Join Our Team! Salem VA Medical Center Audiology is looking for a Health Technician (Hearing Instrument Specialist). 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.

This is an open continuous announcement, candidates will be reviewed and sent to the hiring manager (certificate list issued) to the manager on an as needed basis.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair.
• Performing visual and auditory checks of hearing aids and hearing assistive technology-including all hearing aid accessories as well as alerting devices (troubleshoots performance).
• Provide basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers consistent with the audiologist's treatment plan.
• Assists patients through triaging phone calls and audiology requests with regards to priority and urgency, following the audiologist's plan of care.
• Fabricating earmold impressions with proper (non-diagnostic) otoscopy.
• Order earmolds based on plan of care through prosthetics or DLC and fitting and modifying earmolds

Work Schedule: 7:45am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
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 #: 000000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Health Technician (HIS) candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Experience and Education:
• 1. Experience: Completion of the Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program for Hearing Aid Specialists; OR
  2. Education: Successful completion of two academic years above high school that includes coursework related to the field: hearing science, human anatomy and physiology, hearing instrument science, gerontology, psychology or other general healthcare areas.
     • Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. NOTE: There is no combination of education and experience which can be substituted for the basic requirements.
  3. Licensure or Registration: Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestricted license or registration to practice as a HIS in a state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia.
  4. Board Certification: Individuals must hold active board certification from the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements outlined in paragraph 3, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

• Health Technician (HIS), GS-05:
  1. Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.
  2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
     • Knowledge of basic anatomy of the head and neck.
     • Knowledge of basic infection control procedures and guidelines.
     • Skill in using basic computer software to complete tasks such as using email, creating spreadsheets and word processing.
     • Ability to communicate orally and in writing.
     • Ability to follow verbal and written instructions.
     • Ability to maintain stock and supply level inventories.
• Health Technician (HIS), GS-06:
  1. Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade, GS-05.
  2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
     • Knowledge of normal and abnormal ear anatomy.
     • Knowledge of hearing aids, hearing assistive technology, hearing aid manufacturers and manufacturer software.
     • Skill in documenting patient procedures and patient devices.
     • Skill in providing patient education for hearing aid use, to include assisting patient with hearing aid insertion, removal and hygiene (cleaning and disinfection).
     • Ability to provide patient education and training regarding hearing loss and communication strategies for various listening situations.
     • Ability to solve problems or make decisions regarding hearing aids, hearing assistive technology and patient care that is consistent with the documented and co-signed plan of care under the supervision of an audiologist.
     • Ability to prepare patient, equipment, and/or environment for audiology procedures. (h) Ability to provide triage of patient telephone calls or audiology requests.

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-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-05 to GS-06.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

***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/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment Occupational Health evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.