Health Technician (Audiology)

The Health Technician (Audiology), GS-7, plays a key role in the Salem VA HCS Audiology team within Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. This position provides independent clinical and administrative support that directly enhances hearing care for Veterans. It's a rewarding opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a dynamic, patient-centered environment.

The incumbent is responsible for patient care, supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures, patient charting and patient education. Support functions include both direct patient care and administrative duties.

Direct patient care duties may include but are not limited to:

• Greeting and escorting patients
• Triaging patients to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed
• Patient set up for procedures
• Patient instruction and counseling on hearing loss or hearing aids either on an individual basis or in a group setting
• Conducting basic maintenance services for hearing aids and assistive technology
• Providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers
• Perform otoscopy with knowledge of when to refer
• Complete earmold impressions and hearing aid modification

Administrative duties may include but are not limited to:

• 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 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

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:45am - 4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
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)
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

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.

Experience and Education.

(1) 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

(2) 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

(3) 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

English Language Proficiency. HTA, HTSLP or HTASLP candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403 (f).May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determination. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

(1) 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.

(2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:(a) Ability to mentor and train new HTAs.(b) Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials.(c) Ability to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology.

Preferred Experience: Experience with Hearing Aid repair and Patient Care.

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-70 for Health Technician (Audiology) (HTA), Health Technician (Speech-Language Pathology) (HTSLP) and Health Technician (Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology) (HTASLP), GS-0640 Qualification Standard. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-07.

Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires mostly periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients/residents who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on stakeholder needs.

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/.