Health Technician (Audiology & Speech Language Pathology)

Audiology & Speech Pathology is located within the Columbia VA Health Care System, main medical facility WJB Dorn Hospital or the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). The duties of this position are conducted through the medical center including all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the service. The incumbent serves under the Supervisory Speech Pathologist or Audiologist with direction from the licensed professional staff (Audiologist or Speech Language Pathologist).

Major Duties include:

• Greeting and escorting patients throughout facility.
• Triaging patients to an audiologist based on complexity of the procedures being completed.
• Patient set up for procedures (e.g., vestibular, neurodiagnostic procedures,
  instrumental swallowing evaluations)
• Patient instruction and counseling on hearing loss/hearing aids, diet thickeners/safe swallowing skills, either on an individual basis or in a
  group setting.
• Conducting hearing pass/fail screenings without interpretation.
• Non-diagnosticotoscopy; 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.
• Preparing swallow study materials for instrumental evaluation.
• The incumbent 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 & speech.
• All other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 61506F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
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.
• Experience and Education. 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.
• 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 Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
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.

Requirements at the GS-7:

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs).
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Ability to mentor and train new HTASLPs.
• Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials.
• Ability to identify the diagnosis and dysphagia risk factors in the medical record to assist the SLP.
• Ability to identify the components of dysphagia monitoring.
• Knowledge of linguistic parameters such as semantic, syntactic and phonological categories, to assist in creating therapeutic stimuli and home programs.
• Ability to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology and/or speech-language pathology.

Preferred Experience: Previous Audiology Technician or Assistant experience.

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 in the GS - 7.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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 physical examination.
• 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.