Health Technician-Optometry

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. Experience. One year of experience as a health technician or assistant in the health care field demonstrating the applicant’s ability to perform the work or by demonstrating a basic understanding of work in the health care field; OR Education. Successful completion of two academic years above high school with a minimum of 12 semester hours related to health technician/assistant or health technician (optometry)/assistant or associate degree, or completion of an independent study course in an optometry related technician or assistant field; OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below: (A) Six months of experience comparable to the next lower level which demonstrates the knowledge of optometry assistant theory and practices and general understanding of the health technician/assistant duties and one year above high school with a minimum of six semester hours of health technician/assistant or health technician (optometry)/assistant related courses. (B) Successful completion of a course for health care technicians or assistants, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or hospital training in a program given by the U.S. Armed Forces, the U.S. Maritime Service, or the U.S. Public Health Service, may be substituted on a month-for-month basis. Licensure/Certification/Registration. None. English Language Proficiency. Health Technician (Optometry) candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Grade Determinations: Health Technician (Optometry), GS-07 Experience. One year 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to meeting the experience or educational requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to determine preliminary objective estimate and/or refinement of the optical status of the eye, not to include the patient’s final subjective refraction. Ability to triage and manage eyeglasses issues (e.g., measurement of vertex distance, base curve, prism correction, center thickness, slab off, Fresnel prism, decentration, etc.). Ability to perform accurate assessment of accommodation, near point of convergence and ocular alignment (far and near). Ability to assist the eye care provider (optometrist or ophthalmologist) with ophthalmic procedures. Ability to assist with obtaining accurate ocular cultures and smears. Knowledge and ability to provide advanced patient education for eye health and/or vision conditions. Preferred Experience: Previous work as an optometric technician. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 7. Physical Requirements: The incumbent must have dexterity & agility to handle fragile eyeglasses & contact lenses as well as microscopic instruments. The work is at times sedentary, and ambulation between various examination/treatment rooms are also required. The work requires some physical exertion such as lifting and assisting wheelchair patients into chairs positioned in front of the cameras. It is also required that the angiographer be able to operate the cameras with one hand while holding the patients’ eyelids open with the other. The incumbent will also frequently spend extended periods standing and bending over in the Eye Clinic. The employee will also need to frequently lift light to moderately heavy cameras, camera accessories, and imaging equipment. The work area is pleasant but at times noisy due to the volume of waiting patients. Occasionally, it Is necessary to deal with disruptive patients. Risk normally associated with an Eye Clinic/hospital/direct patient care are present. The primary working environment is the Eye Clinic. Within that environment, the photographer will be working with patients who have serious and communicable diseases such as AIDS, TB, Hepatitis C, and herpetic lesions. The position will require extreme care and special knowledge about the seriousness and transmission of these and other diseases. During these encounters the employee must take safety precautions, such as gloving and masking, in dealing with these patients.
The Optometry Health Technicians in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) support Optometrists and other eye clinic staff in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and follow-up care. The incumbent performs a variety of ancillary testing, triages patient phone calls or requests, stocks examination rooms with supplies and appropriate ophthalmic medications, performs and documents appropriate work-up tests, and assists with patient counseling as indicated.