Health Technician (Audiology)
Veterans Health Administration - Department of Veterans Affairs
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. Language Proficiency: Health Technician nurses appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in both spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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. 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 stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate’s qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. (KSAs must be clearly reflected in resume under description of duties in order to be found qualified for this position/grade level). GS7: 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. 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 HTAs. Ability to prepare patients for advanced testing procedures performed by the audiologist, such as evoked potentials. Ability to develop and implement the technician role for a program in a focused area of audiology. Preferred Experience: One year as an audiology hearing/aide 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 GS-7. Physical Requirements: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.
The Health Technician (Audiology) supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology service. The duties and responsibilities are carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with Audiology service.