Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Responsibilities Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical & telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination & treatment. Serving as a telepresenter within scope of practice during clinical video telehealth (CVT) & VA Video Connect (WC) encounters including tasks such as establishing & maintaining video conferencing connections, making introductions between patient site & provider site, following instructions of a clinician to facilitate an effective clinical encounter. Serving as an imager & clinical data manager for store & forward telehealth (SFT) clinical encounters including tasks such as capturing images, collecting data & transmitting them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines. Taking measures to ensure patient care is delivered safely by following appropriate procedures for inventory management, cleaning of clinical equipment & the care environment while following all patient safety guidelines, protocols, & procedures. Completing standardized clinical questionnaires & templates within scope of training & applicable guidelines. Ensuring that patient privacy is protected by complying with all information security & patient privacy regulations. Receiving & scheduling requests for simple & complex intra-facility, & inter­facility telehealth appointments using an electronic resource-based scheduling system. Screening patients for Telehealth modality & referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care. Monitoring & maintaining schedules of rooms, patients, technologies, clinical providers & presenters as needed to ensure efficient telehealth operations. Providing patient education via approved materials. Supporting the Veteran in completing patient satisfaction surveys. Communicating effectively with clinical & administrative staff at the assigned local site & those located at remote sites of care. Configuring, installing, troubleshooting, cleaning, & performing minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology. Ensuring assigned telehealth technologies are managed appropriately to include inventory, secure, ready for use, & accounted for by preparing & tracking maintenance work orders, information systems, inventory records, & communicating with the National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, & coordination of replacement equipment as necessary. Providing established education & training to Veterans, staff & providers on the use of telehealth technologies & serving as a point of contact to answer questions & address concerns related to these technologies. Maintaining knowledge of & skill in applying an extensive body of rules, procedures, & operations in telehealth-related technologies & a variety of computer hardware & software used for telecommunications, data entry & retrieval, record maintenance, document & report generation. Maintaining regular contact with other staff members & the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection & any other logistical issues. Arranging & completing test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veterans for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies. Ensuring information & resources are maintained for local & remote telehealth providers so they can effectively execute contingency & emergency plans. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Michael Campbell (Michael.campbell6@va.gov), the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary & regular salary increases. 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) & 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: Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 58996A, 58997A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications 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 in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician OR Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below: Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; or Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces OR Grandfathering Provision. All Health Technicians (Telehealth Clinical) employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard (02/07/2018) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: Health Technician - Telehealth Clinical, GS-5 Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. Assignment. This is an entry level Health Technician - Telehealth Clinical position. It is expected that the Health Technician - Telehealth Clinical receive guidance from more experienced staff members and require frequent and direct supervision. Assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to, schedule telehealth appointments using an electronic scheduling system; obtain and document patient history and pertinent clinical information in electronic medical records; prepares the telehealth room where the Health Technician - Telehealth Clinical readies the equipment for examination, establishes video conferencing connection, makes introductions between patient site and provider site; monitors and maintains electronic schedule of rooms, patients, technologies, and presenters; administers the patient satisfaction survey; cleans and performs minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology. Health Technician - Telehealth Clinical, GS-6 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. Comprehensive knowledge of computer systems and programs to perform a variety of tasks. Ability to communicate, consult, and interact with other members of the healthcare team, external relations, customer service and patient education. Ability to provide and receive guidance and technical direction. Ability to plan, organize, set priorities, work as a team member, and effectively complete assignments. Ability to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions. Knowledge of general clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment. Skilled in the use of telehealth technologies for the facilitation of telehealth clinical encounters. Assignment. This is considered the full performance level for this assignment. The Health Technician - Telehealth Clinical performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to-day operation of the Connected Care Services. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to, screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care; communicating effectively with administrative and professional staff, and obtaining assistance for issues that may arise or backlogs that cannot be resolved in a timely manner. Responsible for performing imaging duties in accordance with VHA national telehealth guidelines such as: capture and transmission of clinical images and/or data, obtains consent as necessary, generates consults according to established procedures for each telehealth specialty, transmits images or clinical data to the electronic medical record, provides patient education regarding general anatomy, disease processes and prevention as appropriate, and takes appropriate action based on the providers' findings and recommendations. Responsible for facilitation of real-time Telehealth encounters by providing hands on assistance and reporting clinical observations under the direction of a licensed independent Practitioner or clinical specialist; schedules, confirms and coordinates Telehealth services between internal and external VA and non-VA sites; analyzes own work flow to determine potential problem areas and recommends corrective action to improve coordination between various units/facilities; has regular contact with the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues; responsible for conducting routine inventories and consistently tracking location/status of Telehealth technology located at assigned site; and communicates with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 5 to 6. Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items such as manuals, record boxes, equipment or assisting patients. The work requires above average agility and dexterity. The incumbent may be required to travel between VA and/or Non-VA clinical care sites and possession of a valid driver's license may be required. Education 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/. Additional Information *** This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT & will remain open until December 31st, 2024. The initial cutoff date for referral of eligible applications will be November 18th, 2024. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as needed basis until positions are filled. *** During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.