Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology)

01Basic Requirements

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

02Experience and Education

Experience. One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician. OR Education. Two years above high school with a minimum of six semester hours directly related to a health care field or associate's degree in a health care related degree. OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying.

Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field; and one year above high school; or (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or ophthalmology technicians given by the U.S. Armed Forces; or (c) Six months of experience in the health care field and completion of an independent study course in Ophthalmic Medical Assisting.

Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

03Certification

All applicants must be certified as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). The COA certification is JCAHPO's entry-level certification examination for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology). Exception: Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the minimum qualification requirements may be appointed as a graduate Health Technician (Ophthalmology) under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)(B).

The appointing official may waive the requirement of certification for a period not to exceed two years for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) that provides care under the supervision of an Ophthalmologist. The exception only applies below the full performance level. For grade levels at or above the full performance level the candidate must be certified. Failure to obtain COA certification during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment and may result in termination of employment.

English Language Proficiency. Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 38 U.S.C. 7407(d). 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).

All persons employed in VHA as a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certification requirements.

For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements 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 journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.

Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) who were 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.

Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or certification that meet all the basic requirements of the qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

04Grade Determinations

GS-10: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level. AND In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work independently to set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity within the service.

Ability to develop policy, manage equipment requests, and provide workload analysis in Ophthalmology Service. Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills including skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team members, managers and other departments.

Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed; competency assessments; performance evaluations; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions. Assignment: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Supervisory Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) at the GS-10 grade level generally are found in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) facilities, or in facilities of lesser complexity levels where large ophthalmology services are found. Supervisors may perform other complex assignments and program management duties such as overseeing the integration between ophthalmic medical devices and the electronic medical record system.

The Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) is responsible for the supervision, administrative management, direction of ophthalmology staff, and supervises interactions of Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) with 10 affiliate ophthalmology residents. May be delegated full administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the ophthalmology staff activities for the service or equivalent unit at an independent outpatient clinic.

Has full supervisory responsibility over a section or equivalent work unit. Typical duties include preparing work assignments, monitoring clinical performances of ophthalmology staff, volunteers, and/or students, conducting performance appraisals, and other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied.

Assures compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements, and the quality management program, assuring corrective action is initiated as needed. Assures orientation and competency assessment of assigned staff. Develops policies and procedures; manages document control; develops performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements; and is responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area to include budget execution.

Maintains interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals. May have overall responsibility for planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the program and overall delivery of healthcare within the facility, or coordination of non-VA care as appropriate.

05Preferred Experience

Supervisory experience highly preferred.

The Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) is considered to be above the full performance level performing higher level duties described in this standard with one year of experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level.

Duties may include, but are not limited to: Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize, and coordinate activities of the Health Technician (Ophthalmology) in order to effectively complete job duties of assignments such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work, etc. Ability to communicate effectively in order to meet program objectives.

This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels. Ability to assist in Health Technician (Ophthalmology) development, outcome management, and strategic planning. Ability to act as liaison between Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) to resolve informal employee complaints and concerns. Assists and performs all duties and responsibilities of GS5-9 health technician ophthalmology, including, but not limited to testing using various optical equipment.

Records Management: On a consistent basis, write patient notes in a timely manner and in the proper format according to VA policy. Will be expected to adhere to business rules of completing encounters and notes. Enter consults in a timely manner in accordance with accepted practices of the medical center. Proper hygiene and infection controls must be maintained at all times.

Universal precautions for employee protection are used during the performance of the Heath Technician's duties in relation to the cleaning and processing of reusable medical equipment (RME) and the performance of assisting with eye injections and oculoplastic procedures. Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C.742(d) and 38 U.S.C. 7407(d).

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday Day Tour Compressed/Flexible: Not eligible Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance):Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. 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 #: 689-F08533 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).

In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.