Health Technician (Optometry)

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 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: 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.

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. 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).

Creditable Experience: To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills and abilities associated with current health technician/assistant or health technician (optometry)/assistant practice. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment as a health technician/assistant or health technician (optometry)/assistant in the health care field. Quality of Experience.

Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to health technician/assistant or health technician (optometry)/assistant experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full-time workweek. For example, an individual employed 20 hours per week, or on a half time basis, would receive one full-time work week of credit for each two weeks of service. 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).

03Grade 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. Assignment: Employee at this grade level serves as a full performance level health technician (optometry). The technicians perform duties such as measuring and recording visual acuity (with use of pinhole testing as indicated), obtaining accurate potential acuity meter, laser interferometry, contrast sensitivity or other specialized visual acuity measurements.

The technicians also evaluate pupillary light responses and measure pupil size, determine the presence or absence of fusion and perform stereoacuity measurements. The health technicians (optometry) perform Amsler grid testing, administer eye drops under the supervision of an eye care provider (optometrist or ophthalmologist), perform basic tonometry (e.g., non-contact, Goldmann, Tono-Pen) and estimate the anterior chamber depth with a penlight or slit lamp biomicroscope.

The technicians are skilled in properly reading a basic spectacle prescription using an automated or manual lensometer, obtaining accurate autorefractometry and keratometry measurements, performing confrontation and standard automated visual field testing and administering and scoring basic color vision tests (e.g., pseudoischromatic plates, Farnsworth D-15).

The technicians are also adept at measuring and recording corneal thickness by pachymetry as well as performance of advanced corneal measurements, exophthalmometry, tear testing and ocular imaging (e.g., stereo fundus, basic slit lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular lens master measurements, ocular ultrasonography, posterior segment optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence and/or ocular angiography).

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.

04Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include but not limited to: Incumbent is responsible for obtaining a patient's physical history to include chief complaint, present illness, past history (both ocular and general), family history (both ocular and general), and current eye medications.

Incumbent follows Eye Clinic and facility-wide patient care medical policies and procedures (including practicing basic hygiene and infection control in a patient care setting), obtains ophthalmic and medical information from patients, and documents all pertinent information appropriately in CPRS.

The Optometry Health Technician performs duties such as measuring and recording visual acuity (with use of pinhole testing as indicated) and, where needed, by obtaining accurate potential acuity meter, laser interferometry, contrast sensitivity or other specialized visual acuity measurements.

The Optometry Health Technician also evaluates pupillary light responses and measures pupil size, determines the presence or absence of fusion, and performs stereoacuity measurements, accurate assessment of accommodation, near point of convergence and other tests of ocular alignment (far and near).

The Optometry Health Technician performs Amsler grid testing, administers eye drops under the supervision of an eye care provider (optometrist or ophthalmologist), performs basic tonometry (e.g., non-contact, Goldmann, Icare, Tono-Pen) and estimates the anterior chamber depth with a penlight or slit lamp biomicroscope. The Optometry Health Technician is also adept at visual field testing and ocular imaging (e.g., stereo fundus photography and posterior segment optical coherence tomography).

The Optometry Health Technician performs patient spectacle fitting and dispensing as needed (e.g., selection of appropriate frame, ophthalmic lenses, interpupillary measurements - distance and near - and proper segment height determination and transposes sphere, cylinder and axis the CPRS record. The incumbent triages and manages eyeglasses issues, performs minor eyeglasses repairs (such as replacing nose pads and screws).

The Optometry Health Technician has knowledge of ophthalmic medications and supplies needed for restocking the eye clinic exam rooms and helps monitor and maintain clinic supplies and the medication refrigerator in accordance with VHA requirements. The Optometry Health Technician also has knowledge of eye anatomy and function and provides advanced patient education on eye health and vision conditions.

The Optometry Health Technician provides basic triage of patient telephone calls, Secure Messages, or other requests from patients or HealthCare System staff. They assist the eye care provider (optometrist or ophthalmologist) with ophthalmic procedures as needed (e.g., obtaining accurate ocular cultures and smears).

The Optometry Health Technician assists in training residents and externs in clinic procedures and processes, the use of ocular instruments and equipment, and delivering efficient and quality eye care to patients.

Work Schedule: Tour will be based on the needs of the service at the time of selection Compressed/Flexible: Semi Compressed tour may be available based on the needs of the service Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior 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. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized