This position is located in withing the Audiology section of the Physical Medicine and Rehab service of the Sheridan VA Healthcare System. The duties and responsibilities are primarily carried out throughout the VA Medical Center and distant CBOC locations using a variety of modalities including but not limited to; face to face, telephone, VA Video Connect, and Clinical Video Telehealth. The incumbent is a staff audiologist with special clinical program responsibilities.

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. English Language Proficiency. Audiologist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education. Doctor of Audiology (AUD) from an audiology program recognized by the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) or Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). HR office staff and management officials may verify a program's accreditation from ACAE at acaeaccred.org and CAA at caa.asha.org. OR Other doctoral degree in hearing science or a directly related field from an institution accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. OR Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

NOTE:

Effective January 1, 2007, the CAA in Audiology and Speech- Language Pathology of ASHA accredits only doctoral degree or AUD programs in audiology. Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology at the doctoral level in a United States state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria for appointments at grade levels specified. Audiologist (Clinical Specialist), GS-13. Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional audiologist, with at least one year comparable to the next lower grade level (GS-12). Assignments at the GS-12 level. At this level, audiologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of audiologic services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. Audiologists serve as consultants to other health care professionals and are recognized subject matter experts (SME) on matters related to hearing, tinnitus, and balance disorders. The supervisor may assign staff audiologists to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, hearing health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, compensation, and pension. Audiologists diagnose audiologic disorders, conduct audiologic, or neuro-audiologic assessments; treat auditory disorders through various modalities; and provide adjunctive interventions for the treatment of medical disorders. Audiologists consult with medical center staff on various patient care issues. Staff audiologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group audiologic rehabilitation. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) . In addition to the KSAs required at the full performance level (GS-12) , the following KSAs are required: Audiologist, GS-12

KSAs:

(a) Skill in determining nature, type, and severity of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders. (b) Skill in counseling patients and family members regarding management of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders. (c) Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional audiology to other health care professionals. (d) Ability to independently apply professional contemporary audiologic treatments to the full range of patient populations. AND Audiologist (Clinical Specialist), GS-13

KSAs:

(a) Advanced knowledge in a focused area of contemporary audiology practice to provide oversight of a specialty program. (b) Skill to evaluate the specialty program to ensure deadlines and goals are met. (c) Skill to coordinate initiatives and build consensus among interdisciplinary team members. (d) Ability to monitor and report on work progress in the specialty program to adjust workload and processes. (e) Ability to serve as the SME and provide education relating to the specialty program.

Preferred Experience:

3 years of tele-audiology experience (50% of time was dedicated to tele-audiology services) Set up and monitoring of new telehealth services including employee training, equipment ordering, supply ordering, and schedule management. VA TeleAudiology (CVT) experience delivering synchronous evaluations and hearing aid fittings. Completion of VA TCT training for Audiology and demonstrated experience training others to perform full Tele Audiology appointments (including cerumen management and ear-impressions). Demonstrates experience in Leading implementation of TeleAudiology workflows, including clinic coverage coordination, equipment/software installs and calibrations with OIT/contractors, and staff training across multiple sites. Demonstrates experience in providing comprehensive diagnostic audiology; hearing aid evaluation/dispensing/services; tinnitus assessment/management; cerumen management; and conducting tele-encounters.

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-13.

Physical Requirements:

The Audiologist position requires standing, walking, bending, light to moderate lifting and positioning patients. The incumbent may need to assist in the maneuvering of patients in wheelchairs and transferring of patients in a chair. This position requires lifting/carrying 20 lbs (infrequent); sitting (6 hours per day); standing (2 hours per day); walking (1 hour per day); bending/stooping (half an hour per day); simple grasping (four hours per day); and fine manipulation including keyboarding (6 hours per day). A fair amount of walking is also required to interact with patients and other services throughout the hospital. This position requires the incumbent to have the ability to physically examine the Outer and Middle ear visually as well as taking ear impressions for hearing aids. Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others.