Supervisory Orthotist/Prosthetist

The Supervisory Orthotist/Prosthetist serves as the Chief of the Orthotic & Prosthetic (O&P) Lab in the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service (PSAS), Sioux Falls VA HCS Health Care System.

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. Education A bachelor's degree or higher in orthotics and prosthetics from a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited program. OR A bachelor's degree or higher in any major along with a post-graduate orthotics or prosthetics certificate from a CAAHEP accredited program. Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign degree programs must have proof of a minimum of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university (or foreign equivalent, as verified through an independent credential evaluation company), with a specialization in orthotics and prosthetics. Board Certification. Candidates must be board certified by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC) or the Board for Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification (BOC) as an orthotist, prosthetist, or orthotist/prosthetist. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education. Certification as a technician, pedorthist, assistant or fitter does not meet this requirement. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Orthotists, prosthetists, or orthotist/prosthetists must be proficient in spoken and written as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(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).

Grade Determinations :

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Supervisory Orthotist/Prosthetist. The orthotist/prosthetist at this level serves as the supervisor and laboratory manager for large laboratories or multiple satellite laboratories. In addition to the responsibilities described at the GS-12 level, this assignment includes serving as a VISN resource/consultant for orthotics and prosthetics; performing or overseeing testing and evaluation of design concepts; overseeing and evaluating contract orthotics and prosthetics vendors. GS-13 Experience. Completion of 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSA and demonstrate the potential to acquire the assignment- specific KSAs designated by an asterisk (

• ): Knowledge of regulatory requirements established by ABC, BOC, NCOPE, IAOP, AAOP, JCAHO, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), etc., in order to provide advice to VISN management of the implementation of those requirements.
• Knowledge of administrative functions including budget development and management, inventory management, space and workload planning, as well as knowledge of the National Prosthetic Patient Database, a knowledge of the Prosthetic National Software package, CPRS, DSS and knowledge of accreditation requirements for orthotic and prosthetic laboratories and knowledge of certification requirements for clinical staff in order to develop VISN guidelines and policies, allocate resources within the VISN, and project future workload for the VISN.

• Ability to analyze data and provide reports using HCPC codes and other patient database information from VISN orthotic and prosthetic laboratories and to provide such reports to VISN management.
• Ability to serve as a consultant to orthotists/prosthetists within the VISN on emerging technologies, the most difficult and complex cases, changes in policy, etc.
• Ability to supervise.

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:

You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.