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
• 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
• Certification
• None Grandfathering Provision
• 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)
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
• English Language Proficiency
• A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English
• Creditable Experience
• Candidates need to have knowledge of current Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) Practice
• To be creditable, experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with a health care field or knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the current occupation
• Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment in the health care field
• Quality of Experience
• Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to the Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) 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
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-5 (Entry Level) 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 4 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 (Full Performance Level) 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 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-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-5 to GS-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.