Health Technician

**Duties**:

- Primary responsibility is for patient care, supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures, patient charting and patient education, which do not require a full professional audiology education or knowledge and skills represented by audiology licensure.
- Direct patient care duties may include, but not limited to the following:

- Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair; performing visual and auditory checks of hearing aids and hearing assistive technology-including all hearing aid accessories as well as alerting devices (troubleshoots performance).
- Fabricating earmold impressions with proper (non-diagnostic) otoscopy; ordering earmolds based on plan of care through prosthetics or DLC and fitting and modifying earmolds, if necessary.
- Providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers consistent with the audiologist's treatment plan, including but not limited to, realistic expectations, communication strategies, and/or aural rehabilitation.
- Assisting in set up and delivery of face-to-face and telehealth visits by preparing the equipment for patient evaluation and other audiology procedures including, but not limited to daily biologic listening calibration of audiometric equipment and calibration of real-ear equipment.
- Responsible for ensuring timely and accurate documentation of all interactions in the medical records and that all encounters are correctly documented using electronic medical record and computerized tracking and ordering functions via ROES.
- Completes documentation per medical center policy for timeliness for each episode of care and codes procedures as appropriate in the patient record in preparation for co-signature by the audiologist.
- Administrative duties may include, but not limited to the following:

- Maintaining comprehensive supply and equipment tracking systems to include monitoring stock of RME and consumable items; ensuring proper inventory levels to complete the daily tasks; prioritizing the acquisition of all supplies and equipment regarding date of expiration and may maintain a loaner hearing aid inventory.
- Receives and completes incoming communications from Veterans (electronic and telephone), and facilitates follow-up based on audiologist's treatment plan to include ordering supplies through DLC.

**Work Schedule**: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Monday-Friday

**Telework**: Not Available

**Virtual**: This is not a virtual position.

**Functional Statement #**: 000000- Health Technician (Hearing Instrument Specialist)

**Fi**nancial Disclosure Report**: Not required

**Requirements**:
**Conditions of Employment**:

- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
- Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
- You may be required to serve a probationary period.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

**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 and Education**
Experience. Completion of the Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program for Hearing Aid Specialists**;**
OR
- Education. Successful completion of two academic years above high school that includes coursework related to the field: hearing science, human anatomy and physiology, hearing instrument science, gerontology, psychology or other general healthcare areas.
- NOTE: There is no combination of education and experience which can be substituted for the basic requirements.
- **Licensure or Registration.** Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestricted license or registration to practice as a HIS in a state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia.
- **Board Certification.** Individuals must hold active board certification from the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS).
- **Exception for Non-Board Certified Health Technician (HIS).**
(a) Non-board certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for appointment, may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate Health Technician (HIS) under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)(B).
- (b) Non-board certified individuals shall only provide care under the supervision of a licensed audiologist.
- (c) Non-board certified individuals may only be appointed at the entry level and may not be promoted/converted until board certification is obtained.
- (d) Temporary appointments of non-board certified Health Technician (HIS) may not be exten