HEALTH TECH (OPHTHALMOLOGY)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Arizona VA Health Care System is seeking a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) to support ophthalmologists and optometrists in the eye clinic. The role requires COA certification or progress toward it, and spans GS-5 through GS-8 with varied responsibilities in diagnostic testing, equipment maintenance and patient education.

Eligible candidates may be referred while meeting minimum requirements; must be able to work at the eye clinic within the Surgical Care Line.

Qualifications

• One year of experience in a health care field such as nursing, medical assistant, or health technician.
• Two years above high school with six semester hours directly related to health care or an associate's degree in a health care field.
• Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying.
• Must be certified as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) with JCAHPO; graduates may qualify for certain exceptions.
• Failure to obtain COA certification within two years may result in termination; grandfathering provisions may apply.
• Foreign education must be evaluated for equivalence by a recognized credentialing body.

Responsibilities

• Support ophthalmologists and optometrists in the eye clinic as part of the Surgical Care Line.
• Perform advanced tonometry and pupil evaluation; assist with intraocular lens calculations.
• Operate and maintain ophthalmic diagnostic equipment; ensure proper disinfection of tools.
• Provide eye care patient education and document demographic/medical information.
• Maintain clinic workflow and assist in ophthalmology procedures as needed.

Skills

Tonometry

Pupil evaluation

Ophthalmic anatomy

Ophthalmic pharmacology

Eye optics

Clinic equipment maintenance

Medical records documentation

Intraocular lens calculations

Education

Associate's degree in health care

Two years above high school with related coursework

Health care technician course (US Armed Forces)

Independent study in Ophthalmic Medical Assisting

Job description

The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System is currently recruiting for one. Health Technicians in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) support Ophthalmologists and Optometrists in the eye clinic as part of the Surgical Care Line (SCL) providing a wide variety of detailed clinical and technical work. Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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/or Education:

(1) Experience: One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician. OR (2) Education: Two years above high school with a minimum of six semester hours directly related to a health care field or associate's degree in a health care related degree. OR (3) Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples listed:

• (a) Six months of experience in the health care field; and one year above high school; or
• (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or ophthalmology technicians given by the U.S. Armed Forces; or
• (c) Six months of experience in the health care field and completion of an independent study course in Ophthalmic Medical Assisting.

• Certification: All applicants must be certified as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). The COA certification is JCAHPO's entry-level certification examination for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology).

(1) Exception: Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the minimum qualification requirements may be appointed as a graduate Health Technician (Ophthalmology) under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of certification for a period not to exceed two years for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) that provides care under the supervision of an Ophthalmologist.

The exception only applies below the full performance level. Below full performance level is GS 5, GS 6 and GS 7

For grade levels at or above the full performance level (GS 8) the candidate must be certified.

Failure to obtain COA certification during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment and may result in termination of employment.

(2) Failure to Obtain Certification: In all cases, the Health Technician (Ophthalmology) must actively pursue meeting certification requirements starting from the date of appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the uncertified Health Technician (Ophthalmology) with the written requirement to obtain certification, the date by which the certification must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline. Failure to become certified within two years from date of appointment will result in removal from the Health Technician. (Ophthalmology), GS-0640 series and may result in termination of employment.

• 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).
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

Grade Determinations:

Health Technician (Ophthalmology), GS-8 (Full Performance Level)

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level.

AND

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
• Ability to perform advanced tonometry and pupil evaluation;
• Ability to perform calculations for selection of intraocular lens;
• Knowledge of clinic based ophthalmic surgical assisting;
• Knowledge of eye anatomy and physiology;
• Knowledge of medication effects and proper instillation in the eye;
• Knowledge of optics; and
• Knowledge of proper cleaning and maintenance of clinic equipment.

Health Technician (Ophthalmology), GS-7 (Developmental Level 2)

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level.

AND

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
• Knowledge of anatomy and function of the eye and basic ocular pharmacology;
• Knowledge of outpatient eye care policies and procedures in a health care environment;
• Ability to use basic ophthalmic diagnostic equipment to perform preliminary ocular testing;
• Ability to perform minor extraocular surgical assisting; and
• Ability to provide eye care patient education.

Health Technician (Ophthalmology), GS-6 (Developmental Level 1)

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level.

AND

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
• Knowledge of general outpatient clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment;
• Ability to obtain, document and record demographic and medical information from patients in order to develop an accurate medical record;
• Ability to use basic ophthalmic equipment; and
• Knowledge of basic disinfection of non-critical reusable medical equipment.

Health Technician (Ophthalmology), GS-5 (Entry Level)

• Experience or Education: None beyond the basic requirements

Preferred Experience:

Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA)

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 - 8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-5 to GS-8.

Physical Requirements:

Must be in overall good health, sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, reaching and carrying supplies. Applicants must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands of lifting 15-44 pounds, light carrying of 15 pounds. Position requires walking for 3-4 hours, and standing 1-2 hours per day. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: Preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.