Supervisory Health Technician - Ophthalmology

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 66,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) at a Level 2 or 3 facility. This GS-10 position involves complex ophthalmic duties with significant independent judgment and program management responsibilities.

Responsibilities include supervising ophthalmic staff, coordinating with devices and EMR systems, and ensuring compliance with accrediting and regulatory standards in a high-quality outpatient setting.

Qualifications

• Experience in a health care field (1 year) or equivalent.
• COA certification by JCAHPO is required.
• English language proficiency is required.
• US Citizenship is required.

Responsibilities

• Supervise Health Technician (Ophthalmology) staff and coordinate activities.
• Plan and direct staff assignments and monitor clinical performance.
• Ensure compliance with accrediting and regulatory requirements and conduct performance appraisals.
• Prepare and implement administrative duties to support ophthalmology services.

Skills

Independent work

Leadership

Policy development

Workload analysis

Education

Two years above high school with health care focus OR assoc degree

Job description

The Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) in a Level 2 or 3 facility performs difficult ophthalmic technical duties with considerable latitude for the exercise of independent judgment. At the Supervisory GS-10 level, the Health Technician (Ophthalmology) preforms complex assignments and program management duties such as overseeing the integration between ophthalmic medical devices and the electronic medical record system.

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 Education
  • Experience. One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician. OR
  • Education. Two years above high school with a minimum of six semester hours directly related to a health care field or associate degree in a health care related degree OR
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below:
    • Six months of experience in the health care field; and one year above high school; or
    • 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
    • Six months 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).
• English Language Proficiency. Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 38 U.S.C. 7407(d).
• 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.

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

• Grade Level Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-9 Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) grade level. Experience includes but not limited to the following:
  • Supervision, administrative management, and direction of Health Technician (Ophthalmology) auxiliary staff.
  • Administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the Health Technician (Ophthalmology) staff activities for the service or equivalent unit at an independent outpatient clinic.
  • Preparing work assignments.
  • Monitoring clinical performances of Health Technician (Ophthalmology) staff.
  • Conducting performance appraisals, and other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied.
  • Assures compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements.
  • Assures corrective action is initiated as needed.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA)

• Ability to work independently to set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity within the service;
• Ability to develop policy, manage equipment requests, and provide workload analysis in Ophthalmology Service;
• Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills including skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team members, managers and other departments;
• Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed; competency assessments; performance evaluations; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions.

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-10. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-10.

Physical Requirements

Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items.