Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; West Haven (CT); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

VA Connecticut Healthcare System is seeking a Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) at the West Haven Campus. This full-time role is within Surgical Services and requires ophthalmology supervision and program management responsibilities.

Ideal candidates possess COA certification or eligible for waiver, plus health-care field experience and English proficiency. The position emphasizes leadership, compliance, and care coordination in ophthalmology.

Qualifications

• One year of experience in a health care field or equivalent.
• Two years above high school with six semester hours in health care or an associate degree.
• Ways to meet qualifications via combination of experience and education.
• Foreign education needs evaluation if earned outside the U.S.
• COA certification required; exceptions for graduates with waivers up to two years.
• English language proficiency required.

Responsibilities

• Supervise ophthalmology staff and Health Technicians.
• Plan and direct staff activities and assignments.
• Ensure compliance with accrediting and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate ophthalmology services and program management.

Skills

Health care experience

English language proficiency

Education

Two years above high school with health care related field or associate degree

Job description

VA Connecticut Healthcare System is seeking a full-time Supervisory Health Technician for the West Haven Campus. The position is part of the Surgical Services and is located at West Haven, CT.

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's degree in a health care related degree. OR
  • Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below: (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.
• 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.
• 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).
  • 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. For grade levels at or above the full performance level 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.
• 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).

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).

• All persons employed in VHA as a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certification requirements. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  • Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  • Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) who were appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  • Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or certification that meet all the basic requirements of the qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
  • Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determinations

GS-10: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level. AND In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• 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.

Assignment

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Supervisory Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) at the GS-10 grade level generally are found in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) facilities, or in facilities of lesser complexity levels where large ophthalmology services are found. Supervisors may perform other complex assignments and program management duties such as overseeing the integration between ophthalmic medical devices and the electronic medical record system. The Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) is responsible for the supervision, administrative management, direction of ophthalmology staff, and supervises interactions of Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) with 10 affiliate ophthalmology residents.

May be delegated full administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the ophthalmology staff activities for the service or equivalent unit at an independent outpatient clinic. Has full supervisory responsibility over a section or equivalent work unit. Typical duties include preparing work assignments, monitoring clinical performances of ophthalmology staff, volunteers, and/or students, 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, and the quality management program, assuring corrective action is initiated as needed. Assures orientation and competency assessment of assigned staff. Develops policies and procedures; manages document control; develops performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements; and is responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area to include budget execution. Maintains interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals. May have overall responsibility for planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the program and overall delivery of healthcare within the facility, or coordination of non-VA care as appropriate.

Preferred Experience

Supervisory experience highly preferred.