Chief of Orthotic and Prosthetic Clinical Services

About the role

The Chief of Orthotic and Prosthetic Clinical Services is responsible for the overall planning, directing, developing, staffing, leading, controlling and integration of the Prosthetic, Orthotic and Pedorthic services within all Medical Centers and Health Care Systems of VISN 10. This includes all related prosthetic/orthotic clinical activities of the medical centers including the management of clinics and follow-up treatment from CBOCs throughout VISN 10.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the supervisor and laboratory manager for large laboratories or multiple satellite laboratories.
• Serves as a VISN resource/consultant for orthotics and prosthetics; performs or oversees testing and evaluation of design concepts; oversees and evaluates contract orthotics and prosthetics vendors.
• Manages prosthetic staff, equipment, physical plant and other material sources relating to the prosthetic/orthotic laboratories within the network.
• Establishes and implements program goals to accomplish the multiple missions of the prosthetic services within the resources available and time frame set.
• Develops screening and procedural mechanisms to identify targeted populations within the catchment areas of the various health care systems.
• Maintains medical and administrative records and data to ensure proper documentation for quality assurance purposes.
• Submits timely reports to the VISN Prosthetic Manager and top management on budget estimates, requirements for planning, anticipated workloads and corresponding alignment to the production capability of the unit or units involved.
• Reviews and appraises the effectiveness of each phase of the prosthetic clinical program in accordance with congressional mandates, central office directives and VISN policies, contracts and procedures.
• Manages stock and inventory records and levels to ensure availability of high use items required to facilitate discharge at all stations, to ensure that stock levels are not excessive or inappropriately utilized, and to ensure in-place audit records for full accountability.
• Furnishes technical advice to the orthotic and prosthetic clinic, providing administrative and technical assistance with the examination and prescription of prostheses and orthoses and evaluation of experimental and test devices with authority to replace non-custom fitted appliances, and the administration of the prosthetic repair program.
• Coordinates integration of Prosthetic Service, as it relates with other specialty programs such as Wound Care.
• Fulfills duties as a liaison with and responsible for a variety of tasks in connection with maintaining relationships with orthotic and prosthetic contractors, prosthetic manufacturers and central fabrication labs.
• Maintains good public relations with commercial prosthetic manufacturers and dealers and acts as an interpreter of regulations as the representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Provides representation to the following: Orthotic, Prosthetic, Pedorthic Clinical Services Network Director, VISN 10 Network CMO, VISN 10, VISN 10 Prosthetic Manager, VIAN 10 AUS Advisor and consultant to all VISN 10 Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinics, VISN 10 Rural Health Initiative.
• Meets the clinical needs of beneficiaries residing in the area of jurisdiction.

Requirements

Basic Requirements:

• Citizen of the United States.
• A bachelor's degree or higher in orthotics and prosthetics from a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited program. OR, a bachelor's degree or higher in any major along with a post-graduate orthotics or prosthetics certificate from a CAAHEP accredited program.
• Graduates of foreign degree programs must have proof of a minimum of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university (or foreign equivalent, as verified through an independent credential evaluation company), with a specialization in orthotics and prosthetics.
• Candidates must be board certified by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC) or the Board for Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification (BOC) as an orthotist, prosthetist, or orthotist/prosthetist. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education.
• An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain the required 3 certification must be removed from the occupation which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation for which he/she qualifies if a placement opportunity exists.

Grade Requirements:

• Completion of 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12).
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • Knowledge of regulatory requirements established by ABC, BOC, NCOPE, IAOP, AAOP, JCAHO, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), etc., in order to provide advice to VISN management of the implementation of those requirements.
  • Knowledge of administrative functions including budget development and management, inventory management, space and workload planning, as well as knowledge of the National Prosthetic Patient Database, a knowledge of the Prosthetic National Software package, CPRS, DSS and knowledge of accreditation requirements for orthotic and prosthetic laboratories and knowledge of certification requirements for clinical staff in order to develop VISN guidelines and policies, allocate resources within the VISN, and project future workload for the VISN.
  • Ability to analyze data and provide reports using HCPC codes and other patient database information from VISN orthotic and prosthetic laboratories and to provide such reports to VISN management.
  • Ability to serve as a consultant to orthotists/prosthetists within the VISN on emerging technologies, the most difficult and complex cases, changes in policy, etc.
  • Ability to supervise.

Qualifications

Education

• Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.