Health Technician (Hearing Instrument Specialist)

About the role

Salem VA Medical Center Audiology is seeking a Health Technician (Hearing Instrument Specialist) to support patient care, diagnostic and treatment procedures, patient charting, and patient education.

Responsibilities

• Perform visual and auditory checks of hearing aids and hearing assistive technology, including all hearing aid accessories and alerting devices (troubleshoots performance).
• Provide basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers consistent with the audiologist's treatment plan.
• Assist patients through triaging phone calls and audiology requests, following the audiologist's plan of care.
• Fabricate earmold impressions with proper (non-diagnostic) otoscopy.
• Order earmolds based on the plan of care through prosthetics or DLC and fit and modify earmolds.
• Support both direct patient care and administrative duties.

Requirements

Applicants must be U.S. citizens and proficient in English. They must also hold a full, current, and unrestricted license or registration to practice as a Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) in a state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. Board certification from the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS) is preferred.

Qualifications

• Completion of the Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program for Hearing Aid Specialists, or successful completion of two academic years above high school with coursework related to hearing science, human anatomy and physiology, hearing instrument science, gerontology, psychology, or other general healthcare areas.
• Licensure or registration as a Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) in a state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• Experience: Completion of the Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program for Hearing Aid Specialists; or one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade, GS-05.
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Knowledge of basic anatomy of the head and neck; knowledge of basic infection control procedures and guidelines; knowledge of normal and abnormal ear anatomy; knowledge of hearing aids, hearing assistive technology, hearing aid manufacturers, and manufacturer software; skill in documenting patient procedures and patient devices; ability to communicate orally and in writing; ability to follow verbal and written instructions; ability to maintain stock and supply level inventories; ability to provide patient education and training regarding hearing loss and communication strategies for various listening situations; ability to solve problems or make decisions regarding hearing aids, hearing assistive technology, and patient care that is consistent with the documented and co-signed plan of care under the supervision of an audiologist; ability to prepare patient, equipment, and/or environment for audiology procedures; ability to provide triage of patient telephone calls or audiology requests.

Benefits

Competitive salary and regular salary increases. Paid time off, parental leave, child care subsidy, traditional federal pension, federal 401K, federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care, telework, and PCS not authorized.