Health Technician (Hearing Instrument Specialist)
for sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Only include sections that have real specific content. Must not repeat job title. Must not include Job ID etc. Must preserve all substantive info, remove boilerplate, navigation, legal, EEO, duplicated lines, application instructions.
We need to parse the posting.
Key sections:
- Summary: "Incumbent is a staff health technician (HIS) under the supervision of a staff audiologist or above. This position is located in the Audiology Service at Sioux Falls VA in Sioux Falls - SD. The duties and responsibilities are to be carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Audiology service. The health technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology."
That's about the role. Could be "About the role".
- Qualifications: includes Basic Requirements (citizenship, English proficiency, experience/education, licensure, board certification, exception for non-board certified, grade determinations). Also "References: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/". Also "The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-6. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-5 to GS-6."
- Physical Requirements: mention pre-employment exam.
- Duties: includes description of duties, open continuous announcement, total rewards, major duties, direct patient care duties list, administrative duties list, driver's license required, work schedule Monday-Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm CST.
- Benefits: includes Paid Time Off, Parental Leave, Child Care Subsidy, Retirement, Insurance, Telework not available, Virtual not a virtual position.
- Pay: "Competitive salary and regular salary increases". That's vague but it's actual content. Should we include Pay section? The rule: never create Pay/Schedule/Benefits sections unless the posting actually states them. It does state "Competitive salary and regular salary increases". That's something. So include Pay.
- Schedule: "Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm CST". That's specific. So include Schedule.
- Also maybe "Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized" etc. Those are not benefits? They are maybe part of Benefits but they say not authorized. Should we include? The rule: never emit a heading followed by filler/placeholder text (e.g., "commensurate with experience", "not specified", "N/A", "varies", "TBD"). "Not Authorized" is like a placeholder indicating none. Might be considered filler? Probably we should not include sections that just say not authorized. But we could include them under Benefits as bullet points? However they'd be "Not Authorized" which is placeholder. Better to omit those lines.
- Also "Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional" maybe a heading but we can incorporate into Benefits.
- Also "Functional Statement #: 000000" etc. Probably metadata to drop.
- Also "Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized" drop.
- Also "References: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/" maybe keep as a link under Qualifications.
We need to use - for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Use
for prose.
We need to decide sections:
- About the role (summary)
- Responsibilities (duties)
- Requirements (maybe combine Qualifications and Requirements? The spec says we can have Requirements and Qualifications separate. But we need to avoid thin sections. Could combine? The instruction: "Prefer a few substantive sections over many thin ones." So we could have sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications (including requirements), Benefits, Pay, Schedule. That's six sections.
But we also have Skills maybe derived from KSAs. Could include Skills section. However we could incorporate KSAs into Qualifications or Responsibilities. But we have a separate Skills heading allowed. Might be beneficial to separate KSAs as Skills. However we need to avoid thin sections. The KSAs are substantive. Could make a Skills section.
Let's outline:
About the role: summary paragraph.
Responsibilities: duties (direct patient care and administrative duties) as list.
Qualifications: basic requirements (citizenship, English, experience/education, licensure, board certification, grade determinations, physical requirements). Could be list.
Skills: KSAs for GS-5 and GS-6 (knowledge, skills, abilities). Could be list.
Benefits: Paid Time Off, Parental Leave, Child Care Subsidy, Retirement, Insurance. Also maybe mention "Competitive salary and regular salary increases" is Pay not Benefits.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Schedule: Work Schedule Monday-Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm CST.
We must not include sections with filler. Ensure each section has real content.
Now we need to extract specifics.
Let's extract About the role text:
"Incumbent is a staff health technician (HIS) under the supervision of a staff audiologist or above. This position is located in the Audiology Service at Sioux Falls VA in Sioux Falls - SD. The duties and responsibilities are to be carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Audiology service. The health technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology."
We'll put that in
.
Responsibilities: The duties section includes many items. We need to capture all substantive duties.
From Duties section:
- Primary responsibility is for patient care - supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures - patient charting and patient education - which do not require a full professional audiology education or knowledge and skills represented by audiology licensure
- Support functions include both direct patient care and administrative duties
Direct patient care duties may include - but not limited to:
- Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair
- performing visual and auditory checks of hearing aids and hearing assistive technology - including all hearing aid accessories as well as alerting devices (troubleshoots performance)
- fabricating earmold impressions with proper (non-diagnostic) otoscopy
- ordering earmolds based on plan of care through prosthetics or DLC and fitting and modifying earmolds - if necessary
- providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers consistent with the audiologist's treatment plan - including but not limited to - realistic expectations - communication strategies - and/or aural rehabilitation
- assisting in set up and delivery of face-to-face and telehealth visits by preparing the equipment for patient evaluation and other audiology procedures including - but not limited to daily biologic listening calibration of audiometric equipment and calibration of real-ear equipment
- assisting patients with hearing aid connectivity including - but not limited to downloading applications (or apps) - pairing devices in the app - Bluetooth pairing - and pairing hearing aid accessories
- The incumbent is responsible for ensuring timely and accurate documentation of all interactions in the medical records and that all encounters are correctly documented using electronic medical record and computerized tracking and ordering functions via ROES
- The Health Technician (HIS) completes documentation per medical center policy for timeliness for each episode of care and codes procedures as appropriate in the patient record in preparation for co-signature by the audiologist
Administrative duties may include - but not limited to:
- Maintaining comprehensive supply and equipment tracking systems to include monitoring stock of RME and consumable items
- ensuring proper inventory levels to complete the daily tasks
- prioritizing the acquisition of all supplies and equipment regarding date of expiration and may maintain a loaner hearing aid inventory
- The Health Technician (HIS) assists patients through triaging phone calls and audiology requests with regards to priority and urgency - following the audiologist's plan of care
- Driver's License required
Also "This is an OPEN CONTINOUS ANNOUNCEMENT Applicants in USA Staffing will be qualified based on the resume submitted and qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager every 1-2 weeks until the announcement is closed - cancelled - or filled". That's more about process, maybe we can omit as it's application instruction? It's about announcement process; maybe we can drop as it's not duty. The instruction says remove application instructions. So we drop that.
Also "Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional" maybe a heading but we can incorporate into Benefits.
Now Qualifications:
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
- English Language Proficiency: Health Technician (HIS) candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.7403(f)
- Experience and Education:
- Experience: Completion of the Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program for Hearing Aid Specialists
- OR Education: Successful completion of two academic years above high school that includes coursework related to the field: hearing science - human anatomy and physiology - hearing instrument science - gerontology - psychology or other general healthcare areas
- NOTE: There is no combination of education and experience which can be substituted for the basic requirements
- Licensure or Registration: Individuals must hold a full - current and unrestricted license or registration to practice as a HIS in a state - territory - commonwealth or the District of Columbia
- Board Certification: Individuals must hold active board certification from the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS)
- Exception for Non-Board Certified Health Technician (HIS):
- Non-board certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for appointment - may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate Health Technician (HIS) under the authority of 38 U.S.C.7405(c)(2)(B)
- Non-board certified individuals shall only provide care under the supervision of a licensed audiologist
- Non-board certified individuals may only be appointed at the entry level and may not be promoted/converted until board certification is obtained
- Temporary appointments of non-board certified Health Technician (HIS) may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment
- Grade Determinations:
- Health Technician (HIS) - GS-05:
- Experience: None beyond the basic requirements
- Knowledge - Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
- Knowledge of basic anatomy of the head and neck
- Knowledge of basic infection control procedures and guidelines
- Skill in using basic computer software to complete tasks such as using email - creating spreadsheets and word processing
- Ability to communicate orally and in writing
- Ability to follow verbal and written instructions
- Ability to maintain stock and supply level inventories
- Health Technician (HIS) - GS-06:
- Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5)
- Knowledge - Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
- 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
- Skill in providing patient education for hearing aid use - to include assisting patient with hearing aid insertion - removal and hygiene (cleaning and disinfection)
- 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
Also "References: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/". We'll include as a link.
Physical Requirements: "You will be asked to
for prose. We need to decide sections: - About the role (summary) - Responsibilities (duties) - Requirements (maybe combine Qualifications and Requirements? The spec says we can have Requirements and Qualifications separate. But we need to avoid thin sections. Could combine? The instruction: "Prefer a few substantive sections over many thin ones." So we could have sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications (including requirements), Benefits, Pay, Schedule. That's six sections. But we also have Skills maybe derived from KSAs. Could include Skills section. However we could incorporate KSAs into Qualifications or Responsibilities. But we have a separate Skills heading allowed. Might be beneficial to separate KSAs as Skills. However we need to avoid thin sections. The KSAs are substantive. Could make a Skills section. Let's outline: About the role: summary paragraph. Responsibilities: duties (direct patient care and administrative duties) as list. Qualifications: basic requirements (citizenship, English, experience/education, licensure, board certification, grade determinations, physical requirements). Could be list. Skills: KSAs for GS-5 and GS-6 (knowledge, skills, abilities). Could be list. Benefits: Paid Time Off, Parental Leave, Child Care Subsidy, Retirement, Insurance. Also maybe mention "Competitive salary and regular salary increases" is Pay not Benefits. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. Schedule: Work Schedule Monday-Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm CST. We must not include sections with filler. Ensure each section has real content. Now we need to extract specifics. Let's extract About the role text: "Incumbent is a staff health technician (HIS) under the supervision of a staff audiologist or above. This position is located in the Audiology Service at Sioux Falls VA in Sioux Falls - SD. The duties and responsibilities are to be carried out in all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Audiology service. The health technician supports the function of the clinical programs in Audiology." We'll put that in
. Responsibilities: The duties section includes many items. We need to capture all substantive duties. From Duties section: - Primary responsibility is for patient care - supporting diagnostic and treatment procedures - patient charting and patient education - which do not require a full professional audiology education or knowledge and skills represented by audiology licensure - Support functions include both direct patient care and administrative duties Direct patient care duties may include - but not limited to: - Hearing aid troubleshooting and repair - performing visual and auditory checks of hearing aids and hearing assistive technology - including all hearing aid accessories as well as alerting devices (troubleshoots performance) - fabricating earmold impressions with proper (non-diagnostic) otoscopy - ordering earmolds based on plan of care through prosthetics or DLC and fitting and modifying earmolds - if necessary - providing basic hearing aid information for patients and caregivers consistent with the audiologist's treatment plan - including but not limited to - realistic expectations - communication strategies - and/or aural rehabilitation - assisting in set up and delivery of face-to-face and telehealth visits by preparing the equipment for patient evaluation and other audiology procedures including - but not limited to daily biologic listening calibration of audiometric equipment and calibration of real-ear equipment - assisting patients with hearing aid connectivity including - but not limited to downloading applications (or apps) - pairing devices in the app - Bluetooth pairing - and pairing hearing aid accessories - The incumbent is responsible for ensuring timely and accurate documentation of all interactions in the medical records and that all encounters are correctly documented using electronic medical record and computerized tracking and ordering functions via ROES - The Health Technician (HIS) completes documentation per medical center policy for timeliness for each episode of care and codes procedures as appropriate in the patient record in preparation for co-signature by the audiologist Administrative duties may include - but not limited to: - Maintaining comprehensive supply and equipment tracking systems to include monitoring stock of RME and consumable items - ensuring proper inventory levels to complete the daily tasks - prioritizing the acquisition of all supplies and equipment regarding date of expiration and may maintain a loaner hearing aid inventory - The Health Technician (HIS) assists patients through triaging phone calls and audiology requests with regards to priority and urgency - following the audiologist's plan of care - Driver's License required Also "This is an OPEN CONTINOUS ANNOUNCEMENT Applicants in USA Staffing will be qualified based on the resume submitted and qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager every 1-2 weeks until the announcement is closed - cancelled - or filled". That's more about process, maybe we can omit as it's application instruction? It's about announcement process; maybe we can drop as it's not duty. The instruction says remove application instructions. So we drop that. Also "Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional" maybe a heading but we can incorporate into Benefits. Now Qualifications: 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 - English Language Proficiency: Health Technician (HIS) candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.7403(f) - Experience and Education: - Experience: Completion of the Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program for Hearing Aid Specialists - OR Education: Successful completion of two academic years above high school that includes coursework related to the field: hearing science - human anatomy and physiology - hearing instrument science - gerontology - psychology or other general healthcare areas - NOTE: There is no combination of education and experience which can be substituted for the basic requirements - Licensure or Registration: Individuals must hold a full - current and unrestricted license or registration to practice as a HIS in a state - territory - commonwealth or the District of Columbia - Board Certification: Individuals must hold active board certification from the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS) - Exception for Non-Board Certified Health Technician (HIS): - Non-board certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for appointment - may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate Health Technician (HIS) under the authority of 38 U.S.C.7405(c)(2)(B) - Non-board certified individuals shall only provide care under the supervision of a licensed audiologist - Non-board certified individuals may only be appointed at the entry level and may not be promoted/converted until board certification is obtained - Temporary appointments of non-board certified Health Technician (HIS) may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment - Grade Determinations: - Health Technician (HIS) - GS-05: - Experience: None beyond the basic requirements - Knowledge - Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: - Knowledge of basic anatomy of the head and neck - Knowledge of basic infection control procedures and guidelines - Skill in using basic computer software to complete tasks such as using email - creating spreadsheets and word processing - Ability to communicate orally and in writing - Ability to follow verbal and written instructions - Ability to maintain stock and supply level inventories - Health Technician (HIS) - GS-06: - Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5) - Knowledge - Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: - 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 - Skill in providing patient education for hearing aid use - to include assisting patient with hearing aid insertion - removal and hygiene (cleaning and disinfection) - 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 Also "References: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/". We'll include as a link. Physical Requirements: "You will be asked to