The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) - Advanced provides high level support, training, and advanced management of telehealth operations and is typically stationed at a clinical care delivery site i.e. VA Medical Center, CBOC, VA Outreach Clinic, etc. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. After a determination is made that it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens, non-citizen personnel may be appointed on a temporary basis under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405, without regard to the citizenship requirements of 38 U.S.C. 7402 or any other law prohibiting the employment of or payment of compensation to a person who is not a citizen of the United States. Candidates must meet all other requirements for the grade and position concerned. Experience/Education Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). Examples are listed below: Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; OR Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces. Grandfathering Provision. All Health Technicians (Telehealth Clinical) employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required 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 journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are 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. If an employee who was retained (grandfathered) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. See chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a GRADE DETERMINATION. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-7 (Advanced) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower (GS-6) grade level. The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to-day operation of the Connected Care Services. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to, screening patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care; communicating effectively with administrative and professional staff, and obtaining assistance for issues that may arise or backlogs that cannot be resolved in a timely manner. Responsible for performing imaging duties in accordance with VHA national telehealth guidelines such as: capture and transmission of clinical images and/or data, obtains consent as necessary, generates consults according to established procedures for each telehealth specialty, transmits images or clinical data to the electronic medical record, provides patient education regarding general anatomy, disease processes and prevention as appropriate, and takes appropriate action based on the providers' findings and recommendations. Responsible for facilitation of real-time Telehealth encounters by providing hands on assistance and reporting clinical observations under the direction of a licensed independent Practitioner or clinical specialist; schedules, confirms and coordinates Telehealth services between internal and external VA and non-VA sites; analyzes own work flow to determine potential problem areas and recommends corrective action to improve coordination between various units/facilities; has regular contact with the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues; responsible for conducting routine inventories and consistently tracking location/status of Telehealth technology located at assigned site; and communicates with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze, evaluate and resolve problems. Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement Ability to function effectively between competing priorities. Knowledge of proper maintenance and troubleshooting of telehealth equipment. Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a health technician in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work. Ability to assist in Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) development, outcome management and strategic planning. Ability to perform successful knowledge transfer regarding the use of telehealth technologies. Physical Requirements: the work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items such as manuals, record boxes, equipment or assisting patients. The work requires above average agility and dexterity. The incumbent may be required to travel between VA and/or Non-VA clinical care sites and possession of a valid driver's license may be required. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/96 PART II APPENDIX G50 ["Major duties include, but are not limited to: Supports clinical telehealth encounters for both the patient and provider locations by serving as the tele-presenter within scope of practice. Functions as an imager and supports clinical data for telehealth store and forward applications. Manages real time clinical telehealth events. Provides established patient education. Provides technical and administrative support of telehealth operations. Provides technical support to end-users. Schedules simple and complex intra-facility and inter-facility telehealth appointments. Installs, configures, maintains, and troubleshoots technology. Function as a preceptor for Clinical Video, and/or Store and Forward Telehealth Operations. Coordinates, installs, maintains and manages the inventory of telehealth technologies including hardware and software with assistance of Biomed and IT Provides established standardized competency based training for telehealth technology, facilitating interactive simulations for clinical staff participating in telehealth programs Participates in performance improvement activities aimed at improving the efficiency of the patient telehealth processes Develops reporting procedures, sampling techniques and measurements at various points in the telehealth processes to identify/analyze inherent weaknesses in work and procedures Coordinates clinic set up and monitoring of workload capture and issues for assigned patient and provider clinics including telehealth resource based scheduling Supports designated complex telehealth programs that require advanced technical skillsets' Prepares the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment Serves as a tele-presenter, within scope of practice, during clinical video telehealth (CVT) and VA Video Connect (VVC) encounters Establishes and maintains video conferencing connections, makes introductions between patient site and provider site, follows instructions of a clinician to facilitate an effective clinical encounter Serves as an imager and manager of clinical data for store and forward telehealth (SFT) clinical encounters Captures images, collects data and transmits them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines Takes measures to ensure patient care is delivered safely by following appropriate procedures for the cleaning of clinical equipment and the care environment while following all patient safety guidelines, protocols, and procedures Completes standardized clinical questionnaires and templates within scope of training and applicable guidelines Ensures that patient privacy is protected by complying with all information security and patient privacy regulations Receives and schedules requests for simple and complex intra-facility, and inter-facility telehealth appointments using an electronic resource-based scheduling system Refers patients to providers for screening for Telehealth Monitors and maintains schedules of rooms, patients, technologies, clinical providers and presenters as needed to ensure efficient telehealth operations Supports the Veteran in completing patient satisfaction surveys Communicates effectively with clinical and administrative staff at the assigned local site and those located at remote sites of care Coordinates and/or directly configures, installs, troubleshoots, manages inventory, cleans, and performs minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology Prepares and tracks maintenance work orders, information systems, inventory records, and communicating with National Telehealth Technology Help Desk to facilitate troubleshooting, repair, and coordination of replacement equipment as necessary Maintains regular contact with other staff members and the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work out process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection and any other logistical issues Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]