The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) provides high level support, training, and advanced management of telehealth operations. Primary responsibilities include delivering established telehealth competency based training to clinicians and telehealth staff members, serving as a telepresenter, supporting clinical data, managing real time clinical telehealth events, providing established patient education, and providing technical and administrative support of telehealth operations. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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 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. OR Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. 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. Certification: None. 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, this part. 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). Grade Determinations: GS-7 (Advanced) Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Examples of GS-6 level telehealth assignments 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/96 Part II Appendix G50 dated February 7, 2018 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. Physical Requirements: Light carrying (under 15lbs), reaching above shoulders, use of fingers, both hands required, walking (1-2hrs), standing (1-2hrs), kneeling (1hr), both eyes required, ability to distinguish basic colors, ability to distinguish shades of colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotional/mental stability, prolonged sitting, prolonged use of computer, and prolonged looking at screen. The environmental factors include dry atmospheric conditions, constant noise, dust, radiant energy, slippery or uneven walking surfaces, working closely with others, working alone, and possible exposure to infectious disease and ethylene oxide gas. ["Performs a full range of duties and responsible for day-to-day operation of telehealth services as well as participating in the programmatic development and advanced support of the facility-wide telehealth program. Duties to include, but not limited to: Coordinating, installing, maintaining and managing the inventory of telehealth technologies including hardware and software. Providing established standardized competency based training, guidance and information on the use of advanced telehealth technologies to patients, staff, and providers. Providing established standardized competency based training for telehealth technology, facilitating interactive simulations for clinical staff participating in telehealth programs. Participating in performance improvement activities aimed at improving the efficiency of the patient telehealth processes. Developing reporting procedures, sampling techniques and measurements at various points in the telehealth processes to identify/analyze inherent weaknesses in work and procedures. Coordinating clinic set up and monitoring of workload capture and issues for assigned patient and provider clinics including telehealth resource based scheduling. Supporting designated complex telehealth programs that require advanced technical skillsets. Preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment. Serving as a telepresenter, within scope of practice, during clinical video telehealth (CVT) and VA Video Connect (VVC) encounters including tasks such as establishing and maintaining video conferencing connections, making introductions between patient site and provider site, following instructions of a clinician to facilitate an effective clinical encounter. Serving as an imager and manager of clinical data for store and forward telehealth (SFT) clinical encounters including tasks such as capturing images, collecting data and transmitting them electronically for clinical review in accordance with VHA national guidelines. Taking 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. Completing standardized clinical questionnaires and templates within scope of training and applicable guidelines. Ensuring that patient privacy is protected by complying with all information security and patient privacy regulations. Receiving and scheduling requests for simple and complex intra-facility, and inter-facility telehealth appointments using an electronic resource-based scheduling system. Referring patients to providers for screening for Telehealth. Monitoring and maintaining schedules of rooms, patients, technologies, clinical providers and presenters as needed to ensure efficient telehealth operations. Providing patient education via approved materials. Supporting the Veteran in completing patient satisfaction surveys. Communicating effectively with clinical and administrative staff at the assigned local site and those located at remote sites of care. Coordinating and. or directly configuring, installing, troubleshooting, inventory management, cleaning, and performing minor routine maintenance of assigned telehealth technology. Ensuring assigned telehealth technologies are secured, ready for use, and accounted for by preparing and tracking 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. Providing education and training to Veterans, clinical staff and providers on the use of telehealth technologies and serving as a point of contact to answer questions and address concerns related to these technologies. Maintaining knowledge of and skill in applying an extensive body of rules, procedures, and operations in telehealth-related technologies and a variety of computer hardware and software used for telecommunications, data entry and retrieval, record maintenance, document and report generation. Maintaining 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. Arranging and completing test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veterans for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies. Ensuring information and resources are maintained for local and remote telehealth providers so they can effectively execute contingency and emergency plans. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am to 4pm\nTelework: Not available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]