Summary The Hudson Valley VA Healthcare System is currently recruiting for one Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) Advanced for the Poughkeepsie (CBOC) location within the Nursing Service. The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) serves in a generalist role to support and manage telehealth operations and is typically stationed at a Hudson Valley clinical care delivery site VA Medical Center, CBOC, and or, VA Outreach Clinic with duties that may require travel. Responsibilities Duties : The incumbent performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to­day operation of telehealth services at the assigned location and between the assigned location and remote sites of care as well as participating in the programmatic development and advanced support of the facility­ wide telehealth program. The incumbent is expected to be able to exercise independent judgement and will often provide guidance to less experienced staff members and will require minimal direct supervision. This advanced position functions above the full performance level and therefore requires the performance of higher-level duties which must consist of significant scope, complexity difficulty and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The higher-level duties associated with this advanced-level position may include: - installing, maintaining and managing the inventory of telehealth technologies with assistance of Biomed and IT. - providing established standardized competency-based training, guidance and information on the use of advanced telehealth technologies to patients, staff, and providers. - providing 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. - supporting designated complex telehealth programs that require advanced technical skillsets. Full performance level assignments associated with this position include, but are not limited to: - preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment for clinical examination and treatment. - serving as a Tele-presenter, during clinical video telehealth and VA Video Connect encounters including tasks such as establishing and maintaining video conferencing connections, 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 clinical encounters including tasks such as capturing images, collecting data and transmitting them electronically for clinical review - taking quality control measures to ensure patient care is delivered safely by following appropriate procedures for the cleaning of clinical equipment and the care environment. - completing standardized clinical questionnaires and templates - 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 - providing patient education - communicating effectively with clinical and administrative staff at the assigned local site and those located at remote sites of care; - 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 - 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 - 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. - arranging and completing test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veterans for clinical encounters - 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 Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 23980-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. 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. 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. c . Grade Determinations: Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-7 (Advanced) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. 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. Preferred Experience: References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/96 PART II APPENDIX G50 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-7. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.