Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies, and all US Citizens (Veterans' Preference does not apply). NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Videos

The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) (Advanced) performs a full range of duties and is responsible for day-to-day operation of telehealth services at the assigned location and between the assigned location and remote sites of care as well as participating in 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. Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinating, installing, maintaining and managing the inventory of telehealth technologies including hardware and software 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 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 interfacility 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 computer hardware and software used for telecommunications, data entry and retrieval, record maintenance, and document and report generation.
• Maintaining regular contact with other staff members and the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to work our process issues, equipment needs, problems, data collection, and other logistical issues.
• Arranging for and completing test video calls with Veterans to prepare for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies.
• Performing other related duties as assigned.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: NOT Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): NOT Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Citizenship of the United States in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(c). Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Experience and/or Education:
  • 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
  • Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR
  • 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.

Grade Determinations: To qualify at the GS-7, in addition to the basic requirements for employment, applicants must also possess one (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-6) and demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs):

• Ability to use independent technical judgement 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.

Applicants 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).

Preferred Experience:

• Telehealth
• IT and Mechanical

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration
Veterans' Preference is not applicable for this specific occupational series per the Office of Chief Human Capital Officer Bulletin "FY2025 Annual Determination of Staffing Shortages". Eligible and qualified applications will be reviewed and referred in the following unranked order by grade level:

1. Current Permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. All other applicants.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.