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The Ophthalmology Program Coordinator has full responsibility for managing the day to day activities of the clinic and may supervise all phases of a facility specialty program. Duties include but are not limited to:

• Promotes health education for patients and staff;
• Coordinates patient care;
• Refers, consults and oversees clinic and surgery scheduling and coordination;
• Supervises mentorship of personnel and quality improvement activities;
• Patient advocacy;
• Polytrauma liaison for all ophthalmology issues, and participation in and coordination of approved research projects.
• Oversees technical and administrative operations within the program area to include coordination with multidisciplinary team members, as well as liaison with other services that support eye care, including Office of Information and Technology, Biomedical Engineering, Logistics, Nursing Service, Telephone Care, Sterile Processing Service, Pharmacy, Infection Control, Travel, and other administrative services;
• Assigns and evaluates the work of subordinate staff;
• Resolves problems which may interfere with patient examination or treatment;
• Provides Health Technician (Ophthalmology) services in more complex and non-standard cases;
• Evaluates new products and equipment and making recommendations concerning developments which would improve operations;
• Participates as an instructor in the facility's clinical training program;
• Makes final decisions on selections based on recommendations from subordinate supervisors or leads;
• Coordinates care, triage and coordination of urgent ophthalmic patients, program evaluation and analysis, budgetary issues and planning;
• Assures orientation and competency assessment of assigned staff and maintains interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals;
• Plans and develops policies, procedures and goals, and interprets, implements and educates staff on applicable VHA directives, handbooks, or other policies;
• Plans, assesses, and evaluates programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the program and overall delivery of healthcare within the facility, or coordination of non-VA care.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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

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. Citizen of the United States.

Experience and Education
Experience. One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician. OR,
Education. Two years above high school with a minimum of six semester hours directly related to a health care field or associate's degree in a health care related degree. OR,
Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below:

• Six months of experience in the health care field; and one year above high school; or
• Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists,or ophthalmology technicians given by the U.S. Armed Forces; or
• Six months of experience in the health care field and completion of an independent study course in Ophthalmic Medical Assisting.

Certification. All applicants must be certified as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). The COA certification is JCAHPO's entry-level certification examination for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology).

1. Exception. For grade levels at or above the full performance level the candidate must be certified.
2. Loss of Credentials. A Health Technician (Ophthalmology) who fails to maintain the required certification must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment.

Grandfathering Provision. 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 journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.

Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

Physical Requirements. May be required to undergo and pass a pre-employment physical.

English Language Proficiency. Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 38 U.S.C. 7407(d).

GRADE REQUIREMENTS
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met,

Health Technician Program Coordinator (Ophthalmology), GS-11

Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-10 grade level. Experience includes the following:

• Performing complex assignments and program management duties.
• Overseeing the integration between ophthalmic medical devices and the electronic medical record system.
• Supervising and managing direction of staff and interactions of Health Technicians with affiliate ophthalmology residents.
• Planning and directing the ophthalmology staff activities in a clinical environment.
• Supervising a section or work unit.
• Preparing work assignments, monitoring clinical performances of ophthalmology staff, volunteers, and/or students.
• Conducting performance appraisals.
• Assuring compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements, and the quality management program.
• Initiating corrective action.
• Assuring orientation and competency assessment of assigned staff.
• Developing policies and procedures.
• Managing document control.
• Developing performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements.
• Managing administration of assigned area to include budget execution.
• Maintaining interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals.
• Planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the program and overall delivery of healthcare within the facility, or coordination of non-VA care.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties, which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed; competency assessments; performance evaluations; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions;
2. Ability to analyze clinically appropriate data and make recommendations to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity within service;
3. Advanced understanding of interdisciplinary issues and VA organizational structure to serve as liaison between eye care and other programs that would affect coordination of care, healthcare access, program evaluation, assessment and planning for future needs; and
4. Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team leaders, providers and managers.

Preferred Experience:

• At least three years of full-time experience as a certified Ophthalmic Technician.
• Current certificate as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA), Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT), or Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist (COMT).
• Current BLS provider card issued by the American Heart Association (AHA) or Military Training Network.
• One year of experience in an eye clinic leadership role.
• Prior work experience as a manager.
• Experience in Vision screening; Intraocular pressure assessment using Tonopen; Autorefraction; OCT imaging; FA imaging; Automated visual field testing; Intraocular lens biometry measurements using IOLMaster, Lenstar, or similar; A- and/or B-scan ultrasonography; Corneal topography; Manual keratometry; Preparation for minor procedures; Preparation for intravitreal injections; Refraction (manifest refraction).

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/98 PART II APPENDIX G52, February 7, 2018

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

Physical Requirements: The position requires the operation of multiple devices for the examination of patients. Dexterity of hand-eye and hand-eye-foot coordination is essential and testing may involve standing for extended periods of time with arms at shoulder height. Frequent stooping, bending, or kneeling is required. You must have excellent corrected binocular vision to perform the complex duties required.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

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.

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.