Summary The Primary Purpose of the Position is: The Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) serves in a generalist role to support and manage telehealth operations and is typically stationed at a clinical care delivery site (VA Medical Center, CBOC, VA Outreach Clinic, etc.), with duties that may require travel. Responsibilities The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) supports the provision of patient care using telehealth technologies which increase a Veteran's access to care and support a Veteran's self-management. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Preparing the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment; Serving as a tele presenter 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 clinical data manager 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 inventory management, 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; Developing and delivering virtual and digital technologies which help Veterans communicate synchronously and asynchronously with their health care teams and coordinate, track and manage their health care. Providing technical support to end-users, scheduling simple and complex intra-facility and inter-facility telehealth appointments, installing, configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting technology Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (8:00am - 4:30pm) Travel: 25% OR LESS - TRAVEL REQUIRED: Place of duty will be Dallas TX or Sherman, TX though travel to other VA facilities within VANTHCS, including Bonham, Dallas, Decatur, Denton, Ft Worth, Garland, Granbury, Grand Prairie, Greenville, Plano, Polk St, Sherman & Tyler may be required for patient care cross coverage & training. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement # 52863-F, 52864-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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 trial period. 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 dentification 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). 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. 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:(a) 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(b) 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. 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-5 (Entry Level), Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical): Experience or Education. None beyond the basic requirements. GS-6 (Full Performance Level), Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical):Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. (a) Comprehensive knowledge of computer systems and programs to perform a variety of tasks. (b) Ability to communicate, consult, and interact with other members of the healthcare team, external relations, customer service and patient education.(c) Ability to provide and receive guidance and technical direction. (d) Ability to plan, organize, set priorities, work as a team member, and effectively complete assignments. (e) Ability to read, interpret, and apply complex written instructions. (f) Knowledge of general clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment. (g) Skilled in the use of telehealth technologies for the facilitation of telehealth clinical encounters. Preferred Experience: Previous technician experience - Telehealth, Medical, Eye, Lab, Pharmacy, Surgical, Technician/Technologist. Direct Patient care experience - Licensed Vocation Nurse (LVN/LPN),Nursing Assistant (NA), Medical Assistant(MA). VA scheduling experience - example, Medical Support Assistant (MSA). Medical documentation experience - example, VISTA/CPRS Technology troubleshooting experience - ADPAC, software, and hardware. Microsoft programs experience - Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-05 to GS-06. 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. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Note: 38 U.S.C. 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans preference to external applicants for appointments made from this announcement
