Summary This position in Speech-Language Pathology is located in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service at the New Mexico Veterans Administration Health Care System in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The duties and responsibilities are carried out throughout the medical center including all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the service. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: The speech-language pathologist at this level conducts, plans, and coordinates all clinical and administrative aspects of a full range of services associated with contemporary speech-language pathology practice. The staff member is responsible for independent diagnostic assessment and evaluation of cases that are referred to Speech-Language Pathology without limitation as to difficulty or complexity. The staff member will be responsible to conduct interviews with the patients and appropriate family members and/or friends; selects, administers, and interprets the diagnostic test necessary to detect and evaluate any @type of speech, language, voice, fluency, cognitive, and/or swallowing disorder. The staff member is responsible for the adequacy of assessment and for the reporting of the findings to other professionals with whom he/she or other members of the speech-language pathology team may cooperate in formulating diagnostic and clinical judgments; assesses patient condition from close observation and consultation with other members of the inter-disciplinary health 2 care team; and utilizes all diagnostic and evaluative procedures and techniques consistent with contemporary speech-language pathology practice. Staff member is responsible for planning, conducting, coordinating, and monitoring the effectiveness and clinical outcomes of patient-centered treatments and rehabilitative services to maximize and restore to the greatest extent possible, physical and social functioning. The staff member is responsible for the administration of a full range of tests of speech, language, voice, fluency, and cognition including modal level and variation of vocal pitch and loudness; variability of the rate of vocal utterance; frequency and complexity of speech disfluency; consistency and adaptation of disfluency in sustained or repeated speaking and aural reading; phonetic analysis of speech designed to identify and evaluate patterns of misarticulation, such as distortions and omissions of sounds, as well as phonemic substitutions, including patterns of variation and speech sound articulation; and identification of phonetic and semantic factors related to this variation. The staff member develops an effective and comprehensive plan of care for swallowing disorders in collaboration with other health care practitioners; establishes and maintains an effective therapy relationship with the patient, family, caregivers; and adjusts treatment plan to patient response and indicators of progress. Performs other tasks as assigned by the Supervisor, Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, that are consistent with the mission of PM&R and the Medical Center. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. 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 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). 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: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Speech-language pathologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. Education and Experience. (1) A master's degree, or its equivalent, in speech-language pathology, communication disorders or a directly related field from an accredited college or university and one year of creditable experience. or (2) A doctoral degree in speech-language pathology, communication disorders and sciences or a related field, from an accredited college or university. Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestricted license in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia. (1) Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for SLP licensure may be appointed to a temporary position as a graduate SLP under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 (c)(2). Individuals appointed as graduate SLPs may not be promoted to the GS-12 level without being fully licensed. (2) The requirement for licensure may be waived by the Under Secretary for Health or designee in VHA Central Office for individuals engaged in research or academic assignments involving no direct patient care duties, in accordance with current activities. (3) An SLP who has, or ever has had their speech-language pathology license revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited or issued/placed on probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16 of this part. d. Failure to Obtain Licensure. In all cases, graduate SLP must actively pursue obtaining the required licensure from the date of their appointment. The Human Resource office staff will provide the unlicensed SLP written requirement to 4 obtain licensure, the date by which the license must be acquired and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. The written notice must be provided prior to the entrance on duty date. Failure to obtain the required credentials by the prescribed date may result in termination of employment. e. Loss of Credential. Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff, must immediately relieve employees of the duties and responsibilities associated with the occupation who fail to maintain the required certification, both current and in good standing, which may result in separation from employment. An SLP who has, or has ever had, their SLP license revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16 of this part. f. Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series that are also performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and licensure. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) SLPs may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level or changed to a lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the full performance level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (2) If SLPs who are retained under this provision leave the occupation, they will lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. (3) SLPs initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment. (4) SLPs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. g. Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Grade Determinations: Speech-Language Pathologist GS-11 Education. None beyond the basic requirements. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the basic requirements, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of principles and techniques in assessing and treating disorders of speech, language, cognitive-communication and swallowing. Knowledge of instrumentation and technologies for assessing and treating communication and swallowing disorders. Ability to adapt clinical procedures and techniques to accommodate unique patient conditions, needs and goals Speech-Language Pathologist GS-12 Experience. In addition to the basic requirements at the GS-11 level, completing one year of professional experience comparable to the next lower level and possessing a full, current and unrestricted license to practice speech-language pathology. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience requirements, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in applying principles and techniques of diagnosis and treatment associated with contemporary speech-language pathology following evidence-based practice for adult patients exhibiting the full range of speech to the full range of patient populations. Skill in administering and interpreting instrumental swallowing evaluations. Ability to assess the effectiveness of clinical outcomes and adapt clinical procedures and techniques to accommodate unique patient conditions. 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-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-12. Physical Requirements: The Speech Pathologist position requires standing, walking, bending, light to moderate lifting, and positioning patients. The position requires moderate lifting/carrying 15-44 lbs; heaving lifting, 45 lbs and over; reaching above shoulder; sitting (2 hrs. per day); standing (2 hr. per day); walking (2 hrs. per day); bending/stooping (.50 hr. per day); climbing, legs only (.5 hrs. per day); simple grasping (4 hrs. per day); twisting (.25 hrs per day) and fine manipulation, includes keyboarding (1.50 hr. per day). 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. 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. 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. 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.
