Health Technician (Ophthalmology)

Description:

You will serve as the Health Technician (Ophthalmology) for the Optometry Clinic located at Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center Walla Walla, Washington. The Health Technician (Ophthalmology) GS-8 (FPL) provide services in ophthalmic care. Operates independently as the technician responsible for generating important and complex diagnostic procedures to produce information to be used by the eye clinic licensed providers.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement:

Basic Requirements : To qualify for appointment or placement to these occupational requirements, all applicants must possess the following:

• 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: 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).
• 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).

Note: The certification exception only applies below the full performance level. For grade levels at or above the full performance level the candidate must be certified.

Note: 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 above, the following criteria below must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Health Technician (Ophthalmology), GS-8 (Full Performance Level):

• Experience : One year of experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level. AND
• 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 advanced tonometry and pupil evaluation;
  2. Ability to perform calculations for selection of intraocular lens;
  3. Knowledge of clinic based ophthalmic surgical assisting;
  4. Knowledge of eye anatomy and physiology;
  5. Knowledge of medication effects and proper instillation in the eye;
  6. Knowledge of optics; and
  7. Knowledge of proper cleaning and maintenance of clinic equipment.

Preferred Experience: Optometric

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

Physical Requirements: light lifting and carrying (under 15 lbs), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, walking and standing (1 hr), near vision correctable, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted).