Clarification from the agency

This job is open to Current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, Current permanent federal employees of other agencies, and all US Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

The Audiologist (Clinical Specialist) serves at the Audiology & Speech Pathology Education Coordinator for Audiology Interns and externs at all levels. The audiologist is an independent licensed practitioner and operates under clinical privileges. The incumbent has special program responsibilities including coordinating all aspects of the student training program to ensure local, VISN, national and individual affiliate guidelines are followed.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Works with the Orlando VAMC Education Department and OAA in establishing affiliation agreements with universities.
• Maintains a database of university affiliates contact and affiliation information.
• Contacts affiliates and provides application criteria for interested students at all levels, including undergraduate, graduate, and students doing shadowing.
• Conducts interviews when appropriate and makes recommendations for selection to the Service Chief or designee for competitive positions.
• Develops and provides initial and ongoing training for all Audiology students.
• Assists with training/orientation/onboarding of Speech Pathology students in conjunction with the Speech Pathology Section Chief.
• Serves at the point of contact for all University matters including disciplinary and grading actions. Requests input from all staff on student progress and/or issues and signs off on all clinics contact hours for students per the affiliation agreement on a regular basis. Coordinates the scheduling of students (including their leave) with preceptors to ensure excellent clinical placement and rotations, with a focus on specialties such as VNGs, tinnitus. Ensures that the student clinical experience is of high quality and that the supervising audiologists are providing appropriate clinical supervision. Meets with students on a regular basis to ensure that the rotation is smooth for both the student and the preceptors.
• Compiles student feedback each semester and provides information to the service. Alerts staff to educational opportunities on supervising/precepting students as well as other clinically appropriate National/State/Local educational opportunities.
• Provides regular information to the Service Chief/Deputy Chief to provide updates on students, OAA requirements, or local or national educational initiatives and issues.
• Works with the Service Chief and other designated staff to prepare the OAA and Education Office requests for trainees and funding.

Clinical Responsibilities:

• The audiologist at this level conducts, plans, and coordinates all clinical and administrative aspects of a full range of services associated with contemporary audiology practice, including Telehealth.
• Clinical duties include direct patient care involving a full range of audiology and balance evaluation and treatment services, including the selection and fitting of hearing aids and other amplification systems and devices, aural (auditory) rehabilitation, and counseling of hearing-impaired veterans and their family.
• Identifies and evaluates individuals with hearing disorders in the reception and perception of speech, language and other acoustic signals to a full range of patient complexity.
• Administers the full range of tests including the testing of vestibular nerve function and vestibular rehabilitation, evaluates the type and degree of hearing loss for patients who may be unable to provide consistent and reliable reaction to diagnostics.
• Responsible for planning, delivering, and monitoring the effectiveness and clinical outcomes of patient-centered treatment and rehabilitative services for patients with significant physical and psychological complicating conditions; including, but not limited to, the selection and fitting of all types of hearing aids and associated technology; programming of digital hearing aids and associated technology; issuance of hearing protection devices for the prevention of acoustic trauma for those individuals working in a noisy environment; selection and fitting of assistive devices and assistive listening devices such as personal and FM amplifiers; telephone amplifiers, radio and TV magnetic induction devices for special communication problems, and inspection, modification, and repair of amplification devices and ear molds.
• Plans, conducts, and coordinates auditory (aural) rehabilitation, tinnitus and/or vestibular rehabilitation programs for patients; designs patient-centered treatment plans to assist patient and caregivers to maximize and restore to the greatest extent possible physical and social functioning; and designs.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm
Travel: You will be expected to travel up to 25% of the time - Valid Driver's License required.
Telework: Ad-hoc - Based on needs of the service
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Functional Statement #: 81655F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized to qualified candidates

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.
• 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).
• 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. Must be a citizen of the United States (U.S.) per VA policy.
• English Language Proficiency. Audiologist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education
  1. Doctor of Audiology (AUD) from an audiology program recognized by the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) or Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
     • OR,
  2. Other doctoral degree in hearing science or a directly related field from an institution accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
     • Note: Effective January 1, 2007, the CAA in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology of ASHA accredits only doctoral degree or AUD programs in audiology.
  • Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.
• Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestricted license to practice audiology at the doctoral level in a United States state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia.
• Grandfathering Provision. 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 DETERMINATION

In addition to the basic requirements for employment, candidates must meet the following grade-determining criteria.

Audiologist (Clinical Specialist) - GS-13

• Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional audiologist, with at least one year comparable to the next lower 9GS-12) grade level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the KSAs required at the full performance level, the following KSAs are required:
  • Advanced knowledge in a focused area of contemporary audiology practice to provide oversight of a specialty program.
  • Skill to evaluate the specialty program to ensure deadlines and goals are met.
  • Skill to coordinate initiatives and build consensus among interdisciplinary team members.
  • Ability to monitor and report on work progress in the specialty program to adjust workload and processes.
  • Ability to serve as the SME and provide education relating to the specialty program.

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

Physical Requirements. Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Work Environment. Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that require normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

How you will be evaluated

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

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility
2. All other VA employees
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies
4. Veterans' Preference applicants
5. 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.

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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• Transcript (Please see Education Requirement above)
• Current and Unrestricted Doctoral-level Audiologist License
• SF-50 - If current federal employee

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214 - If claiming Veterans Preference *
• VA Disability Letter - If claiming Veterans Preference *
• SF-15 - If claiming Veterans Preference *

Note: Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
* Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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