Health Technician (Ophthalmology)

Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. Open to all U.S. Citizens.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Checks and performs calibration of technical ophthalmology screening instruments.
• Obtains patient physical history, to include chief complaint; reason for visit. pertinent signs and symptoms; current medication allergies; past ocular and general medical history both ocular and general; family history both ocular and general; social history; and review of medications and allergies, including current ocular prescription and non-prescription medications.
• Accurately tests visual acuity at distance and near, with and without correction or with and without a pinhole.
• Measures eyeglass prescription using manual or automated lensometer, recording sphere, cylinder, axis, and prism in both plus and minus cylinder.
• Performs pupil evaluation recording pupil size, shape, symmetry, reaction to light and accommodation. Performs swinging flashlight test to detect a relative afferent pupillary defect.
• Performs basic refractometry utilizing an auto refraction or habitual glass prescription in the phoropter.
• Instills eye medications (drops or ointments, including anesthetic, dye, dilating drops, cycloplegic drops, or antibiotics).
• Measures intraocular pressure with standard techniques, including Goldmann applanation tonometry.
• Performs pachymetry to determine corneal thickness and manual keratometry or automated topography to determine corneal curvature.
• Performs intra-ocular lens calculations using an IOL Master or equivalent device.
• Performs automated visual field testing using various perimetry machines.
• Performs external photographs and fundus photography.
• Performs optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the anterior segment, retina and optic nerve.
• Performs patient screening and triage of potentially urgent ocular conditions.
• Assists during clinic-based ophthalmic surgery, including revision of wounds, biopsies of the eyelid lesions, cultures of conjunctiva, or cornea; reformation of anterior chamber, evacuation of hyphema, repositioning of corneal endothelial grafts, intra-vitreous injections, and laser surgical procedures.
• Educates patients and legal authorized representatives in eye care, including preoperative and postoperative instructions.
• Assists in the education and training of medical students, residents and fellows in those facilities with medical school affiliations.
• Ensures proper cleaning and disinfection; calibration, maintenance, backup, annual inventory and ordering of instruments, supplies and equipment. Obtains quotes as needed; and reports needed repairs to biomedical engineering.
• Performs fluorescein or indocyanine green (ICG) angiography, with diagnostic photography of retinal vessels.

Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday 8-4:30pm.
Compressed/Flexible:May be available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: GS8: 91978-0. GS7: 91977-0. GS6: 91976-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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.
• 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 identification 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.
• 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).

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:
GS06: You must have one year experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level. Candidates must also demonstrate all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities below:

• Knowledge of general outpatient clinical policies and procedures in a healthcare environment.
• Ability to obtain, document and record demographic and medical information from patients in order to develop an accurate medical record.
• Ability to use basic ophthalmic equipment.
• Knowledge of basic disinfection of non-critical reusable medical equipment.

GS07: You must have one year experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. Candidates must also demonstrate all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities below:

• Knowledge of anatomy and function of the eye and basic ocular pharmacology.
• Knowledge of outpatient eye care policies and procedures in a health care environment.
• Ability to use basic ophthalmic diagnostic equipment to perform preliminary ocular testing.
• Ability to perform minor extraocular surgical assisting.
• Ability to provide eye care patient education.

GS08: You must have one year experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level. Candidates must also demonstrate all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities below:

• Ability to perform advanced tonometry and pupil evaluation;
• Ability to perform calculations for selection of intraocular lens;
• Knowledge of clinic based ophthalmic surgical assisting;
• Knowledge of eye anatomy and physiology;
• Knowledge of medication effects and proper instillation in the eye;
• Knowledge of optics; and
• Knowledge of proper cleaning and maintenance of clinic equipment.

Preferred Experience: Strong ability to perform comprehensive patient workups, including:
-Gathering a complete patient history (HPI)
-Visual acuity assessment
- Intraocular pressure measurement
- Instillation of diagnostic eye drops
- Proficiency with key diagnostic testing equipment, including:
- Humphrey Visual Field
- Heidelberg OCT
- Clarus fundus photography
- Immersion Ascan
- Pentacam
- IOL Master

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS08. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS6, GS7, or GS8 based on Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities demonstrated in your application.

Physical Requirements: Individual is required to move from one examination room to another many times during the clinic day. This may require some periods of walking, sitting, and standing in changing duration. He/she is required to lift moderate weight in the movement of medical charts and clinic supplies. Also, he/she must maneuver wheelchairs and litters when taking patients to other areas of the clinic. Also, must lift and position patients for test and procedures with assistance or use a mechanical lift. Both hands required, use of fingers. He/she require both eyes, near vision correctable to Jaeger 1 to 4, distance

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, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

We encourage you to review your resume to ensure it is compliant with the requirements. You must include qualifying specialized experience employment periods in mm/yyyy to mm/yyyy format on your resume and indicate Full-Time or Part-Time (if Part-time, must include # of hours worked per week). AND, if you have held a Government position, that position's grade level MUST be listed on your resume; Failure to include all requirements in your resume will result in disqualification. Please refer to USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my federal resume? for additional information on resume requirements.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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:

• Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) Certification with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO)
• Resume

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.

We encourage you to review your resume to ensure it is compliant with the requirements. You must include qualifying specialized experience employment periods in mm/yyyy to mm/yyyy format on your resume and indicate Full-Time or Part-Time (if Part-time, must include # of hours worked per week). AND, if you have held a Government position, that position's grade level MUST be listed on your resume; Failure to include all requirements in your resume will result in disqualification. Please refer to USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my federal resume? for additional information on resume requirements.

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/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) Certification with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO)
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: Although Hybrid Title 38 occupations follow Title 5 Veterans' preference rules, as required by the Merit Systems Protection Board (Graves v. A, 117 M.S.P.R. 697 (2012)), 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made during the fiscal year to hybrid title 38 occupations reported among the occupations with the largest staffing shortages. This announcement occupation(s) is reported to be among the largest staffing shortages. Veterans preference does not apply to this job announcement per the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (PL 113-146, dated August 7, 2014) Therefore, Veteran's Preference will not be applied to this posting's applicant scores and selection process.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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