Health Technician Program Coordinator (Ophthalmology)

The Surgical Care Service is seeking a full-time Health Technician Program Coordinator (Ophthalmology) for the VA Medical Center in Charleston South Carolina. Ophthalmology Technicians in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) support Ophthalmologists in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, follow-up care and patient counselling.

**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. 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). 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 (1) Experience. One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician.-OR- (2) 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- (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below: (a) Six months of experience in the health care field; and one year above high school. -OR- (b) 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- (c) Six months of experience in the health care field and completion of an independent study course in Ophthalmic Medical Assisting. Grade Determinations: GS-11 Grade Requirement: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-10 grade level. -AND- In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. 1. Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize, and coordinate activities of a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work, etc. 2. Ability to communicate effectively in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels. 3. Ability to assist in Health Technician (Ophthalmology) development, outcome management, and strategic planning. 4. Ability to act as liaison between Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) to resolve informal employee complaints and concerns. Loss of Credentials. A Health Technician (Ophthalmology) who fails to maintain the required certification must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment. Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs. Preferred Experience: Training experience, VA administrative experience, and VA lead or supervisor experience. References: VA Handbook 5005/98, Part II, Appendix G52, Health Technician (Ophthalmology) Qualifications Standards Physical Requirements: VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service