Audiologist

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 Education: 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) HR office staff and management officials may verify a program's accreditation from ACAE at acaeaccred.org and CAA at caa.asha.org OR 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 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 The Under Secretary of Health, or designee, may appoint a candidate without a license who will be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities In such instances, HR office staff can only appoint these candidates in exceptional circumstances where their credentials demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area All audiologists who perform compensation and pension examinations perform direct patient care duties and must possess a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology and must meet the experience requirements under Section 2 D See 38 C.F.R § 4.85 English Language Proficiency: Audiologist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f) 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) Grandfathering Provision Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and licensure, where applicable For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment specific requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or be changed to a lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions Employees 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 Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional licensure that meets all the basic or assignment specific qualification requirements of this standard must maintain the required credential as a condition of employment in the occupation Grade Determinations: GS-12 Audiologist Experience: In addition to the requirements at the GS-11 level, completion of one year of professional experience comparable to the next lower grade level Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the KSAs required at the full performance level, the following KSAs are required: Skill in determining nature, type, and severity of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders Skill in counseling patients and family members regarding management of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional audiology to other health care professionals Ability to independently apply professional contemporary audiologic treatments to the full range of patient populations Assignment This is the full performance level for staff audiologists At this level, audiologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of audiologic services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate Audiologists serve as consultants to other health care professionals and are recognized subject matter experts (SME) on matters related to hearing, tinnitus, and balance disorders The supervisor may assign staff audiologists to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, hearing health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, compensation, and pension Audiologists diagnose audiologic disorders, conduct audiologic, or neuro-audiologic assessments treat auditory disorders through various modalities and provide adjunctive interventions for the treatment of medical disorders Audiologists consult with medical center staff on various patient care issues Staff audiologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group audiologic rehabilitation Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12 Physical Requirements: Physical Requirements See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. ]]]]>