Health Technician (Dietetic)

Summary

The Health Technician (Dietetics) reports to the Nutrition & Food Service department at the Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System in Asheville, NC. The primary purpose of the position is to provide administrative and customer service support for the VA hospital food service program. The incumbent performs routine duties that require exceptional customer service, computer skills, proper phone etiquette, proficiency in special food service and therapeutic diet procedures.

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Duties

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The duties for the Health Technician (Dietetic) includes, but are not limited to the following:

• The incumbent will practice excellent customer service skills in all forms of communication, either via telephone, e-mail or in-person. The incumbent must also practice proper business telephone etiquette while answering the phone. When communicating with customers, incumbent will be pleasant, friendly, personable, and professional.
• Incumbent will welcome callers courteously and identify themselves/ the service/ the organization. Communicates effectively via telephone and in-person and uses strong listening and speaking skills. Properly operates telephone equipment in order to transfer or place calls on hold. The incumbent will consider both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication.
• The Incumbent will maintain the vital connection between Nutrition Communication Center (NCC) Associates, Registered Dietitian, higher graded dietetic technicians, food service staff, Nursing, patients and guests. NCC Associate will follow local-facility policies and standard procedures for patient feeding, including but not limited to missed patient meals, late tray requests, patient meal ordering, and adherence to prescribed therapeutic diet.
• NCC Associate will take whatever action necessary, within their authority, to maximize patient satisfaction with meal service. NCC Associate prints, prepares and reviews meal tickets according to local facility procedures. NCC Associate completes select and nonselective menus as required.
• Triages calls from inpatient units or outpatient clinics and procedure areas relating to patient meal trays or nourishments at the lowest level and will refer issues that cannot be resolved to Food Service Supervisor or other as determined by local policy.
• The incumbent will retrieve computerized information/printouts to assist with tray and/or nourishment assembly such as standing orders, nourishment labels, tabulated recipe lists, and other simple information to assist in meal delivery. Organizes work to complete assignments.
• Has thorough knowledge of basic and routine modified diets and is able to provide basic[1]level education and information on local facility therapeutic diets to patients, guests, and nursing staff. Makes referrals to dietetic technician and/or dietitian as needed for more thorough diet education.
• May complete quality monitors to ensure food items and menu selections for regular and therapeutic diets are prepared and served appropriately (i.e. accuracy, timeliness, appearance, and temperature, dysphagia food testing).
• Assists patients in selection of the proper foods according to their individual diet. Uses communication skills to converse with veteran's to accurately take menu orders via COTS Dietetic software System. Must possess multitasking skills when entering menu orders and improving quality of life of veterans through social interaction. Uses computer skills to precisely and swiftly move between functions in software systems and effectively log on and off the computer system.
• Able to provide Veterans, guest/family members, VA employees (i.e. nursing staff) with basic information about the menu, available food items and refers concerns on compliance problems or appetite to supervisor and/or dietitian. Has working knowledge of diet principles, such as carbohydrate counting for meal planning. Conducts new-admit patient rounding to introduce and discuss, menu available food items and ways to order meals with patients and residents.
• Conducts meal rounds on units after tray delivery to ensure patient satisfaction and provides service recovery and meal corrections when needed. Participates in Patient Satisfaction Survey process, from collection of data to making corrective actions based on results. Assists with Cultural Transformation activities when food is being served to assure patient safety is maintained.

DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: 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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

Work Schedule: 6am-2:30pm; 6:30am-3:00pm; 10:30am-7pm

Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)/ PD99855S

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: not authorize

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

To meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-5 position , you must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service (or equivalent pay band) that includes but are not limited to: Practicing excellent customer service skills in all forms of communication, either via telephone, e-mail or in-person; maintaining the vital connection between Nutrition Communication Center (NCC) Associates, Registered Dietitian, higher graded dietetic technicians, food service staff, Nursing, patients and guests; following local-facility policies and standard procedures for patient feeding, including but not limited to missed patient meals, late tray requests, patient meal ordering, and adherence to prescribed therapeutic diet; Retrieving computerized information/printouts to assist with tray and/or nourishment assembly such as standing orders, nourishment labels, tabulated recipe lists and other simple information to assist in meal delivery; conducting meal rounds on units after tray delivery to ensure patient satisfaction and provides service recovery and meal corrections when needed.OR

Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level:

• Four (4) years of education above the high school level leading to a Bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position (i.e. nutrition, dietary therapy, food and nutrition science, food service systems management, etc.). ( Transcripts Required );

OR

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level:

• An equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained at an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. See Additional Information for more info. ( Transcripts Required )

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).

Physical Requirements: The work requires walking, standing, bending, lifting and carrying of light items, such as food trays, instruction materials, books, and manuals. NCC Associate functions require long periods of sitting and moving about in an office environment, including repetitive motion activities of the hands and fingers for extensive keyboard and computer mouse use, and office tasks such as answering and holding a telephone phone, and writing. The work may require walking indoors, outdoors or to and from other areas of the medical center. It may be necessary to lift and/or push equipment. Incumbent is subject to periods continuous standing, sitting, walking and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. Frequently lifts or moves objects weighing up to 20 pounds and pushing loaded carts of trays and/or nourishments.You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position

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.

Note : A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here:

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.