| This position is located in the Audiology/Speech Pathology Service at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. The duties and responsibilities are carried out throughout the medical center including all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the Service. The incumbent is the Assistant Chief of the Service with administrative and supervisory responsibilities for audiologists assigned to the Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Monterey divisions of the Health Care System. The Incumbent serves as the Assistant Service Chief in a large, tertiary, multi-division Health Care System and shares a full scope of delegated managerial responsibilities. As an Assistant Service Chief, 50% of the incumbent's duties include general administration/supervision and education, and 50% of the duties are clinical including direct patient care, clinical supervision, and teaching. the incumbent demonstrates ability to articulate and communicate goals, objectives, and focused initiatives to an inter-disciplinary team, to guide team members on work methods, practices, and procedures; to monitor and evaluate the work of an inter-disciplinary team, to make adjustments in procedures or practices to accomplish program goals; and to serve as a coach or facilitator in coordinating program or team initiatives and consensus building activities among clinical team members. EDUCATIONAL: Responsibilities include providing orientation/training of medical staff and coordinating the orientation and training of all new staff appointed to the divisions for which he/she is responsible. The incumbent carries out or assigns clinical supervision responsibilities for students or trainees or new staff and monitors and provides feedback on progress toward established educational goals. The incumbent will remain current with new developments in audiology and will maintain professional competency by reading professional journals and engaging in continuing education activities and professional learning experiences and by communicating with other professionals in the profession and related professions. CLINICAL: Responsibilities include conducting, planning and coordinating a full range a full range of services associated with contemporary audiology practice. This may include coordinating programs on hearing conservation, tinnitus management, management of patients with bio-electric or cochlear implants, intraoperative (surgical) monitoring, or vestibular assessment and rehabilitation. Clinical duties and responsibilities include direct patient care involving a full range of audiology and balance evaluation and treatment services, including conducting medical-legal Compensation and Pension (C&P) examinations, 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. The incumbent 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 (e.g. auditory evoked potential testing, central auditory processing testing, testing of vestibular nerve function, etc.); evaluates the type and degree of hearing loss for patients who may be unable to provide consistent and reliable reaction to diagnostics. The incumbent is 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. Incumbent plans, conducts, and coordinates auditory (aural) rehabilitation, tinnitus, and/or vestibular rehabilitation programs for patients; designs individual and group (as needed) patient-centered treatment plans to assist patient and caregivers to maximize and restore to the greatest extent possible physical and social functioning; and designs, monitors, and conducts a comprehensive hearing conservation program for employees at risk for noise exposure. Incumbent serves as a consultant to other facility personnel involving the most difficult and complex cases and is a recognized subject matter expert on matters related to hearing, tinnitus, and balance disorders. ADMINISTRATIVE: Exercises supervision, administrative management, and direction of both professional areas in a unified Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Service; Has responsibility for general or technical supervision of key clinical or training programs within the Service, and overall technical and administrative oversight of speech-language pathologists; Has ability to supervise, motivate, and manage effectively a diverse clinical staff; Has skill in assessing qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees; Establishes and develops productivity standards applicable to a Service or equivalent organizational department; Applies administrative and human resource policies effectively; Organizes work, sets priorities, delegates tasks and responsibilities, and meets multiple deadlines; Accommodates new and changing work conditions, staffing, and contingencies; Coordinates administrative requirements of the C&P and hearing aid programs. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm Financial Disclosure Report: Not required |
