What are the responsibilities and job description for the Health Technician (Dietetic) position at Central Alabama VA Medical Center-Montgomery?
The Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) is a consolidated health care system that includes VA Medical Centers in Montgomery and Tuskegee Alabama as well as Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) in Dothan Alabama, Ft. Rucker Alabama, Monroeville, Alabama, Columbus Georgia and Montgomery VA Clinic. The primary duty station for this position is at the Tuskegee Campus.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
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.
Physical Requirements: The work requires extended periods of walking and standing throughout the hospital. There are periods of bending, writing, typing, and carrying of light items such as papers, electronic tablets, and occasional individual food items, along with deskwork for completion of paperwork, phone calls, and data entry. The work requires occasional lifting (up to 15 pounds), carrying papers, electronic devices, and occasional individual food deliveries. May obtain administrative supplies and bulk papers for delivery to work areas.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The Health Technician (Dietetics) duties include, but are not be limited to the following:
- Enter patient food preferences into the computer system.
- Visits, calls, or sees appropriate patients and residents to obtain meal selections.
- Enters food allergies, diet tolerances and religious and/or cultural food restrictions into the computer after
consulting with the appropriate dietitian and/or dietetic technician.
- Answers general questions regarding diet orders and menu restrictions to aid patients in selecting meal orders as
appropriate and to address concerns of staff, patient, family and/or caregivers.
- Obtain food preferences and provide the information on meal service and menus.
- Assures complete data collection for each meal.
- Adjusts tray tickets, nourishments or supplemental feedings via computer after discussion with patient, family
member, dietitian or dietetic technician.
- Process late trays and order additional trays for patients who arrive and have not cycled into the standard
schedule.
- Make meal rounds on assigned wards.
- Respond to all problems regarding tray delivery.
- Act as a liaison between the units and kitchen operations.
- Make appropriate adjustments to patient diet patterns and take corrective action.
- Communicate and treat customers in a courteous and respectful manner.
Work Schedule: 9:00am-5:30pm. Holiday and Weekend work included.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)/PD99796S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Qualifications:
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement,06/12/2026Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
- Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is entering patient food preferences into computer system; running tally guides, production reports, nourishment labels and tube feeding reports; processing new admissions; providing information on meal service and menus; making appropriate adjustments to patient diet patterns and taking corrective action when needed; verifying the physician's diet order; and managing the nutrition call center.
- Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position..
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.
Physical Requirements: The work requires extended periods of walking and standing throughout the hospital. There are periods of bending, writing, typing, and carrying of light items such as papers, electronic tablets, and occasional individual food items, along with deskwork for completion of paperwork, phone calls, and data entry. The work requires occasional lifting (up to 15 pounds), carrying papers, electronic devices, and occasional individual food deliveries. May obtain administrative supplies and bulk papers for delivery to work areas.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
Responsibilities:
The Health Technician (Dietetics) works as a member of the administrative Nutrition and Food Services Team providing technical and administrative assistance to the clinical dietitian in the goal of patient and residential nutritional care of the medical center.The Health Technician (Dietetics) duties include, but are not be limited to the following:
- Enter patient food preferences into the computer system.
- Visits, calls, or sees appropriate patients and residents to obtain meal selections.
- Enters food allergies, diet tolerances and religious and/or cultural food restrictions into the computer after
consulting with the appropriate dietitian and/or dietetic technician.
- Answers general questions regarding diet orders and menu restrictions to aid patients in selecting meal orders as
appropriate and to address concerns of staff, patient, family and/or caregivers.
- Obtain food preferences and provide the information on meal service and menus.
- Assures complete data collection for each meal.
- Adjusts tray tickets, nourishments or supplemental feedings via computer after discussion with patient, family
member, dietitian or dietetic technician.
- Process late trays and order additional trays for patients who arrive and have not cycled into the standard
schedule.
- Make meal rounds on assigned wards.
- Respond to all problems regarding tray delivery.
- Act as a liaison between the units and kitchen operations.
- Make appropriate adjustments to patient diet patterns and take corrective action.
- Communicate and treat customers in a courteous and respectful manner.
Work Schedule: 9:00am-5:30pm. Holiday and Weekend work included.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)/PD99796S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Salary : $40,736