Health Technician (Dietetic)

This position is located in the Nutrition and Food Service (N&FS) of the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, serving as a Nutrition Communication Center (NCC) Associate, providing administrative and customer service support for the VA hospital food service program.

Qualifications:

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

English Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

Health Aid and Technician Series, 0640 Individual Occupational Requirements:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.
OR,
Education and Training:
For GS-4: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in subjects related to the position.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

To qualify for this position at the GS-4 level, you must meet one of the following:

EXPERIENCE: At least six (6) months of general experience. General experience is (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area (i.e. nutrition, food service, etc.) of the occupation. ~OR~
EDUCATION: Successful completion of one (1) full year of education above high school level that included study in medical, health, or related fields. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~
COMBINATION: Equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and general experience, as listed above. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

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.

Responsibilities:

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Handles patient meal service orders, and enters meal orders into Dietetics Software system
• Provides professional and courteous customer service via telephone, e-mail, and in-person
• Collaborates with Dietitians regarding Food/Drug Interactions, notifying clinical staff of potential issues with meal service and delivery
• Interprets and processes diet orders members of the interdisciplinary team
• Prints, prepares, and reviews meal tickets
• Triages calls from inpatient units or outpatient clinics and procedure areas relating to patient meal trays or nourishments
• Retrieves computerized information 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
• Provides basic-level education and information on therapeutic diets
• Correctly interprets diet activity and patient information, to ensure meals trays contain food items adhering to patient requests and preferences, and current therapeutic diet order
• Communicates patient concerns with registered dietitian or dietetic technician
• Verifies physician orders for unusual diets, conflicting modifications, tube feeding orders and nutritional supplements
• Uses a computer to record, retrieve and print recipes, menus, and inventory reports
• Performs other related duties as assigned

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: Variable workdays, including weekends and holidays. Shifts either 5:30am-2:00pm or 11:00am-730pm
Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician (Dietetic)/PD99601S
Physical Requirements: The work requires walking, standing, bending, lifting, and carrying of light items, such as food trays, instruction materials, books, and manuals. Frequently lifts or moves objects weighing up to 20 pounds and pushing loaded carts of trays and/or nourishments; may be necessary to lift and/or push equipment. Requires 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; may be subject to periods of continuous standing, sitting, walking and frequent stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. Work is performed in a hospital and involves some exposure to contagious diseases. Standard precautions may necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in situations of potential exposure.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Salary : $36,409