Optometrist- GS-0662-12

This position is located at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Killeen, TX.

Fort Hood is a United States Army post located in the beautiful 'hill and lake' country of Central Texas between Killeen and Copperas Cove and is approximately 60 miles north of the capital city of Austin, 50 miles south of Waco, 160 miles south of Dallas, and 150 miles north of San Antonio.

The post is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about 60 mi from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarters of III Armored Corps and First Army Division West and is home to the 1st Cavalry Division and 3rd Cavalry Regiment, among others.

Its origin was the need for wide-open space to test and train with World War II tank destroyers. The War Department announced the location in January 1942, and the initial completion was set for that August. As originally constructed, Fort Hood had an area of 158,706 acres, with billeting for 6,007 officers and 82,610 enlisted personnel.

Working for the Department of Defense comes with an abundance of benefits and perks to include competitive compensation packages, paid time off, medical benefits, student loan repayments, and retirement package with Thrift Savings Plan to include matching employer contributions. For more information, please visit the following link: usajobs.gov

• This is a Direct Hire Solicitation
• Who May Apply: US Citizens
• Salary negotiation may be available for those candidates who are new to Federal service.

Responsibilities

As a Optometrist you will:

• Serve as a primary eye care provider on therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, medical contact lens specialist, pre and post operative refractive surgery management, and consultations of Occupational Health through examinations of personnel.
• Identify systemic problems in addition to visual/ocular problems.

Follow quiescent and slowly progressive ocular conditions as long as no medical or surgical intervention is indicated.

Treat a full range of eye and visual problems and ocular diseases, to include the application of advanced instrumentation, optometric procedures and techniques.

• Monitor the maintenance of ophthalmic equipment and instruments.
• Perform comprehensive/limited visual and ocular examinations on all types of patients; including, but not limited to refractive surgery, pediatrics, adults, geriatric, learning disability, low vision, contact lens, and eye hazardous occupations.
• Diagnose and treat any visual anomaly and specified pathologic conditions of the ocular adnexa and the eye.

Provide supervision, teaching, and guidance to senior optometric interns/Scholarship Program Students, eye specialist students, and/or eye technicians.

Perform full range of professional optometric duties with major emphasis in the pre-operative evaluation of refractive surgery patients and post-operative evaluation/management of refractive surgery with the assistance of staff ophthalmologists.

Performs Other Duties as Assigned

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US CitizensIn order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below.

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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirements for Optometrist: Degree: A Doctor of Optometry degree from an educational program that is accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) at the time the degree was obtained.

Licensure: Applicants must have received a passing score on the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NEBO) examinations and possess a current, full, and unrestricted license to practice optometry in a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Experience: One year of professional experience as an optometrist which includes examining patients, diagnosing visual disorders and/or diseases, and identifying treatment.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). ORResidency: One year completion of a residency program in an institution accredited for such training.

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: sites.ed.gov.