The incumbent serves as a Chaplain professional for the Fargo VA Health Care System. The incumbent provides religious, spiritual, and pastoral care to all persons that are commensurate with the needs, desires, and voluntary consent of the Veteran, caregiver, or staff. The incumbent addresses the spiritual component of health and wellness in every patient care setting to ensure that pastoral care is fully integrated into all aspects of service.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Serves as a Chaplain professional providing complete religious ministry services to Veteran patients according to their specific needs and desires. Serves as a primary resource, spiritual advisor and point of contact for the spiritual needs of patients, caregivers, and staff. Conducts religious services and worship, pastoral ministry, and administration of Chaplain services. Engages as a spiritual leader, a compassionate listener and counselor, especially during times of crisis. Provides emotional support and counseling using empathy and strong interpersonal skills to effectively connect with people of all ages. Ensures assignments are carried out in a pluralistic environment, which encompasses sensitivity to the religious needs of many separate religious denominations and faith groups. Leads and offers prayers and religious services for Veteran patients, patient families, staff, and community. Conduct rituals in front of groups of people, which requires effective leadership and public speaking skills. Uses leadership skills to lead prayer and religious services. Addresses the religious, spiritual, moral, and ethical problems of patients. Provides counseling services to patients and staff. Conducts regular rounds of hospital wards where patients are critically ill. Ministers to newly admitted, pre- and post-operative patients, the critically ill, and the families of concerned veteran patients. Provides advance care planning education, information, and counsel for patients and their families. Provides pastoral ministry to patients of his/her faith group, including conscientious attention during emergencies and crises. Ensures all patients are provided opportunities for the free exercise of religion and that Veterans are protected from proselytizing and coercing from any source. Serves as a fully recognized member of an integrated multi-professional treatment team. Maintains liaison with physicians, medical officers, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers, or others involved to exchange information relative to the background and current condition of patients. Supervises, trains and coaches volunteer groups who offer their services as assistants as needed. Engages in group consultative discussions or conferences with medical professionals to evaluate and review the patient's progress. Collaborates with treatment team professionals to discuss the recommended course of action, and other informed advice to attain the necessary therapeutic goals for the patient. Locates other Chaplains and/or persons from the community to provide patients' religious needs if necessary. Uses knowledge of different faiths to perform various religious rituals, lead prayers, and answer spiritual questions. Provides guidance and/or support for patients to express values through processes such as life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation. Maintains records and appropriately documents chaplaincy care services in the Electronic Health Record Management (EHRM) system/Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) through either service approved template or Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan (SOAP) note format. Provides pastoral counseling on medical and ethical matters, including moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties, justice or confinement matters, terminal diagnoses, or crisis. Addresses fears that patients have when facing surgery and answers questions regarding the meaning of life when confronted with the reality of pain, illness, permanent disfigurement, crippling, or death. Provide all necessary religious worship services and instruction on an individual or group basis for a major faith group. Establishes periods for public worship, seasonal and occasional services, and individual devotions. Administers ordinances, rites or sacraments; prepares and delivers sermons; arranges for the atmosphere and symbolism of worship; and conducts funeral services when needed. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/11/2023. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: (a) United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. (b) English Language Proficiency: Chaplains must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part. (c)Education Requirement: Applicants must possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational qualifications as evidenced by a graduate-level theological degree from a college, university or theological school accredited by a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. NOTE: For applicants who do not possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational degree, an approved educational equivalency review from a nationally recognized board certification body for chaplains is acceptable (BCCI or Equivalency). (d) Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE): Applicants must have completed four units of CPE from a CPE center that is accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Currently only Association for CPE (ACPE) CPEs and Institute for Clinical Pastoral Training (ICPT) CPE Units are accredited by the US Department of Education. (e)Ecclesiastical Endorsement: In accordance with 38 C.F.R. ? 17.655, ecclesiastical endorsement is a condition of employment as a VA chaplain. An individual must possess and maintain a full and active ecclesiastical endorsement to be employed as a VA chaplain. Applicants must have an ecclesiastical endorsement, dated within the past 12 months. Ecclesiastical endorsements must be from the official national endorsing authority of the applicant's/employee's faith group or denomination. Ecclesiastical endorsement is a written official statement, by the official national endorsing body of the faith group or denomination, certifying that the applicant is in good standing with the applicant's faith group or denomination; and stating that the individual is, in the opinion of the endorsing body, qualified to perform the full range of ministry required in the VA pluralistic setting. Loss of endorsement will result in removal from the GS-0060 Chaplain series and may result in termination of employment. The National Chaplain Service maintains a list of approved endorsing organizations that can be found here: https://www.patientcare.va.gov/chaplain/Employment_Information_and_Resources.asp (f) Board Certification: Applicants must be a Board Certified Chaplain certified by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI) ? or nationally recognized certification body that utilizes the BCCI ? Common Qualifications and Competencies for Professional Chaplaincy or a certifying organization that has a reciprocity agreement with BCCI. Exception: Non-certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment under the authority of 38 U.S.C. ? 7405(c)(2) for a period not to exceed two years. This exception only applies at the GS-9 level. For the GS-11 level, the candidate must have board certification. (g) Grandfathering Provision: Current VHA Chaplainsmay 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). GRADE DETERMINATIONS: GS-9 (Entry Level) Grade Requirements: (a) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of spiritual assessments to identify patient strengths and needs and documenting services provided. Ability to use the information of the spiritual assessment to create care plans in all dimensions of pastoral care. Ability to provide crisis intervention and stabilization. Skill in healthcare team collaboration to create and update treatment plans to address spiritual issues. Ability to ensure free exercise of religion for patients and staff. Knowledge of individual and group interventions to address spiritual and emotional needs of patients and families; providing referrals for continuity of spiritual care. Skill in the coordination of religious services respecting the faith tradition of individual patients. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with persons of varied backgrounds. GS-11 (Full Performance Level) Grade Requirements: (a) Experience. Promotion or appointment to the GS-11 full performance level requires one year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-9 level that is directly related to the position to be filled. (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of advance care planning to educate, inform, and counsel patients and families. Skill in guiding patients in verbalizing and expressing values through life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation. Ability to develop pastoral care programs that are measurable, outcome-driven and evidenced based within the department guidelines. Skill in counseling on medical and ethical issues, terminal diagnoses or crises, moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties and justice or confinement matters. Ability to support the development of staff resiliency and develop programs for staff development and wellness by providing spiritual and emotional support. Ability to educate and equip healthcare staff and trainees screening for spiritual and religious needs of patients and the importance of appropriate referrals to chaplains for complex spiritual distress. Knowledge of community needs to coordinate with community organizations to provide comprehensive spiritual care, utilizing outside community resources to meet the religious needs of patients that cannot be met by chaplain staff. References: VA Handbook 5005/135 PART II APPENDIX G67 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Fargo VA Medical Center 2101 Elm Street Fargo, ND 58102 US
• Name: Heather Peek
• Phone: 319-338-0581 X636723
• Email: [email protected]