The Psychology Technician is assigned to work principally in neuropsychological assessment & psychological testing. The incumbent is responsible for the accuracy and validity of obtained test results and interacts with Veterans with a wide variety of medical, neurological, and psychiatric diagnosis. The work is critical in the delivery of quality consultation service and in the determination of diagnostic impressions, treatment recommendations, and treatment interventions of individual patients.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Clinical Care (80%) Administers and scores a wide range of neuropsychological and psychological tests. Participate in the development of treatment plans for the Veteran. Complete clinical reminders and document results in the medical chart. Performs psychological and neuropsychological testing protocols on inpatients and outpatients referred for evaluation of mental and behavioral health problem. Familiarity and experience with personality tests including the MMPI-2 and PAI is also demonstrated. Evaluates and monitors the motivational and ability levels of patients in relations to procedures needed for evaluation and to modify the testing situation to patient abilities and presentation, in collaboration with the neuropsychologists. Interaction with these patients requires a high level of clinical sensitivity, interpersonal skill, and clinical judgment. Be able to interpret/analyze test results, in conjunction with the psychologist/neuropsychologist, to determine if additional testing needs to be administered. Familiarity with and experience administering standard neuropsychological measures of intelligence, memory, attention, language, visuospatial, and executive functioning is demonstrated. This includes showing a high level of skill in administering tests such as the WAIS-IV, WMS-IV, CVLT-III, Boston Naming Test, Trail Making Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Familiarity and experience with personality tests including the MMPI-2 and PAI is also demonstrated. Administrative (20%) The incumbent will engage in a variety of clerical duties including scheduling patients and responding to consults as directed by the neuropsychologist. The incumbent is required to document findings in the EHR in a timely way according to the Saginaw VA Medical Center and Mental Health Service Line policies and procedures. Performs initial assessment of the abilities of trainees and teaches them how to perform the tests if necessary. Teaches graduate and postgraduate students precise methods on how to obtain accurate, reliable, and valid data from current and previous assessment tools. Other miscellaneous duties include attendance at staff meetings, patient care meetings as appropriate, and committee meetings as assigned. The incumbent also participates in the various in-service continuing education programs sponsored by the Mental Health service and Medical Center. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician/PD919680 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, 09/07/2023. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Experience: Experience involved with the observation of and assistance in the application of techniques relating to behavior, capacities, traits, interests, and activities of either humans or, under laboratory conditions, animals. Experience may have been gained in connection with a program of research or direct services in psychology that gave a practical understanding of some of the principles, methods, and techniques of psychology needed to assist professional psychologists. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Administers and scores a wide range of neuropsychological and psychological tests. Participate in the development of treatment plans for the Veteran. Complete clinical reminders and document results in the medical chart. Performs psychological and neuropsychological testing protocols on inpatients and outpatients referred for evaluation of mental and behavioral health problem. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-9. You must submit a transcript if using education to qualify for this position. Preferred Experience: Psychology related coursework at the undergraduate level preferred. Previous experience in a mental health setting preferred. 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. 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 incumbent must be able to move expeditiously from place to place in the medical center. Patients must regularly be assisted and supported when they are brought for examination. Equipment, weighing up to 50 pounds, may need to be moved. BLS training is required. The incumbent must be able to sit and attend intensively to Veteran behavior over a several hours period. Finally, the position may involve prolonged exposures to persons with primary or secondary viral and other infections. 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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 Aleda E Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1500 Weiss Street Saginaw, MI 48602 US
• Name: Kaitlyn Arn
• Phone: (989) 497-2500
• Email: [email protected]