This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (HV AMC), under the Community Based Clinics Service Line. This position is aligned with the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program/Outpatient Programs (BHIP/Outpatient). This position provides clinical support at the Portsmouth CBOC.

Duties

Clinical Support Serves as the first line of care in the assigned clinic. The incumbent is available to respond to requests from external clinics by collecting information and providing assessments and triage. Discusses best disposition options with multidisciplinary team members and coordinates implementation of treatment recommendation. Completes psychiatric and physical diagnostic questionnaires. Maintains clinical records and documentation, ensuring regulatory compliance and compliance with Good Clinical Practices. Maintains responsibility for the implementation of the Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL), working under the guidance of the supervisor or the Team Lead or designee. This will include monitoring patients in BHIP or Outpatient clinics, running relevant reports, and maintaining data. Organizes and assists in the scheduling of patient appointments as needed. Provides psychoeducation to Veterans using standardized individual and group protocols. Provides care management services to Veterans. This includes coordination with multi-disciplinary team members involved in the patient's care. Supports the LIP's interventions through methods such as telephone-based support services. May encourage attention to health focused behaviors and treatment adherence. Completes clinical reminders on patients. Oversees daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. Develops a working knowledge of various treatment modalities delivered by the clinical staff. Conducts follow-up interviews and ongoing monitoring of patients' symptomatology utilized structured assessment instruments. This includes gathering information regarding treatment adherence and recognition of emergent needs. Conducts follow up with patients referred to other clinics or services to motivate attendance to the appointment or aid in stabilization and management of that patient before their appointment. Organizes group therapy activities. Psychological Assessment Completes structured diagnostic and clinical assessments for Veterans. Performs psychological, neuropsychological, or psychophysiological tests on Veterans referred for examinations. This includes both administration of instruments as well as scoring of said instruments. Provides timely summaries of relevant data collected within the assessment. Demonstrates and uses knowledge of medical terminology and diagnostic categories in the completion of psychological assessments. Reviews assessments completed by others and obtains missing information from providers, Veterans, and medical records. Assists in the training of pre-doctoral psychology interns and other trainees in test administration and scoring. Triage and Clinical Interviewing Independently triages patients, identifying immediate needs. Assesses for the safety of patients with timely and appropriate hand-off to licensed independent providers, including providing an entry level suicide risk assessment. Conducts patient interviews to assist in triaging Veterans to appropriate licensed clinical providers on the assigned team. Determines appropriate level of care need for patients. Refers to a variety of clinical options available in the assigned team or throughout the medical center and local community. Contacts patients through written correspondence and telephone calls, and conducts follow up interviews. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician (Trauma Recovery Services)/PD02926A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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, 09/27/2023. 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. 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. REQUIREMENTS Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in an appropriate social or biological science, which included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours in psychology. Experience: Two years of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE Two full years of graduate study in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted to meet the requirements at the GS-09 level. SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: The standards for Superior Academic Achievement, OPM's "Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions," section II.E.4.(f), apply. QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE: Except for those who qualify solely on the basis of education, candidates for grades GS-7 and GS-9 must have had at least 6 months of experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade in the Federal service, or 1 year comparable to the second lower grade. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Must be able to deal effectively with a variety of people, be tactful, and must have demonstrated ability to exercise good judgment. BASIS OF RATING: No written test is required. Applicants will be rated on their experience, education, and training based upon information furnished in the application and other information which may be obtained by the Federal civil service examiners. Recency of experience, education, and training will be considered. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Interpersonal SkillsPsychologySelf ManagementTeaches OthersTechnical CompetenceTechnology ApplicationWriting 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: Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing, or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant for appointment. The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation may also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to: the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules. Reference: VA HANDBOOK 5005 PART II APPENDIX F5 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

This position has a positive education requirement. 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 Hampton VA Medical Center 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton, VA 23667 US
• Name: Michael Schultz
• Phone: 804-274-9694
• Email: [email protected]