The Rehabilitation Technician position is responsible for providing therapeutic and care management services within the Residential Rehabilitation Center. The mission of the RRC is to provide the full range of therapeutic care to Veterans who need the intensity of residential services.

Duties

The position is located in the Lebanon Medical Center's Behavioral Health and Sciences (BH&S) Care Line reporting to the Residential Rehabilitation Center (RRC) Chief. The incumbent's chief responsibilities are within the service line, which provides inpatient and outpatient mental health services and comprehensive rehabilitation services to enrolled patients. New initiatives are often in the development and early stages of implementation, requiring coordinated support services. The incumbent serves as a Rehabilitation Technician (RT) in the General Domiciliary Treatment Program, known locally as the RRC. Duties are divided into two primary areas, residential rehabilitation and after care. Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Conducts individual counseling sessions with each assigned resident and documents this information in their electronic chart. Facilitates group therapy sessions on substance abuse issues and recovery topics and subjects (AA/NA, guilt, anger, shame, etc.). Identifies major substance abuse problems from the psychosocial assessment and makes recommendations, in conjunction with the resident and the treatment team concerning interventions, treatment goals and objectives. Provides couples and/or family counseling sessions as needed and formulates in conjunction with the resident and the treatment team an aftercare treatment plan. Works with the social workers and the resident to find safe living arrangements or further treatment. Refers residents to local treatment programs and recovery supports to aide in the residents' ongoing recovery and aftercare. Plans and administers mental health and/or substance abuse related therapy as the employee responsible for Veterans on their assigned clinical team. For example, plans and carries out the treatment of domiciliary patients via individual and group counseling; determines interventions and schedules for therapy consistent with clinical needs and treatment objectives for assigned patients; selects and adapts treatment activities to needs and abilities of individual patients; modifies treatment procedures and treatment approaches to enable patient to overcome limitations and progress. The incumbent is provided regular clinical supervision, by the Program Manager, but must be able to function independently in management of individual and group care, as well as weekend coverage. Will be responsible for the development and delivery of specialized recovery-oriented group treatments. Responsible to assess increase in risk, regarding resumed use or suicidal/homicidal ideation, and communicate with the Inter Disciplinary Team. Responsible to participation in IDT meetings and share clinical impressions/concerns regarding ongoing treatment and discharge. Will complete and review a Recovery Plan for each Veteran assigned to their IDT upon discharge of the Veteran. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: There are two tours available, this will be discussed during the interview: Split tour: Sunday - Thursday, 8:00am - 4:30pm; Monday - Friday, 12:00pm - 8:30pm Tuesday-Saturday 8-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Rehabilitation Technician - Alcoholism and Drug Dependence / PD02165A 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, 10/20/2023. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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. 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-6) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: (1) Knowledge of substance use disorder treatment modalities and psychological principles; (2) Knowledge of Alcoholics Anonymous and the twelve-step program; (3) Knowledge of the Privacy Act and regulations pertinent to release of information; (4) Ability to modify or adapt the treatment plan to meet the patient's specific recovery-oriented goals; (5) Provides supportive interaction by listening and communicating with patients and observing their behavior closely. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate education to meet the requirements for GS-7. NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5, only, in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. OR, Combining Experience and Education: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience are also qualifying. If education is used to meet specialized experience requirements, then such education must include courses directly related to the work of the position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/DocumentationMedical InformationPatient CarePsychologyTeaching Others 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 work is primarily sedentary. However, there may be periods of sitting, standing, walking, lifting, accessing transportation and driving a government car or van. Driver's License Requirement: A Pennsylvania driver's license is required. The work usually takes place in an office, group room, community setting, as well as other locations agreed upon by the Veteran and the staff person delivering services. The requirements of the position will require the RT to be in the community to facilitate aftercare/outpatient services, meet with and network with other agencies and community stakeholders (Do NOT include a copy of your Driver License with your application; we cannot accept photographs as part of your application). 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 Lebanon VA Medical Center 1700 South Lincoln Avenue Lebanon, PA 17042 US
• Name: Anthony Chavez
• Phone: (814) 738-3712
• Email: [email protected]