The incumbent serves as a Chaplain professional performing clinical assignments for the VHA located within Chaplain Service at the W.G. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury VAMC, Salisbury, NC. The Chaplain provides a complete range of spiritual care to Veterans, their families, and 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 chaplain services.

Duties

Preferred Experience: Highly qualified applicants will be board certified with competency specialization in one or more of the following areas: substance use disorder, hospice & palliative care, mental health, moral injury, post-traumatic stress disorder or suicide prevention. They will have experience with pastoral care in acute and critical care inpatient settings, including the facilitation of goals-of-care conversations. They will know how to help patients and their families discover meaning in their suffering and identify sources of hope. They will also be familiar with Department of Veterans Affairs policies on life-sustaining treatments and informed consent. Duties include, but are not limited to: Serves as a Chaplain professional providing comprehensive, religious ministry services to Veteran patients. Provides extended and intensive pastoral counseling. Ensures program effectiveness and modification of service pattern. Advises and collaborates with other members of the interdisciplinary treatment team (IDT). Maintains effective rapport with physicians, medical officers, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers, or others involved in IDT. Leads various complex and sensitive projects, task groups, and assignments to obtain pertinent high-level information needed for Chaplain Service management officials. Provides emotional support and counseling using empathy and strong interpersonal skills to effectively connect with people of all ages. Ensures various complex assignments are carried out in a pluralistic environment, which encompasses sensitivity to the religious needs of many separate religious denominations and faith groups. Conducts rituals before groups of people, which requires effective leadership and public speaking skills. Conducts regular rounds of hospital wads where patients are critically ill. Provides advanced care planning education, information, and counsel for patients and their families. Provides pastoral ministry to patients with respect to their patient's faith group, including conscientious attention during emergencies and crises. Engages in group consultative discussions or conferences to provide Chaplain related input to collaborate on the evaluation and review of patient's progress. Uses thorough knowledge of different faiths to perform various religious rituals, lead prayers, and answer spiritual questions. Provides pastoral counseling on medical and ethical matters. Counsels patient with long term health illness to aid in developing and maintaining patience, determination, and perseverance. Interacts and maintains cooperative relationships with Medical Center personnel, family, local clergy, individuals, and groups in the community. 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 (Occasional Weekends) 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

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education: 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. 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. 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. 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 ®. Foreign Education: To be creditable, theological or related education completed outside the U.S. must be submitted to a current affiliate agency of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) listed at https://www.naces.org/members. May 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: Experience. The candidate must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey level (GS-11) that is directly related to the position to be filled. Specialty Certification: Specialty certification is demonstrated advanced practice and/or specialization in chaplaincy beyond the board certification and is required for the GS-12 grade level. Specialty certification from a professional chaplain certifying body that is directly related to the assignment is qualifying for a senior chaplain assignment. YOU MUST PROVIDE COPY OF SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION. Assignment: For all assignments above the journey level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. This assignment is a senior chaplain. Senior chaplain assignments may include serving at a facility in clinical settings where there is limited access to onsite supervision such as small healthcare systems, Community Based Outpatient Clinics, other Federal agencies or satellite outpatient clinics. Senior chaplains typically practice in a specialized program area, that may include intensive and extended pastoral counseling as an integral part of the treatment program, with patients facing complex moral, ethical, or spiritual problems. The senior chaplain may be assigned administrative responsibility to independently develop and implement programs and curriculum. They are accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns, which may include research and leadership of clinical teams. The senior chaplain works with full understanding of its relationship to the objectives of the institution, and to successfully integrate it with the work of the institutional staff, collaborates with and advises the other senior members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive healthcare services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior chaplain provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned chaplain staff. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and should not be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: i. Ability to apply relevant theories and methodologies to their ministry specialty. ii. Ability to integrate specialized psychological and sociological theory with an advanced approach to spiritual care. iii. Skill to seek out primary research and research literature that informs the ministry specialty and one's spiritual care practice. iv. Skill in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of chaplain practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. v. Ability to mediate conflict, hold various emotions and diffuse moral distress among staff and complex crisis situations. vi. Ability to provide specialized consultation, teaching and mentoring to colleagues and students on advanced spiritual care interventions in the service delivery area. vii. Ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge to write policies, procedures and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. References: VA Handbook 5005/135, Part II, Appendix G67. Chaplain Qualification Standard, GS-0060. Dated: September 24, 2020. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: This position requires the Chaplain to meaningfully engage with Veteran patients and family members by walking and moving within the healthcare setting or with the incumbent using an assistive device. The Chaplain is required to speak, hear (hearing aid permitted) and work closely with others.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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 WG Bill Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center 1601 Brenner Avenue Salisbury, NC 28144 US
• Name: Monica Busanet
• Email: [email protected]