The incumbent serves as a Psychology Technician for the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) at the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (CVAHCS). This psychology technician reports clinically and administratively to the assigned Supervisory Psychologist or Program Coordinator.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Administers psychological tests under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. Administers and scores initial psychological screening and evaluation of veterans with all degrees of severity, some of whom may be uncooperative or hostile, providing initial psychodiagnostic services, making preliminary interpretations of the data, developing recommended courses of action, and consultation to the interdisciplinary team. An active member of the treatment team assessment and review process, reporting data and observations collected during the assessment process. Functions as a relatively autonomous psychometrician in administering and scoring psychological test batteries (including psycho-educational and personality test instruments). Performs the data collection portion of psychological assessments using interview, formal psychological testing, and consultation as appropriate, gathers case history, complaints, or other problem- related information for use in the evaluation and diagnosis of said patients. Provides training in the administration and scoring of psychological test instruments, as well the purposes of training. Acts as a case manager for patients assigned to their care within the MHSL. The incumbent provides supportive counseling, stress management, and vocational, and/or educational rehabilitation with the patient and family/caregiver as appropriate as they learn about and adjust to new psychological test results and diagnoses. Provides documentation in accordance with VA regulations and non-conflicting locally established and approved policies. Assists with tele-presenting, rooming, connection, and equipment needs on the unit. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm, compressed tour negotiable. 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. Position Description/PD#: 14202-O, 14203-O, 14204-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Requirements

Qualifications

IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: Basic Education Requirement: 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. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) AND Grade Level Requirements: In addition to meeting the basis requirements, you must meet one of the following minimum requirements. NOTE: The experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable. The education must be supported by your unofficial transcript to be creditable. If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed. GS-07: Experience: One (1) year of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. At least six (6) months of such experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade (GS-06) in the Federal service, or one (1) year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-05) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as conducting assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent information regarding the patient's history, symptoms, cognitive abilities and willingness to participate in treatment of psychological disorders; maintaining and operating the computerized psychological assessment program; overseeing daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) OR Substitution of Education: One (1) full year of graduate study (i.e., 18 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 1 year of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-7 level. OR Superior Academic Achievement: Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) at the baccalaureate level in the qualifying curriculum detailed above is fully qualifying. Applicants who wish to apply under this provision must submit proof from their educational institution that they meet one of the criteria listed below. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and meet one of the following: 1.Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision; 2.A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; 3.A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; 4.Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp. GS-08: Experience: One and a half (1.5) years of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. At least six (6) months of such experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade (GS-07) in the Federal service, or one (1) year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-06) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as conducting assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent information regarding the patient's history, symptoms, cognitive abilities and willingness to participate in treatment of psychological disorders; assisting the clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols in accordance with defined procedures; maintaining and operating the computerized psychological assessment program; overseeing daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) OR Substitution of Education: One and a half (1.5) years of graduate study (i.e., 27 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 1.5 years of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-8 level. GS-09: Experience: Two (2) years of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. At least six (6) months of such experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade (GS-08) in the Federal service, or one (1) year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-07) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as assessing the patient's emotional functioning, psychosocial stress indicators, and physical adjustment; reviewing and summarizing pertinent psychosocial data for clinical psychologists; facilitating brief counseling and care management that may include behavioral therapy and psycho-educational group therapies; conducting assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent information regarding the patient's history, symptoms, cognitive abilities and willingness to participate in treatment of psychological disorders; assisting the clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols in accordance with defined procedures; maintaining and operating the computerized psychological assessment program; overseeing daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) OR Substitution of Education: Two (2) years of graduate study (i.e., 36 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 2 year of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-9 level. AND In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Clinical Data Collection/DocumentationPsychological AssessmentTechnology Application IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. 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

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 Cheyenne VA Medical Center 2360 East Pershing Boulevard Cheyenne, WY 82001 US
• Name: Dana Simmons
• Phone: 504-377-6420
• Email: [email protected]