This position serves as Psychology Technician GS-0181-07 assigned to work in Neuromodulation Clinic of the Mental Health Service at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS).

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is to provides support to the Neuromodulation Clinic delivering clinical neuromodulation treatment (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS). The work involves direct contact patients who are U.S. Military Veterans. The work and the training required to perform it occurs under the direction and close supervision of advanced healthcare providers, including but not limited to, Neuromodulation Clinic Attending Psychiatrist(s) or other properly trained and qualified physicians, advanced trainees, or their designees. Major duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to: Preparing the TMS or other device prior to the arrival of the patient. Provides monitoring of patients after self-administration of rapidly acting antidepressants (i.e. esketamine) under the supervision of a Neuromodulation Clinic Attending Psychiatrist or his/her qualified designee. Daily screening and monitoring of neuromodulation patients. Provides consultation support to the Neuromodulation Clinic. Contributes to the national V A-TMS rollout. This may include, but is not limited to, attending conference calls and shared protocol development sessions, and providing assistance to other VA clinics as they implement standard operating procedures necessary to conduct TMS at their site. Contributes to approved neuromodulation research protocols and program evaluation projects. This may include developing, populating, and maintaining databases pertaining to neuromodulation interventions. Supports and understands all safety and fire prevention/precaution practices and promptly repots all patient incidents or; unsafe conditions to the clinical supervisor in accordance with policies. Adheres to professional/ethical standards and codes of conduct as outlined in medical center policy and the APA Code of Ethics. Basic Life Support certified. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician/PD01625O 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, 01/24/2024. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: 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. ~AND~ BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: You must possess a bachelor's degree (or higher) 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. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~AND~ In addition to meeting the English Language Proficiency and the Basic Education Requirement, to qualify for this position at the GS-7 level, you must meet one of the following requirements: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full 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-6) in the Federal service, or one (1) year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-5) in the Federal service. Technical duties include experience with one or more of the following: (1) Assisting in research as in systematic collection of psychology research data, recording and collecting data, preparing tabular or graphic presentation of data, in accordance with a predetermined research plan; (2) Assisting counseling psychologists in contacting potential employers for the purpose of making vocational placement, providing follow-up consultation, administering and scoring of interest, achievement and aptitude tests, securing work history and other relevant vocational information; (3) Assisting neuropsychologists in administering and scoring of selected tests of neuropsychology battery in accordance with clearly defined procedures; or (4) Assisting psychologists in completing behavior rating scales or in conducting behavior modification. NOTE: Experience under the direction of a professional psychologist is required and MUST be documented on your resume. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ EDUCATION: You must havesuccessfully completed at least one (1) full year of graduate study in psychology at an accredited college or university to substitute for the 1 year of experience to meet in full the requirements at the GS-7 level. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (SAA):SAA at the baccalaureate level in the coursework 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. You must submit a copy of your transcript with your application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. 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. Class is defined as the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration. 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Patient CarePsychological AssessmentTechnical Competence 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 may require physical assistance and support when they are brought for examination. Equipment, weighing up to 50 pounds, may need to be moved. The incumbent must be able to sit and attend intensively to patient behavior over periods lasting several hours. Finally, the incumbent must maintain excellent personal health, since the position requires long exposures to persons having 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Palo Alto VA Medical Center 3801 Miranda Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 US
• Name: Veronica Alvarado
• Phone: (415) 960-5758
• Email: [email protected]