This position is located within Mental Health and Social Sciences Service at the CW Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bay Pines, Florida. The Psychology Technician provides support for psychological testing for Veteran patient care, to include evaluating patients through various psychological and neuropsychological techniques.

Duties

Some of the duties and responsibilities of this position include (but are not limited to): Administers and scores a wide range of objective psychological tests and inventories measuring personality and cognitive functions Observes and records details of participants verbal and non-verbal responses to questions and tasks posed Maintains standard testing environment and scoring conditions to ensure validity of standardized instruments Administers and scores individual tests for neuropsychological functioning Attends to non-verbal cues and interprets poorly expressed ideas when working with individuals with severe psychopathology, life-threatening medical disorders, and cognitive impairment Uses judgement in determining when failure or fatigue are producing invalid results, and discontinues testing when deemed appropriate Prepares abstracts of the clinical files of those referred for psychological evaluations Administers psychological instruments to evaluate clinical outcomes of treatment Maintains computerized databases of testing data Performs data manipulation and statistical analyses Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm 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/PD516-11070-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not required PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not required Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/29/2024. This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Experience that involved the observation of and assistance in the application of techniques relating to behavior, capacities, traits, interests, and activities of either humans or, under laboratory conditions, animals. Experience may have been gained in connection with a program of research or direct services in psychology that gave a practical understanding of some of the principles, methods, and techniques of psychology needed to assist professional psychologists. Basic Requirements: This occupational series has basic requirements identified in VA Handbook 5005. To be considered for the position, you must ensure that the experience is reflected in your resume and/or if applicable, transcripts must be uploaded to support education requirement or substitution. 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. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. AND Experience: One year of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. Performance of these tasks requires a practical understanding of some of the general principles, theories, methods and techniques of psychology in order to carry out duties which are performed under the supervision of a professional psychologist. These duties may include one or more of the following: (1) assist in research as in systematic collection of psychology research data, recording and collecting of data, preparing tabular or graphic presentation of data, in accordance with a predetermined research plan; (2) assist counseling psychologist in contacting potential employers for 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) assist neuropsychologist in administering and scoring of selected tests of a neuropsychology battery in accordance with clearly defined procedures; (4) assist psychologists in completing behavior rating scales or in conducting behavior modification. OR Substitution of Graduate-Level Education for Experience: one year (18 semester hours) of graduate-level study in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for experience and meets 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. In addition to the IOR, 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-5) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: performing clinical, consultative, and teaching functions under the supervision of a clinical psychologist; reviewing and summarizing pertinent psychosocial data for clinical psychologist; facilitating brief counseling and care management that may include behavioral therapy and psycho-educational group therapies; conducting assessment and evaluation interview; assisting clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols; maintaining and operating the computerized psychological assessment program; Obtaining missing information from providers, patients and medical records; preparing timely summaries of relevant data collected; preparing room for intervention, readying equipment, training and instructing providers and patients, and facilitating the clinical interaction. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one year of graduate-level study (18 semester hours) in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for experience OR Superior Academic Achievement. Superior academic achievement is the completion of all the requirements of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, which is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average of 3.0 or higher as recorded on an official transcript, or as based on courses completed during the final two years of the curriculum, or (3) honor society membership (transcripts required). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate-level education beyond a Bachelor's degree. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:ClericalComputer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Psychological Assessment 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. Physical Requirements: Applicants must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential function 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 prothesis 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. 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 CW Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 10000 Bay Pines Boulevard Bay Pines, FL 33744 US
• Name: Rosalba Gallucci
• Phone: 803-695-6704
• Email: [email protected]