The incumbent is assigned to work in the Neuropsychology Clinic and Psychological Assessment Units of the Psychology Section at the VA Caribbean Healthcare System. The Psychology Technician provides support for psychological testing of Veterans, to include evaluating patients through various psychological and neuropsychological techniques. The incumbent also provides psychoeducational services to Veterans and their families under the supervision of staff psychologists.

Duties

Some of the duties and responsibilities of this position include (but are not limited to): Performs psychological and neuropsychological assessment procedures to include conducting structured interviews, evaluation of suicidal and homicidal potential. Administers standard tests of intelligence, achievement, standard tests of memory, cognitive functions, and traditional cognitive screening tools. Administers and scores traditional measures for purpose of assessment of emotional status, personality, and/or functional capability. Operates equipment such as tape recorders, slide projectors, and specialized assessment equipment, as well as has sufficient computer sophistication for purposes of data entry, scoring, and the like. Organizes the caseload and scheduling of referrals in a manner to provide timely assessment and expeditious handling of priority referrals. Provides patients and/or significant others with a rationale for specific testing procedures. Ensures the cooperation of patient during the entire assessment and procedure . Demonstrates sensitivity to disabled patients and the ability to adapt assessment approaches or procedures in a manner to meet any special problems. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday. 7:30-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/PD672-12256-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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, 03/13/2024. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS- 8 position. 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. For this position you must meet the Individual Occupational Requirements: Specialized Experience: 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed two full years of graduate education or a master's degree in psychology meets the requirements for GS-9, if related (Transcript required). OR, Combination of Experience & Education: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (Transcript required).You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized experience: Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience in administration and scoring of Neuropsychological and Psychological Tests. Experience working with individuals with cognitive and emotional disorders. Experience related to the evaluation, patient management, general psychological and educational services to patients and their families. Experience Providing psychological assessment services, including: interviewing, risk assessment; psychological test administration, scoring, and test result documentation; assuring appropriate test administration conditions, and test security. Performing the administration and scoring of individually administered psychological and neuropsychological test batteries, other neuropsychological instruments, psychological measures, behavioral rating scales, and other assessment techniques. Operate equipment such as tape recorders, slide projectors, and specialized assessment equipment, as well as has sufficient computer sophistication for purposes of data entry, scoring. Organizes the caseload and scheduling of referrals. Experience with Veterans Health Information & Technology Architecture (VistA) to access information in the Medical Center Computer System. Experience with MS Word or comparable word processing software to execute several office automation functions such as storing and retrieving electronic documents and files; activating printers; inserting and deleting text; formatting letters, reports and memoranda; and transmitting and receiving e-mails. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have: Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree in psychology from an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. OR, Combination of Experience & Education: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education. Selective Placement Factor: Must be proficient in written and spoken Spanish/English.(required). Preferred Experience: Experience in administration and scoring of Neuropsychological and Psychological Tests. Experience working with individuals with cognitive disorders. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Education and TrainingHealth InformaticsTechnical CompetenceTherapy and Counseling 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 sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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 San Juan VA Medical Center 10 Calle Casia San Juan, PR 00921 US
• Name: Maria Peralta Urbaez
• Phone: 786-721-2594
• Email: [email protected]