Located within the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, Chaplain Service. Position provides services within various settings, including Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs), Inpatient Clinics, Outpatient Clinics, domiciliaries. Most Chaplain services are usually provided in a medical facility structure. The CS provides pastoral counseling and treatment to Veteran patients, patient's families, and staff in various inpatient and outpatient settings.

Duties

The incumbent serves as a Chaplain professional performing clinical assignments for the VHA. The incumbent provides comprehensive religious, spiritual, and pastoral care to all persons that are commensurate with the needs, desires, and voluntary consent of the Veteran, caregiver, or 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. Spends minimally 70% of time in patient care. Possesses a thorough knowledge of advance care planning to educate, inform, and counsel patients and families. Possesses effective skills guiding patients in verbalizing and expressing values through a life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation. Uses effective skills developing pastoral care programs that are measurable, outcome driven, and evidenced-based within the department guidelines; effective skills counseling on medical and ethical issues, terminal diagnoses or crises, moral injury, problems of conscience, family, or marital difficulties, and justice or confinement matters. Uses a sound working knowledge of Chaplain related expertise and the behavioral sciences to increase the understanding of human behavior, including familiarity with psychiatric and clinical terminology. Conducts spiritual assessments to identify patients' strengths and needs. Creates plans for care in response to the moral injuries and spiritual distress of patients that enhance the Holistic Treatment of Veteran patients. Provides crisis intervention and stabilization as required. Provides support to individual(s) for unit emergencies, natural disasters, man-made disasters, or planned special events. Collaborates with healthcare teams to create and update treatment plans to address spiritual distress, grief, and loss as existential concerns to enhance holistic care. Communicates effectively, both in writing and verbally, with persons of varied backgrounds to prepare Chaplain Service related policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines on the service delivery area. Performs a variety of complex intervention methods, including individual and group interventions to address the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families. Coordinates religious services in a manner which respects the faith traditions and religious expression of patients. Maintains and uses an advanced knowledge and understanding of other religions or denominations. Possesses a thorough knowledge of advance care planning to educate, inform, and counsel patients and families. Possesses effective skills guiding patients in verbalizing and expressing values through a life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation. Engages community resources to meet the religious needs of patients that cannot be met by chaplain staff. Serves as a vital communication link between the individual patient and the outside community and between the VHA medical facility and the outside community. Provides all necessary religious worship services and instruction on an individual or group basis for major faith groups. Establishes periods for public worship, seasonal and occasional services, and individual devotions. Administers ordinances, rites or sacraments; prepares and delivers sermons; arranges for the atmosphere and symbolism of worship; and conducts funeral services when needed. Uses significant religious expression groups such as veteran choirs and such aids as devotional literature, films, and bedside broadcasts. Provides religious instruction for patients through various means, such as individual or group discussion, Bible classes, instructional classes, and tutoring for courses completed by correspondence. Provides pastoral care involving initial interviews, visits to the various units of the institution, and bedside ministry. Serves as a spiritual advisor on moral and religious problems for patients and their families in times of crisis. Completes various complex Chaplain related administrative assignments, projects, and reports; and independently develops and implements programs and curricula. Coordinates work schedule with other VHA Chaplains to ensure overall coverage during the incumbent's absence. Maintains records, supplies, and religious equipment for the assigned program; and tracks and maintains the program's budget. Provides routine personal visits, special visits, and new patient interviews based on requests and referrals/consults. Conducts friendly visitation, ritual and bedside administration of sacraments, or pastoral counseling. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm with some weekend and holiday coverage Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 60516-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. 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. NOTE: For applicants who do not possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational degree, an approved educational equivalency review from a nationally recognized board certification body for chaplains (see paragraph f) is acceptable. 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. Ecclesiastical endorsement is a written official statement, by the official national endorsing body of the faith group or denomination, certifying that the applicant is in good standing with the applicant's faith group or denomination; and stating that the individual is, in the opinion of the endorsing body, qualified to perform the full range of ministry required in the VA pluralistic setting. Loss of endorsement will result in removal from the GS-0060 Chaplain series and may result in termination of employment. 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 ®. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to apply relevant theories and methodologies to their ministry specialty. Ability to integrate specialized psychological and sociological theory with an advanced approach to spiritual care. Skill to seek out primary research and research literature that informs the ministry specialty and one's spiritual care practice. 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. Ability to mediate conflict, hold various emotions and diffuse moral distress among staff and complex crisis situations. Ability to provide specialized consultation, teaching and mentoring to colleagues and students on advanced spiritual care interventions in the service delivery area. Ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge to write policies, procedures and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Preferred Experience: Direct spiritual care provider on a Mental Health Unit doing individual and group work with Veteran patients. Experience doing 1:1 care with Veterans in an outpatient mental health setting. Board Certified Chaplain with Mental Health Specialization. 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: GS-12 Experience. At this level, the candidate must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that is directly related to the position to be filled. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/135 PART II APPENDIX G67The 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 James H Quillen VA Medical Center Corner of Lamont Street and Veterans Way Mountain Home, TN 37684 US
• Name: Salvatore Chillon
• Phone: 757-722-9961 X7552
• Email: [email protected]