The Psychology Technician position is in the Mental Health Service, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC), Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Lexington, KY. The Psychology Technician will assist he Neuropsychologist, or supervising Psychologist, in providing neuropsychological evaluation of eligible veteran patients at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Lexington, KY.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties may include but are not limited to the following: Assessment & Evaluation: Administers, scores, and provides preliminary findings of neuropsychological and psychological tests under the supervision of the Neuropsychologist or Psychologist. Provides patients and/or significant others with a rationale for specific testing procedures. Conducts structured or semi-structured diagnostic clinical interviews, consistent with training and preparation either autonomously or under the supervision of the Neuropsychologist/Psychologist. Provides verbal and written observations of patient test behavior and demonstrates proficiency in observation of atypical habits, physical disabilities, emotional and personality features, and any previous injury that might have a bearing on test performance. Therapy/Counseling: Maintains schedules for patients and families referred for therapeutic interventions and assists in obtaining medical records for timely entry of documentation pertaining to initial treatment plans, treatment plan updates, and progress entries. Handles necessary correspondence for scheduling of outpatients for therapeutic services and maintains follow-up contacts consistent with the identified needs. Participates in treatment planning and patient-family conferences. Research and Clinical Management: Demonstrates the ability to effectively follow research protocols of data collection, documentation and analysis. Serves as the central contact for scheduling of referrals for neuropsychological and psychological assessment, therapeutic intervention, or research. Collects and maintains statistical data relating to consultation services and research activity for various purposes, including the timely preparation of any required research, workload and production reports. Monitors the security of patient data files, testing materials, and equipment. Maintains a psychometric testing library including a check-out list for any borrowed test equipment or patient files, insuring return within reasonable time frames and authorized release of any equipment, files, or other identified sensitive materials. Develops budget estimates for the assigned clinical area based on consultation practice patterns and anticipated workload. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Requirements

Qualifications

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: Completion of 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: You must submit copies of transcripts at the time of application. Education will not be credited without documentation. Please ensure that your transcripts show that a degree was conferred. Display copies of degrees or course listings do not provide the information needed. ~AND~ In addition to the above requirements, in order to meet the minimum qualifications for this position at the GS- 9 level you must meet one of the following: EXPERIENCE: At least two (2) years of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist in a program of professional services, training or research. At least 6 months of this experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade in the Federal service (GS-8), OR 1 year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-7). This experience includes working with patients in a behavioral health setting or program; proficiency in the administration, scoring, and preliminary findings of various neuropsychological, psychological, psychophysiological, vocational, and behavioral test instruments or measures; knowledge of statistics, for reporting, calculation, and transposition of standard scores to aid in scoring and interpretation of assessments; conducts structured or semi-structured diagnostic clinical interviews, provides patient, family, and group counseling and participates in treatment planning. 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. 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 the number of hours a week spent in such employment. ~OR~ EDUCATION: Successful completion of two (2) full years of graduate study in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 2 years of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-9 level. NOTE: You must submit copies of transcripts at the time of application. Education will not be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Customer ServicePsychologyStrategic Thinking 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: The work is primarily sedentary, although the stress involved in continually working with persons in emotional and physical distress and who may be uncooperative, poorly motivated, obstreperous, or possibly assaultive, makes this position appreciably more demanding than most sedentary lines of employment. Manual dexterity, proficient handwriting speed, physical agility, some degree of physical exertion (i.e., recurring moderate lifting of test supplies, records, and equipment), walking/mobility, listening, writing, and sitting for prolonged periods of time are required. 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).





Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

Contacts

• Address Lexington VA Health Care System 2250 Leestown Road Lexington, KY 40511 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]