This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Salem Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (SVAHCS), under the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL). This position will be aligned under MHSL programs and is located at the Salem VAMC campus.

Duties

Major Duties: Serves as the first line of care in the assigned clinic. The incumbent is responsible for conducting outreach efforts, collecting information, and providing assessment and triage to veterans newly referred to psychology services. Discusses best disposition options with multidisciplinary team members and coordinates implementation of treatment recommendation. Completes psychiatric and physical diagnostic questionnaires. Maintains clinical records and documentation, ensuring regulatory compliance and compliance with Good Clinical Practices. Maintains responsibility for the implementation of the Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL), working under the guidance of the supervisor or designee. This will include monitoring patients in the specific psychology program, running relevant reports, and maintaining data. Organizes and assists in the scheduling of patient appointments as needed. Provides psychoeducation to Veterans using standardized individual and group protocols. Provides care management services to Veterans. This includes coordination with multi disciplinary team members involved in the patient's care. Supports the Licensed 1 Independent Provider's (LIP) interventions through methods such as telephone-based support services. May encourage attention to health focused behaviors and treatment adherence. Completes clinical reminders on patients. Oversees daily activities of the assigned clinic and facilitates the flow of care. j. Develops a working knowledge of various treatment modalities delivered by the clinical staff. Conducts follow-up interviews and ongoing monitoring of patients' symptomatology utilized structured assessment instruments. This includes gathering information regarding treatment adherence and recognition of emergent needs. Manages and coordinates referrals to specialty behavioral health services including MH and Substance Abuse (SA) services. Conducts follow-up with patients referred to other clinics or services to motivate attendance to the appointment or aid in stabilization and management of that patient before their appointment. Assists with the preparation of workshop and group activities. Assures availability of patient education and other materials. Assists patients in meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, benefits. Maintains up-to-date contact information about commonly used community resources. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 7:45am-4:00pm Telework: Ad-HOC Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician (OCA)/PD23320 and PD023320

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/31/2024. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. 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.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:CommunicationManages and Organizes InformationPsychological AssessmentPsychology GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-08 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 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 completed two full years of graduate education or a master's degree in Psychology.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 sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items, such as papers, books, or small parts. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 Salem VA Medical Center 1970 Roanoke Boulevard Salem, VA 24153 US
• Name: Tammy Myrie
• Phone: 901-663-6722
• Email: [email protected]