This position is assigned to the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Program, located within the Behavioral Health Lab (BHL) at the Harlingen VA Outpatient Clinic.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include: Conducting assessment and evaluation interviews with patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent information regarding the patient's history, symptoms, cognitive abilities and willingness to participate in treatment of psychological disorders. Use the Mental Health Assistant and the Behavioral Health Lab software to assist with the recording of psychological testing material. Assist the clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols in accordance with defined procedures. Maintain and schedule the administration and operations of the screening and testing program to conform to the policies and procedures of the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System (VATVCBHCS). Assess the patient's emotional function, psychosocial stress indicators, and physical adjustments during treatment activities. Provide ongoing assessment and screening of patients as specified in the treatment plans and through the "watchful waiting program." Facilitate counseling, behavioral therapy, and psycho-education group therapies. Provide individual support for patients as necessary, requiring utilization of a variety of programmatic treatment protocols, to include behavioral therapy, skills training, and counseling theories and modalities. Utilize a computerized patient record system to record appropriate, timely, and accurate clinical data in patients' medical record. Monitor testing supplies, provide nomenclature to and notify the supervisor when it is time to reorder. Assist Primary Care Psychologists and the Chief, Psychology Service in carrying out program evaluations associated with quality assurance and quality improvement plans. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. -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 to meet the requirements of this position. -AND- -Basic Education Requirement: 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunicationPsychological AssessmentTechnical Competence 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: Incumbent's work is primarily sedentary but may at times require walking, standing, stair climbing, bending, stooping, and carrying of lightweight items such as documents, manuals, and books, but typically the incumbent may sit comfortably to do the work. Hearing and distinct speech are essential due to extensive use of the telephone and in-person communication as a means of transmitting information. The incumbent must possess manual dexterity to enter computer information. Mental concentration to meet critical deadlines is also essential. Position may require travel by auto or plane. 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).

Contacts

• Address VA TX Valley Coastal Bend HCS 2601 Veterans Drive Harlingen, TX 78550 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]