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Summary This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (HVAMC), under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service Line. This position is aligned with the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program/Outpatient Programs (BHIP/Outpatient). Responsibilities Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Clinical Support 40% Serves as the first line of care in the assigned clinic. The incumbent is available to respond to requests from external clinics by collecting information and providing assessments and triage. 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 the Team Lead or designee. This will include monitoring patients in BHIP or Outpatient clinics, 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 LIPs' 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. 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. 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. Organizes group therapy activities. Psychological Assessment 30% Completes structured diagnostic and clinical assessments for Veterans. Performs psychological, neuropsychological, or psychophysiological tests on Veterans referred for examinations. This includes both administration of instruments as well as scoring of said instruments. Provides timely summaries of relevant data collected within the assessment. Demonstrates and uses knowledge of medical terminology and diagnostic categories in the completion of psychological assessments. Reviews assessments completed by others and obtains missing information from providers, Veterans, and medical records. Assists in the training of pre-doctoral psychology interns and other trainees in test administration and scoring. Triage & Clinical Interviewing 30% Independently triages patients, identifying immediate needs. Assesses for the safety of patients with timely and appropriate hand-off to licensed independent providers, including providing an entry level suicide risk assessment. Conducts patient interviews to assist in triaging Veterans to appropriate licensed clinical providers on the assigned team. Determines appropriate level of care need for patients. Refers to a variety of clinical options available in the assigned team or throughout the medical center and local community. Contacts patients through written correspondence and telephone calls, and conducts follow up interviews Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Yes - as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: BHIP Psychology Technician/PD029260 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications 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-07. 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of and experience developing and/or administering surveys and the ability to work independently in interviewing, testing, and counseling with difficult and complex patients. Advanced knowledge and experience using counseling skills with Veterans who are presenting with a variety of mental health conditions to include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, trauma related disorders, substance abuse disorders. Must also demonstrate ability to exercise good judgment during interactions with Veterans and their families. Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to the emotions of others, with the necessary tact and skills to deal with Veterans presenting with a range of psychological problems. Ability to observe human behavior and accurately record observations of behavior to arrive at an accurate interpretation of data. This requires extensive attention to detail, a solid background in coursework in human behavior, excellent listening skills, and advance documentation skills. Ability to assess mental status and cognitive state of patients, assess for risky behaviors, perform a risk assessment, make referrals for high-risk patients, and conduct or assist psychologists or other licensed professionals in conducting group counseling. Knowledge of English grammar, spelling, and punctuation to correct obvious errors in draft material. Ability to speak, write, and explain information clearly. Knowledge of computer systems and software, including experience in standard word processing, data entry, spreadsheet, and graphics software. Ability to keep abreast of the various changes made within these programs for maintaining the integrity of access to these clinical records. Knowledge of and experience working in a research and/or clinical environment and health care field, including knowledge of unique requirements of clinical activities and policy, regulations, and practices used to administer research and clinical programs and projects. Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and work under limited supervision. Knowledge of various treatment, rehabilitation, and community programs involving a complexity of psychological and physical handicaps. Knowledge of medical and scientific terminology to include ICD codes and DSM diagnostic codes. Ability to recognize problems and problem areas and make recommendations to the supervisor, take remedial action and correct deficiencies. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. Possess a master's or equivalent graduate degree or two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Graduate Education: Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university meets the requirements for positions at GS-7 through GS-11. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. 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: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html . Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.