Summary Position is assigned to Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Program, located within Behavioral Health Lab at Harlingen VA Outpatient Clinic & is that of a highly skilled/experienced Psychology Technician. Unique position in that it involves a high level of competency in both clinical & administrative duties. Supports PCMHI team at Harlingen as well as provides distal support to PCMHI programs at the other VATVCBHCS sites of care to include CBOCs. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: Direct Care Responsible for the day-to-day administration of the screening and testing program. This will 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. Psychological tests may be conducted face-to-face or using various psychological computer software packages Ability to use the Mental Health Assistant and the Behavioral Health Lab software to assist with the recording of psychological testing material. Assisting the clinical psychologists with the administration and scoring of selected tests and screening protocols in accordance with defined procedures. Assessing the patient's emotional function, psychosocial stress indicators and physical adjustments during treatment activities. Reviewing and summarizing pertinent psychosocial data for clinical psychologists assigned to PCMHI within the VATVCBHCS. Providing ongoing assessment and screening of patients as specified in the treatment plans and through the "watchful waiting program." Aid in facilitating referrals to case management and follow-up assessment of patients who require referral to more specialized Mental Health Clinics. Collaborating with the clinical psychologist to provide up-to-date feedback to and collaborating with members of the multidisciplinary primary care teams. Utilizing a computerized patient record system to record appropriate, timely and accurate clinical data in patients' medical record. Programmatic Maintaining and operating computerized psychological assessment program and will be responsible for scheduling of patient appointments in a manner that ensures compliance with applicable performance measures. Monitoring testing supplies, providing nomenclature to and notifying their supervisor when it is time to reorder. Coordinating the Psychology Service's computerized assessment activities including both those instruments available on the DHCPand any stand-alone software. Assisting Primary Care Psychologists and the Chief, Psychology Service in carrying out program evaluations associated with quality assurance and quality improvement plans. Responsible for carrying out many specific data collection procedures including running data reports in VSSC and DataMart and providing results and data analysis to the clinical staff as directed. Completing other administrative tasks as needed. Conducting day-to-day administrative duties including responsibility for appointment management for enrolled patients, data entry, and Psychology Service, VISN 17 and Central Office performance improvement activities in support of the PCMHI Program. Work Schedule: Fulltime, Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician/PD0305A 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 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 To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/06/2024. You may qualify based on your education as described below: Education: You must have a 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Technical Competence Communication Psychological Assessment Administration and Management 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. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. 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 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/. NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. Additional Information 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. 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. 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.