VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
The incumbent for this position may be eligible to apply for the Education Debt Reduction Program. Please contact Human Resources at this medical center and speak with the Education Debt Reduction Program Coordinator for additional information.
Summary
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
The incumbent for this position may be eligible to apply for the Education Debt Reduction Program. Please contact Human Resources at this medical center and speak with the Education Debt Reduction Program Coordinator for additional information.
The Nurse Practitioner functions as part of a
multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals in providing a wide range
of services to patients with mental health and/or substance abuse problems in
the setting of an outpatient mental health clinic. The incumbent will
provide general advanced practice nursing care as well as specialized mental
health functions.
·
Provide and coordinate
comprehensive care for assigned patients in any care setting
·
Perform initial complete
mental health history examinations that include full mental status examinations
·
Provide education, therapy,
and counseling of patients and families in psychiatric conditions, addiction
issues, and medical conditions related to psychotropic medication use.
·
Initiating, prescribing,
renewing, refilling, monitoring, and managing the care of patients on
psychotropic medications.
·
May be involved in carrying a
patient panel, providing same-day access support, and working in Primary
Care-Mental Health Integration.
Work Schedule: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm M-F. Position does require on-call
rotation, some evening and rotating Saturday work to cover after hour clinics.
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
Physical
Requirements: Transferring patients and objects
may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and
contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in
isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures. The incumbent may
occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium,
dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible,
sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations,
able to shift priorities based on patient needs.
Drug Testing: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a drug 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 the VA. In addition, any offer of employment will be rescinded with a verified positive drug test. VA employees in drug testing designated positions are also subject to post appointment random drug testing.
Qualifications
Grade
Determinations: The following criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment
of candidates, and if appropriate, the level within a grade:
Nurse I
Level I - An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing, with no additional
nursing practice/experience required.
Nurse I
Level II - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 1 year of nursing
practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a bachelor's
degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience; OR
a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional nursing
practice/experience.
Nurse I
Level III - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 2-3 years of nursing
practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's
degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years of nursing
practice/experience; OR a BSN with approximately 1-2 years of nursing
practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) or related
field with a BSN and no additional nursing practice/experience.
Nurse II
- A BSN with approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR
ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and
approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's
degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years of
nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or meets
basic requirements for appointment and has doctoral degree in a related field
with no additional nursing practice/experience required.
Nurse III
- Master's degree in nursing or related field with BSN and approximately 2-3 years
of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or
related field and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience.
Preferred Experience:Providing direct nursing services to veterans with mental problems; VA experience preferred.
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.
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.
Additional information
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Annual leave shall accrue for full-time Nurses, and Nurse Anesthetists at the rate of 8 hours for each full biweekly pay period.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part
II, Appendix G-6 Nurse Qualification Standard.This can be found in the local Human
Resources Office.
In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience.
Your application, résumé and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.
NOTE: Applicant's education and
length of nursing practice (experience) will be considered by a Nurse
Professional Standards Board in determining the grade and step of the
applicant selected.
Experience as an RN will be evaluated to determine if the experience is of an acceptable level of quality with regard to the following four dimensions of nursing: Practice, Professional Development, Collaboration and Scientific Inquiry. Each dimension of practice has criteria that demonstrate essential core competencies for VHA Nursing Personnel. The criteria are
as follows:
Practice: practice, ethics
and resource utilization;
Professional Development: performance, education/career development;
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Annual leave shall accrue for full-time Nurses, and Nurse Anesthetists at the rate of 8 hours for each full biweekly pay period.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, etc. You will not be contacted for additional information.
Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), or 10pt (CP/CPS, XPP, XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP), on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section(s) provided. A legible copy of your DD214(s) indicating character of service, disability certification, SF-15 (if claiming 10 pt. preference) or if you are currently serving on active duty and expected to be released or discharged within 120 days; documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation. Documentation is required for eligibility verification.
Faxing Applications or Supporting Documents: You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online or unable to upload your supporting documents to your online application, follow the directions located at the following site: Fax Options. The Vacancy ID of the job opportunity announcement is 1732149.
NOTE: If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203-FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for this position, you must complete the View Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Friday, September 29, 2017 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
VHA Amarillo HCS
Department of Veterans Affairs
6010 Amarillo Blvd West
Amarillo, TX 79106
Next steps
After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. During our review, if your résumé and application package do not support your questionnaire answers, we will adjust your rating accordingly. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email (if provided); otherwise, applicants will receive a notification letter via the U.S. Postal Service. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USAJOBS account and clicking on “Application Status.” For a more detailed update of your status, click on “more information.” Information regarding applicant notification points can be found in the USAJobs Resource Center.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, etc. You will not be contacted for additional information.
Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), or 10pt (CP/CPS, XPP, XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP), on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section(s) provided. A legible copy of your DD214(s) indicating character of service, disability certification, SF-15 (if claiming 10 pt. preference) or if you are currently serving on active duty and expected to be released or discharged within 120 days; documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation. Documentation is required for eligibility verification.
Faxing Applications or Supporting Documents: You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online or unable to upload your supporting documents to your online application, follow the directions located at the following site: Fax Options. The Vacancy ID of the job opportunity announcement is 1732149.
NOTE: If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203-FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for this position, you must complete the View Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Friday, September 29, 2017 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
VHA Amarillo HCS
Department of Veterans Affairs
6010 Amarillo Blvd West
Amarillo, TX 79106
Next steps
After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. During our review, if your résumé and application package do not support your questionnaire answers, we will adjust your rating accordingly. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email (if provided); otherwise, applicants will receive a notification letter via the U.S. Postal Service. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USAJOBS account and clicking on “Application Status.” For a more detailed update of your status, click on “more information.” Information regarding applicant notification points can be found in the USAJobs Resource Center.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
