Clarification from the agency

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Most Chaplain services are usually provided in a medical facility structure. The CS provides pastoral counseling and treatment to Veteran patients, Patients families and staff in various inpatient and outpatient settings. The incumbent serves as a developmental Chaplain professional for the VHA. The incumbent provides religious, spiritual, and pastoral care to all persons that are commensurate with the needs, desires, and voluntary consent of the Veteran, caregiver, or staff. The incumbent addresses the spiritual component of health and wellness in every patient care setting to ensure that pastoral care is fully integrated into all aspects of service. The incumbent serves in a developmental Chaplain capacity under the direct supervision and frequent guidance of a higher-grade chaplain for complex non-routine assignments.

This serves as a standard Chaplain functional statement (FS) to be used throughout the VHA. The incumbent performs the majority or all the following major duties and responsibilities in this functional statement. This Chaplain GS-09 position is a developmental position to the GS-11 full performance level. Additional duties includes but are not limited to the following:

• Serves as a Chaplain professional providing complete religious ministry services to Veteran patients according to their specific needs and desires.
• Serves as a primary resource, spiritual advisor and point of contact for the spiritual needs of patients, caregivers and staff. Conducts religious services and worship, pastoral ministry, and administration of Chaplain services under the direct supervision and guidance of a higher-grade chaplain.
• Engages as a spiritual leader, a compassionate listener and counselor especially during times of crisis.
• Provides emotional support and counseling using strong interpersonal skills to effectively connect with people of all ages with empathy.
• Offers prayers and religious services for Veterans patients, staff, and community. Conducts rituals in front of groups of people including leading prayers, requiring effective leadership and public speaking skills.
• Addresses religious, spiritual, moral, and ethical problems of patients and staff under the direct supervision and guidance of a higher-grade chaplain for complex non-routine issues.
• Provides counseling services to patients and staff and conducts regular rounds of hospital wards containing the critically ill.
• Ministers to newly admitted, pre- and post-operative patients, the critically ill, and the families of concerned veteran patients. Provides advance care planning education, information, and counsel for patients and their families.
• Provides pastoral ministry to patients of his/her faith group, including conscientious attention during emergencies and crises.
• Ensures all patients are provided opportunities for the free exercise of religion and that Veterans are protected from proselytizing and coercion from any source.
• Serves as a fully recognized member of an integrated multi-professional treatment team.
• Maintains liaison with physicians, medical officers, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers, or others involved to exchange information relative to background and current condition of patients under the direct supervision and guidance of a higher-grade chaplain.
• Trains and coaches volunteer groups who offer their services as assistants as needed.
• Engages in group consultative discussions or conferences with these professionals to evaluate and review the patient's progress.
• Collaborates with treatment team professionals to discuss the recommended course of action and other informed advice under the direct supervision and guidance of a higher-grade chaplain to attain the necessary therapeutic goals for the patient.
• Locates other Chaplains and/or persons from the community to provide for patients' religious needs if necessary.
• Provides guidance and/or support for patients to express values through processes such as life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation.
• Maintains records and documents chaplaincy care services.
• Provides pastoral counseling on medical and ethical matters, including moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties, justice or confinement matters, terminal diagnoses, or crisis.
• Addresses fears that patients have when facing surgery and answers questions regarding the meaning of life, when confronted with the reality of pain, illness permanent disfigurement, crippling, or death under the direct supervision and guidance of a higher-grade chaplain.
• Counsels patients with long-term health illness to aid in developing and maintaining patience, determination, and perseverance.
• Provides advice to mental health patients with deeply troubled.
• Spends minimally 70% of time in patient care.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education. Applicants must possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational qualifications as evidenced by a graduate-level theological degree from a college, university or theological school accredited by a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. NOTE: For applicants who do not possess a Master of Divinity degree or equivalent educational degree, an approved educational equivalency review from a nationally recognized board certification body for chaplains is acceptable.
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, theological or related education completed outside the U.S. must be submitted to a current affiliate agency of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) listed at https://www.naces.org/members.
• Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Applicants must have completed four units of CPE from a CPE center that is accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Ecclesiastical Endorsement. In accordance with 38 CFR § 17.655, applicants and employees must have and maintain an ecclesiastical endorsement, dated within the past 12 months, from the official national endorsing authority of their faith group or denomination. Ecclesiastical endorsement is a written official statement, by the official national endorsing body of the faith group or denomination, certifying that the applicant is in good standing with the applicant's faith group or denomination; and stating that the individual is, in the opinion of the endorsing body, qualified to perform the full range of ministry required in the VA pluralistic setting. Loss of endorsement will result in removal from the GS-0060 chaplain series and may result in termination of employment. The National Chaplain Service maintains a list of approved endorsing organizations that can be found here: https://www.patientcare.va.gov/chaplain/Employment_Information_and_Resources.asp
• Board Certification. Applicants must be a Board Certified Chaplain certified by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI) ® or nationally recognized certification body that utilizes the BCCI ® or Common Qualifications and Competencies for Professional Chaplaincy or a certifying organization that has a reciprocity agreement with BCCI ®.
• Grandfathering Provision. All chaplains employed in VHA, in this occupational series, performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all the qualification requirements for the grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.
• English Language Proficiency. Chaplains must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7402(d).

• Knowledge of spiritual assessments to identify patient strengths and needs and documenting services provided.
• Ability to use the information of the spiritual assessment to create care plans in all dimensions of pastoral care.
• Ability to provide crisis intervention and stabilization.
• Skill in healthcare team collaboration to create and update treatment plans to address spiritual issues.
• Ability to ensure free exercise of religion for patients and staff.
• Knowledge of individual and group interventions to address spiritual and emotional needs of patients and families; providing referrals for continuity of spiritual care.
• Skill in the coordination of religious services respecting the faith tradition of individual patients.
• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with persons of varied backgrounds.

• Knowledge of advance care planning to educate, inform, and counsel patients and families.
• Skill in guiding patients in verbalizing and expressing values through life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation.
• Ability to develop pastoral care programs that are measurable, outcome-driven and evidenced based within the department guidelines.
• Skill in counseling on medical and ethical issues, terminal diagnoses or crises, moral injury, problems of conscience, family or marital difficulties and justice or confinement matters.
• Ability to support the development of staff resiliency and develop programs for staff development and wellness by providing spiritual and emotional support.
• Ability to educate and equip healthcare staff and trainees screening for spiritual and religious needs of patients and the importance of appropriate referrals to chaplains for complex spiritual distress.
• Knowledge of community needs to coordinate with community organizations to provide comprehensive spiritual care, utilizing outside community resources to meet the religious needs of patients that cannot be met by chaplain staff.

• • Ability to apply relevant theories and methodologies to their ministry specialty.
  • Ability to integrate specialized psychological and sociological theory with an advanced approach to spiritual care.
  • Skill to seek out primary research and research literature that informs the ministry specialty and one's spiritual care practice.
  • Skill in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of chaplain practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
  • Ability to mediate conflict, hold various emotions and diffuse moral distress among staff and complex crisis situations.
  • Ability to provide specialized consultation, teaching and mentoring to colleagues and students on advanced spiritual care interventions in the service delivery area.
  • Ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge to write policies, procedures and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for 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; 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.