• Perform full range of advanced practice nursing care for patients requiring behavioral health services.
• Evaluate new and existing patients on behavioral health or psychiatric needs.
• Implement mutually agreed upon solutions regarding behavioral health.
• Educate patients about risks and benefits of prescribed medications.
• Observe patients closely, evaluate and record any significant behavior and reaction patterns.
• Maintain appropriate records using a computerized record keeping and coding system.
• Collaborate with primary care and other providers regarding behavioral health or psychiatric services for patients.

Conditions of employment

• This position is designated as moderate risk involving Public Trust. Appointment to this position is subject to a background investigation including a credit check to determine suitability for Federal employment and/or the position.
• This position has specific initial background investigation and periodic re-verification requirements since its duties require interaction with children and youth under the age of eighteen (18) years of age on a recurring basis.
• This position requires a pre-employment physical annually and thereafter.
• All applicants tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
• This position is subject to a pre-employment screening, and random drug testing, to include testing based on reasonable suspicion and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.
• Applicants must be able to fulfill credentialing requirements and obtain and maintain appropriate/relevant clinical privileges.
• This position is subject to TDY or business travel requirements to various locations.
• This position is required to be screened for and obtain necessary immunizations/vaccinations (hepatitis, influenza, etc.), unless exempted by a licensed physician

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner Clinical/Psychiatric):

Degree: A graduate or higher-level degree from an accredited professional nursing educational program in Psychiatric or other related specialty. This education must have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcript.)

Degree from Foreign Nursing School: Official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (external link) is required for individuals who graduated from foreign nursing schools. (Note: You must attach a copy of your Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools certification.

Advanced Practice Nurse Positions: For Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) positions, applicants must possess a graduate or higher-level degree in nursing from an accredited educational program in Psychiatric or other related specialty. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcript.)

Licensure: A current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States; and you must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination. (Note: You must attach a copy of your license.)

Advanced Practice Nurse Licensure: Applicants for Advanced Practice Nurse positions must be licensed or registered by a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States in the clinical specialty required by the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your license.)

Exemption: You are exempt from the basic requirements above if you are a current federal employee occupying a position in the 0610 occupational series and have been continuously employed in this occupational series since September 27, 2017 or before. Applicants claiming this exemption must meet the requirement below. Note: You will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the respective Human Resources Office to validate your status.

Degree or diploma from a professional nursing program approved by the legally designated State accrediting agency at the time the program was completed by the applicant.

Active, current registration as a professional nurse in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Professional Nursing Experience: One or more full years of professional nursing experience which includes performing comprehensive mental health nursing assessments to plan and provide care, providing specialized nursing care based on the psychosocial needs of the patient, and administering medications to patients with psychiatric/behavioral health needs. This definition of professional nursing experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone - no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• Transcripts: This position has an education requirement; you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts. See: Transcripts and Licenses.
• Licenses: This position has a license requirement, you MUST submit a copy of your current, active, valid, unrestricted licenses. See: Transcripts and Licenses.
• Official Certification of Foreign Education: If your degree is from a Foreign Nursing School, you MUST submit your official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

Next steps