English Language Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.
BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT - Applicants must first meet one of the basic requirements listed below:
- Possess a Bachelor's degree (or higher) in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to this position. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR
- Possess four (4) years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR
- Possess a combination of education and experience that provided you with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS - In addition to meeting the above requirements, you must also meet one of the additional requirements as described below to qualify for this position at each grade level.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the above requirement, applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-5 level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience includes: providing supervision/oversight to staff in planning, assigning, and reviewing work of employees; coordinating staff training; reviewing treatment plans; resolving patient issues; conducting rounds; and analyzing data and preparing reports.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement (
Transcript Required): (SAA) at the baccalaureate level in the coursework detailed above is fully qualifying. Applicants who wish to apply under this provision must submit proof from their educational institution that they meet one of the criteria listed below. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying (as described above) for the position to be filled and meet one of the following:
- Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision.
- A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
- A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
- Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp
For more information regarding SAA please visit
http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/SEC-II/s2-e5.asp#e4f .
OR
SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Successful completion of one (1) full year of progressively higher level graduate education with a major in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to this position, is fully qualifying for the GS-7. (
TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED).
OR
COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. (
TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:
- Communications
- Decision Making
- Organizational Awareness
- Planning and Evaluating
IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.
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). 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.
Physical Requirements: The work is partly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there will be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.
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/.