Summary

The purpose of the Physician Assistant Program Manager of the Telemental Health program is to provide independent clinical service delivery and administration of the Telemental Health Program within the Mental Health Service, providing oversight and work assignments to the interdisciplinary staff working in the Program. responsible for the administrative supervision of multiple interdisciplinary staff members including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses.

Duties

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Duties for this position include, but are not limited to:

Clinical Responsibilities.

• Uses telemental health modalities to provide a wide range of psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a wide range of psychiatric disorders;
• Provides motivational enhancement activities to prepare Veterans to participate in clinically appropriate care;
• Provides expert evidence-based psychotherapy services for Veterans including individual and group therapy, family/relationship counseling, and psychoeducation.
• Provides consultation to providers in the area of evidenced based interventions;
• Promotes communication/interactions between medical team members, Veterans, and their families to facilitate the medical treatment process.

Administrative, Supervisory and other Significant Responsibilities.

• Develops and coordinates services offered to Veterans and their families enrolled in the telemental health program. Services include assessment, medication management, crisis intervention, educational, individual, family, and group treatment, case management and measurement-based care.
• Formulates, interprets, and implements policies and procedures pertaining to quality mental health care to assure compliance with internal and external performance standards.
• Directs and guides various disciplines within the mental health service to assure efficiency, including the scheduling of activities, the redesign of workloads, daily monitoring of the operations of the program, and feedback to other managers about staff performance.
• Evaluates current program services in a systematic manner, including the collection, tabulation, and presentation of program statistics, trends, and outcome measures.
• Interfaces with other program managers, the Mental Health Leadership, and VA personnel regarding relevant programmatic issues with recommendations for improvement in service delivery and budgetary requests.
• Serves as a member of the Mental Health Total Quality Improvement Team.
• Maintains productive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders including but not limited to: VHA, VISN, Medical Center staff, labor partners, Veterans, and state organizations.
• Adjusts staffing levels or work procedures within the telemental health program to accommodate resource allocation decisions.
• Leads regularly scheduled meetings (e.g., weekly) of the telemental health team to address issues and facilitate program planning.
• Oversees the daily operation of the telemental health team (e.g., facilitate closing of encounters, processing of consults, facilitate communication with Health Administration Services (HAS) regarding pulling of scheduling of appointments, documentation and re- scheduling of missed appointments)..

Work Schedule: 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM, Monday - Friday. Subject to change based on the needs of the facility.

Telework: Not Available.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a 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 VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Qualifications

Physician Assistant Basic Requirements:

• Education: Master's degree in any discipline OR a bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant, AND
• Certification: Must have successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE), NOTE: Current and continuous certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physicians Assistants (NCCPA) is no longer required for employment in VHA. AND
• Licensure: PAs must possess an active, current, full and unrestricted license to practice in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia. NOTE: PAs must maintain current registration in the State of licensure if this is a requirement for continuing active and current licensure in that state.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Preferred Experience:

• Experience working as a leader or member of a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience analyzing data, identifying trends, and preparing reports for leaders and interdisciplinary teams.
• Experience coaching and educating teams at multiple levels of the organization.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates:

Physician Assistant-I (PA-I)

(a) Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. This is the entry level for PAs.

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. The following list of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) present the minimum skill set expected of an Entry Level PA. This practice may include, but is not limited to:

i. Ability to utilize the principles of PA practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care.

ii. Ability to perform patient history and physical.

iii. Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient.

iv. Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession.

Physician Assistant-II (PA-II)

(a) Experience and Education. The PA at this grade is at the intermediate grade level and has had progressively increasing responsibility and experiences as indicated in the KSAs listed below. Individuals will have demonstrated the ability to analyze and solve more complex medical problems than at the entry level grade and can utilize their training in the successful practice of patient care and participate in team problem solving. Individuals demonstrate the KSAs of PA-II intermediate level by:

i. Two years of successful practice as a PA.

OR

ii. Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency.

OR

iii. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). PAs at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify, but should be able to demonstrate, develop, or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-II:

i. Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems.

ii. Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions.

iii. Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care.

iv. Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care.

v. Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively.

Physician Assistant-III (PA-III)

(a) Experience and Education. PAs at the PA-III grade are at the full performance level and lead and organize patient care independently, practice within multi- disciplinary teams, and coordinate all aspects of patient care across the health care system. They utilize advanced clinical knowledge and judgment in decision-making and evaluating outcomes. They function as experts in clinical practice and/or in areas related to the assigned roles and responsibilities, may serve as mentors for transitioning PAs, and may provide training for health care students. Individuals can demonstrate the KSAs for the full performance level by:

i. Three years of successful practice as a PA.

OR

ii. Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency and one year of professional practice as a PA.

OR

iii. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and one year of professional practice as a PA.

(b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. PAs at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify, but should be able to demonstrate, develop, or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-III:

i. Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care.

ii. Skill to consistently demonstrate an elevated level of expertise and autonomy in diagnosing and treating seriously ill, multi-symptomatic patients through facility Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE).

iii. Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials.

iv. Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel.

v. Ability to implement and initiate clinical changes to established treatment protocols based upon new medical literature research findings to enhance patient delivery care for improved patient outcomes.

vi. Ability to participate clinically in the development of the PA patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is III. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of I to III.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for this occupation, see duty section for essential duties of this position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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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.

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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.