Chaplain

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs at the San Diego VA Medical Center seeks a Chaplain (GS-9 to GS-11) to provide pastoral counseling and spiritual care in diverse inpatient and outpatient settings. The role supports veterans, families and healthcare staff within a medical facility structure.

Qualified applicants will have a Master of Divinity or equivalent, board certification or eligibility, and experience delivering crisis intervention, care planning and collaborative care.

Qualifications

• Master of Divinity or equivalent from CHEA/ATS-accredited program.
• Board certification per VA requirements; 4 CPE units preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to assess spiritual needs and document services.
• Ability to develop measurable pastoral care programs within guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Provide pastoral counseling to veteran patients, families and staff in inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Coordinate religious services and spiritual care across care teams within medical facilities.
• Assist in creating care plans based on spiritual assessments and patient needs.

Skills

Spiritual assessments

Care plan development

Crisis intervention

Healthcare team collaboration

Religious freedom facilitation

Pastoral counseling

Communications (written)

Counseling for families

Education

Master of Divinity or equivalent

Job description

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs at the San Diego VAMC. The position provides services within various settings, including Veterans Integrated Service Networks, Inpatient Clinics, Outpatient Clinics and domiciliaries. Most Chaplain services are usually provided in a medical facility structure. The CS provides pastoral counseling and treatment to Veteran patients, patient's families and staff in various inpatient and outpatient settings.

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.

Ecclesiastical Endorsement

• Board Certification. Applicants must be a Board-Certified Chaplain certified by BCCI ® or a U.S. certifying body that has a reciprocity agreement with BCCI ®. Board Certification that requires 4 units of CPE is qualifying. The National Chaplain Service maintains a list of approved certifications found on the National VA Chaplain Service SharePoint.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be submitted to a current affiliate agency of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) at https://www.naces.org/members and be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program.

Exception for Non-Board-Certified Chaplains

(a)Non-Board-Certified applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements, may be given a temporary appointment as a Chaplain under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2) not to exceed 2 years.(b)Non-Board-Certified Chaplains must provide proof of completion of 4units of CPE as required by an approved board certifying body.(c)Non-Board-Certified individuals may only provide care under the supervision of a certified Chaplain at or above the FPL.(d)Non-Board-Certified individuals may only be appointed at the entry level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained. Temporary appointments of non-board-certified Chaplains may not be extended beyond 2 years or be converted to a new temporary appointment. 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).

Grade Determinations

Chaplain GS-09: Experience

None beyond the basic requirements.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

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

Chaplain GS-11 Experience

One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

In addition to meeting to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. 1. Knowledge of advance care planning to educate, inform, and counsel patients and families.
2. 2. Skill in guiding patients in verbalizing and expressing values through life review, oral history, and end of life preparation and documentation.
3. 3. Ability to develop pastoral care programs that are measurable, outcome-driven and evidenced based within the department guidelines.
4. 4. 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.
5. 5. Ability to support the development of staff resiliency and develop programs for staff development and wellness by providing spiritual and emotional support.
6. 6. Ability to educate and equip health care staff and trainees screening for spiritual and religious needs of patients and the importance of appropriate referrals to chaplains for complex spiritual distress.
7. 7. 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.

Preferred Experience

Completed 4 (Four) Units of CPE with a minimum of 1 year of experience at a healthcare facility. Experience providing pastoral care to all Veterans with or without Catholic faith tradition, including administration of sacraments, last rites, Eucharistic communion, liturgical services, sacramental practices, Mass, spiritual assessment, and support for patients, families, communities, within a healthcare ministry setting.

Reference

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements

This position requires the Chaplain to meaningfully engage with Veteran patients and family members by walking and moving within the healthcare setting or with the incumbent uses an assistive device. The Chaplain is required to speak, hear (hearing aid permitted) and work closely with others.