The Albany VA Medical Center is currently recruiting for 1 Acupuncturist. This position is located in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, Albany VA Medical Center. This position provides support to Acupuncture and reports to the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Supervisor. Basic Requirements: A. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. B. Education. Individual must meet one of the requirements below: (1) Master's degree in acupuncture or oriental medicine from a program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). OR (2) Advanced level degree in acupuncture or oriental medicine from a program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). C. Foreign Graduates. Graduates of foreign acupuncture programs meet the requirements in subparagraph 3b if they have a full unrestricted and current license to practice acupuncture in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. D. Certification. Acupuncturists hired in the VHA must be board certified through the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). The board certification must be current and the acupuncturist must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education. E. Loss of Certification. An acupuncturist who fails to maintain the required certificate must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists. F. Licensure. Current, full, active, and unrestricted license to practice acupuncture in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e. Puerto Rico) of the United States, or District of Columbia. G. Loss of licensure. An acupuncturist who fails to maintain the required license must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists A. Creditable Experience (1) Knowledge of Acupuncture Practices. To be creditable, the experience must demonstrate possession of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) associated with current professional acupuncture practice. The experience must be post-master's degree or above. (2) Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a certificate, masters or doctoral degree in Acupuncture or Oriental Medicine from an accredited training program. Creditable experience must include work as a professional licensed acupuncturist. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to acupuncture experience at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significantly larger scope, administrative independence, difficulty and range of variety and described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. 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: Experience or Education: Individual must meet at least one of the requirements below: 1. Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, must have one year of creditable experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level, which is directly related to the position to be filled. OR 2. Education. Doctoral degree or equivalent degree from an accredited college or university in an acupuncture or oriental medicine. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Ability to screen referrals and direct veterans to other services as appropriate. 2. Ability to formulate an appropriate differential diagnosis. 3. Ability to formulate an acupuncture treatment plan independently or with other health care professionals. 4. Ability to educate patients on health lifestyle changes including nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits, stress management, mind body techniques and other matters related to acupuncture care. This includes the ability to communicate with individuals of varying backgrounds. 5. Skill in the selection and use of the appropriate acupuncture tools and supplies based on needs of the patient. Assignment - Acupuncturists at this level review and triage acupuncture referrals. The incumbent serves as a member of an interdisciplinary team providing acupuncture treatment as well as further coordination of care for patients referred for acupuncture services. The acupuncturist analyzes medical histories and physical findings to formulate a differential diagnosis based on oriental and western medicine paradigms. Duties include the design and oversight of acupuncture treatment plans as well as a full range of acupuncture services, monitoring the accuracy of needle placement during a treatment. The incumbent communicates with patients about any abnormal or unexpected results or responses to treatment and advises patients regarding lifestyle changes including nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits, stress management, mind body techniques and other matters related to acupuncture care. The acupuncturist may submit referrals and requests for devices, materials and appliances available and commonly used by the acupuncture profession. Duties include documentation of information related to patient care including assessment, diagnosis, treatment, response to treatment, plan of care, and patient education as well as identification and documentation of appropriate coding for each patient encounter. The acupuncturist provides information regarding the patient consultation to other health care providers. The incumbent manages clinical workload demands. The incumbent serves as a mentor to new staff or less experienced staff and students. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/100 PART II APPENDIX G53 The full performance level of this occupational series is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-11 Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency- Candidates will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who are not proficient in written and spoken English. See Chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. ["The Acupuncturist is responsible for independently providing assessment and treatment interventions to inpatients and outpatients received through healthcare providers referrals. The incumbent identifies appropriate acupuncture intervention including referral to another provider for further consultation as clinically indicated. Incumbent formulates a treatment plan and goals, and is responsible for implementation, modification, and documentation of treatment. Incumbent exhibits complex clinical skills. Incumbent schedules the patient for treatment in order to establish and achieve the maximum goal(s) for the patient. Incumbent frequently interprets and reports to healthcare providers the reaction to treatment, which have medical significance and diagnostic value. Incumbent functions as a core team member of clinical and or multi-disciplinary team(s) for the purpose of providing total health care delivery to the patient and continuity of care by sharing ideas and exchanging pertinent information. As a member of the treatment team, the incumbent is responsible for the development and maintenance of professional standards of acupuncture. Incumbent maintains a close working relationship with medical and allied health care specialists to assess patient conditions and progress and coordinate patient treatment to effect maximum goal achievement potential. Incumbent demonstrates a full professional understanding of the theories of treatment in acupuncture and their proper application through the use of acupuncture procedures. Incumbent follows established guidelines, ethics and protocol of the Acupuncture Section, the PM&R Section, the department of Veterans Affairs and the profession. Incumbent exercises initiative, discretion, adaptability and sound professional judgment at all times. Incumbent demonstrates competency in assigning, treating, advancing, and establishing goals. Incumbent frequently selects, adapts, and/or adjusts modalities in accordance with treatment goals. Modifies techniques and develops new approaches as necessary to ensure the realization of patient treatment goals. The incumbent uses both standard and non-standard methods and techniques for evaluating and interpreting a wide variety of patient physical and psychosocial functional levels for providing progressive treatment rationales. Incumbent functions as a clinical preceptor for affiliating, technical and professional level students in conjunction with the Clinical Coordinator and/or Program Coordinator. Incumbent serves as mentor for volunteer or observation students. Work Schedule: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Functional Statement #: 23768-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized"]
About Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
