Staff Psychologist

Full Job Description

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.

You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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. English Language Proficiency.

Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

Education: Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed.

The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment.

~OR~ Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re- specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re- specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

~OR~ Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

Internship: Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

~OR~ New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern.

~OR~ VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96- 151 (pre- 1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement ~OR~ Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.

~OR~ Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally- accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program.

Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to psychologist positions in the GS-0180 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.

Exception: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C.

§ 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed.

Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements above for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade level for each candidate.

GS-11 (Entry Level): None beyond the Basic Requirements.

GS-12 (Developmental Level): Experience: At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11).

Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level.

~AND~ Demonstrate Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.

Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.

Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).

Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship and research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, and collaboration.

GS-13 (Full Performance Level): Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

~AND~ Licensure: Hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.

~AND~ Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.

Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health. Knowledge of clinical research literature.

Reference: VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO)VA handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard, Veterans Health Administration, dated February 7, 2018.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Major Duties:

Duties include but are not limited to: Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually psychologically complex patients.

Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others.

Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy, with a large focus on Complimentary and Integrative Health modalities (e.g., Mindfulness based approaches, Clinical Hypnosis, Biofeedback, Guided Imagery) and interventions targeted at behavioral lifestyle change in service of improving Veteran health and well-being (e.g.

stress management, smoking cessation, sleep, healthy eating, etc.).

Provides consultation to professional staff within the VALBHS and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.

Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders.

Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the assigned treatment team or clinic, established by the Whole Health Service Chief and Deputy Chief.

Assists the Whole Health Service Chief and Deputy Chief in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.

Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services.

Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of relevant clinical reminders for all patients.

Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and for completing encounters (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).

Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Whole Health Service Chief and Deputy Chief as applicable.

These include the monthly Whole Health Service staff meetings.

Serves as primary facilitator and coordinator for TEACH courses, such that they will undergo necessary facilitator training, coordinate enrollment and tracking of staff attendance at these trainings, schedule educational offerings with EES, and ensure necessary training materials are available.

Will collaborate with Health Living Team staff for larger management and reporting of data. May serve as a secondary Motivational Interviewing facilitator, based on needs of service.

If providing clinical supervision, will complete all required written training documents including initial training contracts and supervisory evaluation forms.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday from 8:00am-4:30pm EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Contact Serin.Moth@va.gov the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year).

Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

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