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: Must be proficient in both spoken and written English.

Education: Must possess one of the following: 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.

For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills.

Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas.

PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology.

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.

Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology).

OR 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; AND Internships 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.

If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program 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.

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 4 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.

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: GS -13 (Full Performance Level) Requirements: Experience: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, do you possess at least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

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.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS - 13 Preferred Experience: Experience in Health Psychology.

Experience with any of the complementary integrative health offerings is a plus, such as biofeedback, guided imagery, mindfulness, and clinical hypnosis. Experience with sleep hygiene is also ideal.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Major Duties:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This Position will be located at the Honor Annex VA Clinic.

"This announcement has been updated to reflect the position not being eligible for telework at the request of the Hiring Manager." The psychologist for whom this functional statement applies is assigned to the Whole Health Partnership (WHP) within the Associate Director of Patient Care Services (ADPCS) of the Kansas City VA Medical Center System.

Incumbent has specialized knowledge and expertise in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of variety of chronic disorders and related issues, including the identification and treatment of mental health disorders within the context of chronic medical illness, and the promotion of health and well-being of the veteran.

This position requires considerable flexibility as problems in outreach and treatment of this veteran population may require creative solutions.

Duties: Works with Clinical Care and Nursing leadership to provide specific training and consultation with Primary Care Nurses and others to facilitate effective health behavior coaching (i.e., healthy lifestyle coaching to support patient self-management) and build and maintain competencies in health behavior coaching.

In collaboration with the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Program Manager (HDPD-PM), plans, develops, adapts, implements and assesses efficacy of health behavior interventions for the promotion of general health and to address health risk behaviors as part of disease prevention and chronic disease management (e.g., weight loss and maintenance, tobacco use cessation, promoting patient self-management interventions targeting issues such as increasing participation in regular exercise, healthy eating, sleep hygiene) in close collaboration with the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Manager and others.

Supervises pre-doctoral and post-doctoral Psychology trainees and may participate in the supervision of trainees in other disciplines, including medical, nursing, pharmacy, and psychiatric trainees assigned to the Primary Care Service for rotations.

Assists the WH Program Manager and Health promotion, Disease Prevention Manager in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers.

Adheres to operational policies and procedures established by the Mental Health Chief.

Assists the WH Program Manager and HPDP Manager in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.

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

Provides consultation and training to Primary Care and Mental Health Service Line staff in enhancing, maintaining, and supporting health behavior programs for the promotion of health and prevention of disease and enhancing patient self-management of chronic disease (e.g., diabetes, COPD) to prevent secondary complications and improve long-term outcomes and enhance quality of life.

This work is carried out through training programs and through case discussion.

Develops and/or makes available relevant education and training programs for all Primary Care and other Service Line providers to ensure that culturally competent care is provided.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am-4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Contact VISN15EDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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: Not Authorized. Virtual: Not Authorized