Career Center

Summary

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.

Qualifications

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:

• -Citizenship Be a citizen of the United States
• -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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Grade Determinations: Staff Psychologist - GS-11 -Experience None beyond the basic requirements
• Staff Psychologist - GS-12 -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 -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 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
• 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
• Staff Psychologist - GS-13 -Experience At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• 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
• Preferred Experience: Familiarity with Suicide Prevention and Crisis Mental Health Care
• Experience in working with PTSD - Substance Use Disorders - Co-occurring mental health disorders
• Able to work within an interdisciplinary team (medical providers - psychiatrists - nursing staff - case managers)
• Specialty Training in Evidence Based Psychotherapies (EBP)
• 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-13
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-13
• Physical Requirements: This position provides direct services to patients and their families through casework
• Incumbents must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others
• Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain - corrective lenses are permitted) - keen hearing (aid permitted) - clear distinctive speech - and manual dexterity.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Clinical Responsibilities Identifies problems/needs from the assessment to be treated and develops the individual treatment plan
• Assists Veterans and the treatment team in navigating problems in the residential milieu
• Oversees all case management as assigned for the duration of the Veteran's admission through post-discharge follow up
• Conducts therapeutic counseling in accordance with specific guidelines and handles crises - regularly with minimal supervision
• Develops and conducts lectures and educational presentations for patients related to various specialty aspects of general mental health - substance use disorder - post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - or Serious Mental Illness (SMI)
• Educate the veteran - their families - and the team of all the options available to them and will collaborate with the veteran and family on the preferred option
• Develop - organize - and implement a wide variety of outpatient aftercare treatment for patients and their collaterals
• Transport veterans to assist them in assessing resources or taking care of essential business
• In all cases the worker must know the patient and be comfortable in providing the needed transportation
• Government vehicle will be used as well as all processes - trainings - and requirements related to Government vehicle use
• Administrative Responsibilities Enters all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate/approved formats and templates
• Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with employees - volunteers - consumers and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies
• Attend all appropriate staff meetings - team meetings - committee meetings - or group meetings and perform other duties as required
• Collaborate in the performance improvement process and comply with performance measures as required by the appropriate program offices and local policies
• Completes the continuing education hours needed for maintaining Professional Licensure
• Demonstrates professional behavior that conforms to VA regulations and policy - State and Federal laws - and ethical codes of appropriate professional accrediting organizations
• Participate in activities that obtain feedback from clients and work to enhance services as needed
• Enriching Elements Provide clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training - including trainees seeking licensure
• Provides leadership guidance and consultation to staffs of units to which assigned
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate Offers consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialty areas - rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective clinical practice skills
• Demonstrates ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the special area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certifications
• Work Schedule: M-F
• 7:30AM-4:00PM Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact Brandee O'Brien (Brandee.OBrien@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: This position is authorized for telework - situational (ad hoc) & has NOT been authorized as virtual or remote
• Location negotiable may be discussed during the interview process to meet the Return To Office requirement
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 51233A - 51234A - 51235A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized