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:

• United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3.g - this part.) English Language Proficiency Requirement: Per VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - Section A - Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. - chapter 73 or 74 - to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English
• 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
• 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 NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program - which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship
• 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 GS12 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-11: Experience: None beyond the basic requirements
• 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
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1
• Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations
• 2
• Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies
• 3
• Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures
• 4
• Ability to conduct research activities - such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties)
• 5
• 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: Experience: 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: 1
• Knowledge of and ability to apply advanced professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations
• 2
• Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health
• 3
• Knowledge of clinical research literature and fluency in scientific information discovery
• 4
• Knowledge of and ability to apply structured scientific paradigms to research involving existing protocols and established scientific methods - including knowledge of research design and analysis as applied to their area of expertise - that has resulted in recognition at the local and regional level and that is developing into national recognition (e.g. - speaking at national conferences and/or publishing in nationally-distributed scientific journals)
• 5
• Ability to perform essential research tasks of scholarship and research execution - including research participant relations and management - research documentation - data acquisition and maintenance - human subjects protection - budget oversight - supervision of project staff - and collaboration
• 6
• Ability to formulate results within a scientific framework and organize scientific reporting
• 7
• Knowledge of methods and ability to increase the basic research skills of others via research mentoring
• 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.

Duties

• S/he has at least one-year pre-doctoral work experience and one-year postdoctoral work experience as a psychologist in the VHA or a comparable professional setting
• The psychologist applies advanced professional psychological diagnostic methods and intervention strategies to a full range of patient problems in her/his work setting
• S/he has advanced knowledge of psychological difficulties and intervention that qualifies him/her to provide advice and consultation to professionals representing a variety of disciplines
• The primary job functions of psychologists at this level include the provision of direct psychological patient care - consultation services on difficult or complex cases - and education of staff and trainee supervision
• The psychologist for whom this functional statement applies is assigned to the Mental Health Service
• Her/his primary responsibility is providing direct patient care in a skills-based - recovery-oriented treatment program 1
• Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders - particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients
• 2
• Provides education to patients - family members - and significant others
• 3
• Provides comprehensive - evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions - including individual - family - and group psychotherapy
• 4
• Provides consultation to professional staff within Mental Health Service and the VA generally and to community providers - concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients
• 5
• Develops - implements - and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients
• 6
• Functions independently as a member of the Mental Health Service - with full clinical privileges
• Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings - patient care decisions - and documentation
• Administrative responsibilities (5%): 1
• Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs to effectively coordinate services
• 2
• Complies with national and local performance measures
• 3
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures - including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g. - entering diagnostic and procedure codes)
• 4
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings with the Mental Health Service 5
• Attends and participates in other assigned committee responsibilities
• Teaching and Training (5%): 1
• Provides clinical supervision and instruction for pre- doctoral psychology interns and post-doctoral residents
• To include 2 hours of supervision for each intern or post-doctoral resident is supervising major rotation
• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 7:30 a.m to 4:00 p.m Compressed/Flexible: Not Available EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact Hannah.Neilson@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 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: Ad-Hoc
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: F04446 - F04447 - F0444