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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• 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 Requirement - (1) You must 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 - (2) have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and - in addition - successfully completed a re-specialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program
• and b) the specialty in which you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for
• OR - (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature
• Note: Applicants must provide transcripts documenting the completion of the re-specialization program Internship Requirement - (a) You must 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 - (b) 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 - (c) 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 - (d) 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)
• NOTE: 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: Candidates 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
• Board Certification and Loss of Credential: (1) Board Certification
• Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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
• The board certificate must be current - non-restricted - and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education
• (2) Loss of Credential
• Once board certified - psychologist must maintain a full - valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment
• A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification 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
• 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: Psychology Program Manager GS-14 Experience
• At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level
• Knowledge - Skills - and abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to organize work - set priorities - delegate tasks - and meet multiple deadlines
• Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools
• Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds - interests - and points of view
• Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives
• Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations
• Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards
• Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program
• Assignment: For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety - and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Psychologist program managers have broad program management responsibilities for a specific program or programs that are designed to deliver specialized - complex - highly professional services that are important program components of the facility and that significantly impact the health care provided to Veterans
• Programs include but are not limited to addiction - posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - mental health intensive case management (MHICM) - mental health compensation and pension examination (C&P) programs - Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers - inpatient mental health - residential rehabilitation - domiciliary - palliative care - neuropsychology - and internship and postdoctoral fellowship training programs
• management of an off- campus site
• psychology program oversight and coordination throughout the facility and its affiliated clinics as a psychology executive - typically at lower complexity facilities
• 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-14
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Duties

• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include - but not limited to the following: Program management responsibilities include the development of short and long- range goals and plans - development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure goal attainment - management of administrative and programmatic resources - and outcomes monitoring using data-driven quality assurance processes
• Ensures that clinicians provide the highest quality of mental health care to veterans utilizing evidence-based practices and clinical guidelines
• Responsible for effectively managing and supervising the program's resources including staff - funds - space and equipment-utilized in the development and direction of the mental health services - consultations - research - and training provided the veterans and staff of the medical center
• Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders - particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients
• Provides education to patients - family members - and significant others
• Provides comprehensive - evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions - including individual - family - and group psychotherapy
• Develops - implements - and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients - including prompt completion of clinical reminders
• Functions independently as a member of the VAMC Memphis Medical Staff - with full clinical privileges
• Assumes complete professional responsibility for clinical assessment findings - patient care decisions - and documentation
• Responsible for: approval/disapproval of leave - setting employee performance standards and evaluating work performance - establishing procedures for reviewing written materials and interviewing candidates for vacant positions and making selections
• counseling and/or administering corrective actions within the delegated authority
• hearing and resolving employee complaints/grievances
• providing or arranging for needed training - dealing effectively with matters pertaining to the labor-management agreement
• and informing employees about policies - procedures - and practices of management
• Works with chiefs and supervisors of other services/organizations to resolve any substantive problems or areas of concern
• Responsible for Focused Professional Practice Evaluations (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE) reviews for assigned providers
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified Applicants Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): May be authorized for highly qualified Applicants EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact visn9hredrp@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: ADHOC Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 51056-F