This psychologist functions as a Staff Psychologist for the Mental Health and Behavioral Science Service Line. The psychologist may diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. 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 - 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, Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a respecialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the respecialization 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, Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship Requirement - 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, 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). 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. 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. 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 Experience. At least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, 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. Assignment. This is the full performance level for staff psychologists. At this level, psychologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. They may be assigned to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, Compensation and Pension, Vet Centers, and the VHA National Center for Organization Development. Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard. The full performance level of this vacancy is 13. Physical Requirements: VA Handbook 5005/103. ["The incumbent of this position may perform the functions listed in any of the components of the Violence Prevention Program, including but not limited to Workplace Violence Prevention and Suicide Prevention. He/she also applies his or her subject matter expertise to provide consultation, training, supervision, and evaluation related to psychological health and behavioral interventions. Works proactively as a member of a treatment team composed of individuals from multiple disciplines, in assigned program or unit. Performs other duties. Clinical 1. Provides screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders, as well as other Axis I conditions, with an emphasis on the application of evidence-based psychotherapy approaches proven effective for the condition of focus and the population to which assigned. 2. Performs psychological assessment and interpretation of results to inform treatment planning, as appropriate to the needs of the mental health program to which assigned. 3. Provides screening for cognitive deficits to address specific functional questions or to determine if a referral for a complete neuropsychological evaluation or dementia assessment is needed. 4. Provides individual and group psychotherapy using modalities appropriate to the target emotional or behavioral conditions, the treatment setting, and the target population. 5. Provides clinical supervision to assigned psychology staff, students, trainees, and pre-doctoral interns, as part of CAVHCS APA Approved Psychology Internship Program. 6. Consults with patients, their families, other medical professionals, attorneys, and other appropriate persons to interpret clinical findings. 7. Leads, facilitates and coordinates treatment planning and assigns person responsible for following-up on established goals and objectives. 8. Directs, coordinates and instructs other professional support staff, attendants, and trainees, in patient care and rehabilitation of patients. 9. Participates as a member of a treatment team if applicable to the assigned mental health program or specialty area. 10. Provides consultation services to other disciplines within Mental Health, across service lines and the VISN, and to community partners as appropriate. 11. Actively involved in all processes leading to achieve optimal levels of performance measures and performance improvement initiatives for the assigned program or clinic. 12. Familiar with the Behavioral Health-Level of Care (BH-LOC) InterQual Criteria and other relevant Psychology Service, CAVHCs, Network, and VHA performance measures. Administration 1. Responsible for data maintenance, tracking and reporting as required by the assigned mental health program or specialty area. 2. Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization. 3. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. 4. Assures that appropriate referrals to specialty programs, including community resources, are accomplished. This may include ordering the consults such as the following: Mental Health Programs (i.e. Neuropsychological Assessment, Pain Management Program, Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program, Residential / In-Patient Substance Use Treatment, Mental Health Intensive Care Management, Vocational Industries Programs (e.g. IT, Compensated Work Therapy, CWT/Transitional Residence, etc.), Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program, Psychosocial Recovery Center, and other programs (internal and external) as appropriately indicated. 5. Fully accountable for clinical practice, including entering encounters for patient visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting assigned productivity standards. Ensures clinical and administrative documentation is provided timely and consistent with the organization's local, VISN, VHA standards, as well as other external accrediting bodies. Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday through Friday Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Title/Functional Statement #:Psychologist Workplace Violence Prevention/PD00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,298 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,113 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
